Conversion of theses submitted to the National Board of Examinations for postgraduate degrees into published papers

Background The submission of a thesis or dissertation is a requirement stipulated by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) before a candidate can be awarded a postgraduate degree. Although the thesis is a requirement, its subsequent publication in a journal is not mandatory; if not published, a large amount of potentially valuable research data is lost. Our primary objective was to assess the conversion rate of postgraduate theses into publications in biomedical journals, and the secondary objective was to estimate the frequency of presentations of papers and posters at conferences by postgraduates during their tenure. Methods In this retrospective study, we collected data (between 1991 and 2019) from 434 theses written by the residents of 7 departments of Sir Ganga Ram hospital, New Delhi which were submitted to the NBEMS in partial fulfilment of their final degrees. The 'conversion' rate to publication was calculated using data from the websites PubMed, Google Scholar, and our hospital journal, Current Medicine Research and Practice. Results The conversion rate of the thesis into a publication was 33.2%. The frequency of oral or poster presentations at state, national, or international conferences during the residency period was 47.2%. Conclusion Less than one-third of thesis were published. Almost half were, however, presented at various conferences.