PREreviews of “The Costs and Benefits of a Modified Biomedical Science Workforce” | PREreview

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The Costs and Benefits of a Modified Biomedical Science Workforce

by Michael D. Schaller

Posted: September 9, 2020
Server: bioRxiv
DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.09.289785

Abstract

Analyses of the biomedical research workforce, the biomedical research enterprise and its sustainability have identified a number of threats and offered many solutions to alleviate the problems. While, a number of these solutions have been implemented, one solution that has not been broadly adopted, despite being widely recommended, is to increase the number of staff scientists and reduce dependency on trainees. The perceived impediment of this is the cost. This paper explores the costs associated with laboratory personnel and the benefits, in terms of productivity, associated with different positions in the workforce. The results of this cost-benefit analysis depend upon the values assigned to different metrics of productivity by individuals and institutions. If first and senior author publications are the most important metrics of productivity, a trainee dependent workforce is much more cost effective. If total publications is the most valued metric of productivity, the cost effectiveness of trainee and staff scientists is reasonably equitable. This analysis provides data for consideration when making personnel decisions and for the continued discussion of modification of the biomedical research workforce. It also provides insight into the incentives for modification of the workforce at the grass roots, which must be considered by institutions genuinely committed to workforce modification to sustain the biomedical research enterprise.

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1 Rapid PREreview

by Yan Zhou

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Aggregated Rapid PREreviews
Question	Yes	Unsure	N/A	No
Are the findings novel?	100%	0%	0%	0%
Are the results likely to lead to future research?	100%	0%	0%	0%
Is sufficient detail provided to allow reproduction of the study?	100%	0%	0%	0%
Are the methods and statistics appropriate for the analysis?	100%	0%	0%	0%
Are the principal conclusions supported by the data and analysis?	100%	0%	0%	0%
Does the manuscript discuss limitations?	100%	0%	0%	0%
Have the authors adequately discussed ethical concerns?	0%	100%	0%	0%
Does the manuscript include new data?	100%	0%	0%	0%
Are the data used in the manuscript available?	0%	100%	0%	0%
Is the code used in the manuscript available?	0%	100%	0%	0%
Would you recommend this manuscript to others?	100%	0%	0%	0%
Do you recommend this manuscript for peer review?	100%	0%	0%	0%

2 PREreviews

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PREreview by Yan Zhou

Authored by Yan Zhou

This manuscript provides valuble data for for modification considerations of the biomedical research workforce.

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PREreview by Jessica Polka

Authored by Jessica Polka

In this preprint, Michael D. Schaller shares a cost-benefit analysis of shifting the balance of the research workforce to include more staff scientists. Proponents of this intervention (myself included) argue this would simultaneously address concerns about overproduction of trainees and also…

Read the PREreview by Jessica Polka