The culture of research

“Taking a seat in the front row, he spread out his legs and sighed while listening to a

speaker at the podium. After a few minutes, out of boredom and disinterest, he shifted

away his gaze and yawned. He pulled out his iPhone from his pocket and started

texting until the start of the next session.”

He was one of the leading members of this conference. He was a reputable senior

medical educator and one of the leading members of the very conference he was

attending.

From his attitude, it is easy to guess what the state of the rest of the conference hall

was like. Behind him, seats were empty. The last rows were filled with participants.

It was at some point in time appeared like a chatter zone. At one point during the

conference, voices broke out and the silence was lost. These fairly audible voices

rose from murmurs to laughter. The general aura of discipline was lost when a loud

video record was audible to the people who were seating in the front rows.

The center of the conference hall was empty. Speakers were presenting at varying

paces. Some speakers were scornful towards the audience because of this attitude,

others were trying to ignore the disturbance, and few were requesting attention.

The whole picture was a dramatic reflection of an attitude of students, doctors and

other medical learners towards the research presented and the knowledge

conveyed to the audience. This culture has overridden the zeal of seeking

knowledge in a younger generation. This has induced weariness among enthusiastic

learners. Thus, out of doom and hopelessness, they easily decide to quit this place

which is further speeding up the process of a brain drain.