Promote Research Culture
 

National Medical Students’ Research Conference:
 

Declining interest of medical fraternity in research is a global phenomenon. Only 4% of MDs (15,377 out of 391,889) reported research as their priority in 1980 in USA. Seventeen years later the figure dropped to 2.3% (14,434 out of 620,472). Based on the number of applications received for the ICMR program Short Term Studentships (STS), which provides opportunity to a medical student to conduct research for two months it appears that about 5% medical students are research inclined in India. To provide them interactive forum the Academy organized the first two National Medical Students’ Research Conference in October 2006 and February 2008. Some 300 abstracts of which only 128 were selected were received for the first conference Corresponding figures for the second conference were 350 and 190 respectively. Discipline wise distribution papers is shown.

The concept of the National conference has been a huge success. The third National conference, which was attended by some 500 delegates, was held in Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore in June 2009.

Academy also plans to hold regional medical students’ research conferences so that each STS scholar gets opportunity to present his/her work.