SCHOLARLY WORK MUST NOT ONLY BE DONE BUT ALSO BE SEEN TO BE DONE

I have paraphrased a well-known saying  "Not only must Justice be done; it must also be seen to be done.", not to make light of the seriousness of the need for justice but to highlight the importance of scholarly and academic work.  

It is undeniable that academic positions are saturated, and there is minimal possibility of new opportunities. At the same time, dwindling numbers of new admissions, economic downturn and an ever-increasing pool of available talent with varying levels of experience make the possibility of staff turnover a grim reality.   

So, whether, you are a student, young unemployed or for that matter employed oral pathologist, it is time to add to your credibility and achievement pool. Because merely attending a college in whichever role is not sufficient. While you are working, gaining knowledge and experience it is really essential that the work is seen. You may wonder why? First, to enable you to do the work and then to help you to continue working and if need be to find a different job where you can continue working.

The most important proof of scholastic/academic work is publications; this can start with your dissertation, especially if it is relatively recent. Old work is challenging to publish because of changing technological standards. In the interest of being honest and open, I have to say my dissertation fell into the same category. In 1997 it was somewhat difficult to publish, and I have to admit I did not try hard enough. I presented my findings as two papers in our national conference, and that was that. Do I wish I had tried? Definitely. And I hope you will not make the same mistake, if you still can, take the time and publish your dissertation. 

If you have published your dissertation wonderful, but still not enough. It would be best if you continued, and have more published research. Publications don't have to be primary research all the time; they can be secondary research such as literature reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analysis.   

But, even before your publications have reached a significant number, you must have a network of individuals with the same areas of interest who will read and hopefully cite your work when it is published. This can be best achieved by joining platforms such as ResearchGate, Google Scholar and professional networking platform LinkedIn.

ResearchGate an initiative by two researchers in 2008 to enable borderless collaboration has expanded to include over 17 million researchers from around the world, and through a service that remains free allows researchers to, authors and professionals to collaborate, guide and support each other, and share their work. Research Gate computes a score for all its members. That is considered an effective indicator of research activity. I have personally received considerable help from researchers on research gate; I have requested and received numerous articles and suggestions from researchers I didn't know otherwise.

Google Scholar is another useful platform. It keeps track of your publications and citations, besides providing an easy way of recording article's/book's citation in different formats. It also identifies research that may be interesting to you and is an easy way of finding the top journals in various fields by looking at the metrics.

LinkedIn is another essential platform; that provides endless networking, collaboration, and various opportunities to seek and provide help and support.

As I type this, I can picture my ex-students, and many colleagues thinking there we go again, and to be honest, they are right. I have reiterated the importance of building a global network many times. I was delighted when in a recent interview with Dr Prathibha Prasad about her journey and life in the UAE as an oral pathologist she also was unequivocal in her support of the need for an active professional and scholarly presence.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=328969311714356&extid=Lm7Tg9UvbexqYkEv

In my own life, LinkedIn played an important role, especially by making it possible for me to connect with Dr Babak Sarrafpour. I got to know him by just following my routine of connecting with every oral pathologist I find. Then I discovered that he was the only oral pathologist with interest in biomechanics, I visited him at The University of Sydney, and in the course of a most engaging interaction he suggested I submit my work as a PhD proposal. I did, with his help & support and was accepted in the University Of Sydney in a matter of months, sadly couldn't join the program since the cost was beyond my savings. The experience, however, rekindled an old passion for completing my studies, which to me, is a doctorate. Subsequently, I applied and was accepted in another outstanding university, the University of Otago New Zealand, and will hopefully begin my course post-COVID.

I feel a disclaimer is needed; the suggestions are based on personal views and are not in any way influenced by any of the companies mentioned. Hope you will be opening these sites to check them out and join if you haven't already. Creating or even updating your profile can take some time, but you don't have to do it in one day. Just keep aside 15 minutes or half an hour a day, and you should be on your way to a very connected professional life in a matter of days. 

 

Please share your opinions, suggestions and experiences.

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IS IT BETTER TO HAVE HAD COVID-19 & SURVIVED THAN TO HAVE NEVER HAD IT ALL?

 

It is less than a week since I posted this, however, in the interim, there has been a report of two cases of reinfection. It is still not much when we consider the 26 million recorded infections, still, it needs to be considered. Read the summary at read the summary  https://blogs.jwatch.org/hiv-id-observations/index.php/cases-of-sars-cov-2-reinfection-highlight-the-limitations-and-the-mysteries-of-our-immune-system/2020/08/30/?query=C19&cid=DM98059_NEJM_Registered_Users_and_InActive&bid=253773475

Even as an oral pathologist with no clinical worries of tooth cutting, aerosol contamination, and the like I am not untouched by the challenges that the dental profession is facing each day due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases. Possibly like every other dentist, I have all the relevant updates delivered to my mailbox each day.

Yesterday an interesting one caught my eye, a letter to the editor of NEJM “Saliva or Nasopharyngeal Swab Specimens for Detection of SARS-CoV-2” by Wyllie, Ann L., et al. They report findings of their recent study on the effectiveness of the salivary sample in the diagnosis of COVID- 19 infection. Significantly the study found saliva to be at the very least as useful as nasopharyngeal swab specimens for quantitative reverse- transcriptase PCR detection of Covid-19. The authors highlighted the importance of saliva as the test sample, negating the need for trained personnel involvement, and exposure. 

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2016359

From a dental viewpoint, it is noteworthy that :

• Asymptomatic patient’s saliva carried a recoverable number of virus copies.
• The overall virus count and percentage of cases where the virus could be recovered were higher in saliva than the nasopharyngeal swabs, up to 10 days after the infection.
• The salivary recovery of virus copies was more consistent throughout the clinical course of the disease. 

The authors relate some of the finding of higher salivary virus counts and overall recovery rates to the inherent ease of salivary sample collection in comparison to the nasopharyngeal specimen collection—an explanation that is no doubt, logical and valid.  

Nonetheless, when we combine all the findings, it seems fair to surmise that SARS-CoV-2 RNA is consistently found in the saliva of both asymptomatic and symptomatic patients.

While reading this article, the statement that the level of Covid-19 RNA decreased after the onset of symptom in both salivary and nasopharyngeal specimens caught my attention and aroused my curiosity. A few search entries in google and I was at the CDC website with exciting updates,

·       Concentrations of virus RNA in upper respiratory specimens declines after onset of symptoms.

·       COVID-19 replication-competent the virus has not been recovered following symptom onset in mild to moderate cases after 10 days and 10-20 days in severe cases.

·       High-risk household and hospital contacts did not develop the infection if their exposure to a case-patient started 6 days or more after the case patient’s illness onset.

·       Currently, six months after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, there have been no confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/duration-isolation.html#key-findings

 So, in summary, current data has shown recovery of virus copies from the saliva of asymptomatic patients, and those with early symptoms. The virus then reduces in numbers and disappearing after ten days in those with mild and moderate symptoms, and 20 days in those with severe symptoms.

It seems that the safest bet is to treat patients who were infected and recovered.

Considering we are now resigned that for the foreseeable future the entire population remains at risk and an eventual infection is almost inevitable, COVID -19 tests may become the first test, where testing positive becomes a requirement before any treatment.   

AND So it may come to pass that  - Tis better to have had COVID & survived than to have never had it at all…

These are unprecedented times indeed!!