Dear Editor,
The Dental Council of India (DCI) has introduced a point system for academic promotions in publications for postgraduate faculty in dental subjects and it was already ascertained.[1] DCI have come up with amendments on the point system of academic promotions in publications for postgraduate faculty in dental subjects in 2017 September in Indian Gazette [Table 1].[2] In the revised point system, DCI have splitted the components of category I into two i.e., Category 1 with 15 points and Category II with 10 points and the components of Category II is shifted to Category III with 5 points. The following amendments were made. For any publication, except original research, first author will be given 100% points and the remaining 5 co-authors will be given 50% points. For original research, all authors up will be given equal points and upto a maximum of 6 authors shall be considered. Maximum of 3 publications will be considered for allotting points in Category III. Publication in tabloids, souvenirs, magazines/abstracts of conference proceedings and letter of acceptance will not be considered for allotment of points.
Table 1.
Revised Dental Council of India point system for publications by Postgraduate dental faculty2
| Publication | Points |
|---|---|
| Category I: | 15 |
| (1) Journals Indexed to Pubmed/Medline | |
| (2) Journals published by Indian/International Dental | |
| Speciality Associations approved by Dental Council of India | |
| Category II: | 10 |
| (1) Medical/Dental Journals published by Government Health Universities awarding dental degree or Government Universities awarding dental degree | |
| (2) Original research/study approved by Indian Council for medical research/Similar Government Bodies | |
| (3) Author of text/reference book concerned to respective specialty | |
| (4) PhD or any other similar additional qualification after MDS | |
| Category III: | 5 |
| (1) Journals published by Deemed Universities/ Dental Institutions/Indian Dental Association | |
| (2) Contribution of Chapters in the Text Book |
Awarding equal points for authors in an original research article will improvise national and international multi institutional collaborative funded approach in the dental research in future. Unlike Medical Council of India, It is nice to see that Dental councilof India have not excluded E-journal of publication for faculty in the revised guidelines.[3] It may be anticipated that in future majority of the print journal may be converting to E journal to make eco-friendly environment. DCI have not mentioned the names of other acceptable databases otherthan Medline. It is also advisable to include other acceptable databases such as Science Citation index, Science Citation Index Expanded, Embase/Excerpta Medica, Scopus and IndMed in Category I of publication.[3]
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Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References
- 1.Shamim T. The point system of the Dental Council of India for publications by faculty. Natl Med J India. 2016;29:312. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Dental Council of India MDS Course Regulations, 2017. [Last assessed on 2020 Sep 06]. Available from: http://www.dciindia.org.in/Rule_Regulation/MDS_Course_Regulations_2017.pdf .
- 3.Aggarwal R, Gogtay N, Kumar R, Sahni P. The revised guidelines of the Medical Council of India for academic promotions: Need for a rethink. Natl Med J India. 2016;29:1–5. doi: 10.4103/0970-258x.186900. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]