Impacts of Novel Vietnamese Government Regulations on Radiological PhD and Professorship Candidates: an Initial Report

INTRODUCTION: In Vietnam, the successful publication of research in indexed journals is mandatory to obtain academic appointments and promotions in medical colleges and institutions, according to the current guidelines established by the State Council for Professorship and Ministry of Education and Training. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the impacts of novel Vietnamese government regulations on radiological PhD and professorship candidates. METHODS: This study evaluated freely accessible data, available online, and, therefore, did not require institutional review board approval. We assessed the numbers of radiological PhD candidates at Hanoi Medical University and the numbers of published Vietnamese radiological papers, from 2012 to 2019, indexed in the SCImago database. In addition, we evaluated the numbers of qualified radiological professors and associate professors employed at universities during the same period. We did not include nuclear medicine PhD and professorship candidates, in this study. The data are presented as bar and line charts. RESULTS: Following the enactment of 08/2017/TT-BGDĐT and 37/2018/QĐ-TTg, we observed that the numbers of radiological PhD and professorship candidates were significantly reduced. From 2012 to 2019, only one candidate qualified for appointment as a radiological professor. However, the number of radiological papers rose dramatically during the same time period. CONCLUSION: The enactment of 08/2017/TT-BGDĐT and 37/2018/QĐ-TTg had strong impacts on the numbers of PhD and professorship candidates. Owing to these new regulations, the number of published, international, peer-reviewed radiological papers has increased; however, some undesired consequences may have occurred, such as papers being published in predatory or suspected predatory journals, double or triple submissions, and plagiarism.