• Gordon A Laurie, Bala Venkatesh, Peter S Kruger, T John Morgan, and Ranald L S Pascoe.
• Department of Intensive Care, Wesley Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. glaurie@ozemail.com.au.
• Crit Care Resusc. 2008 Mar 1; 10 (1): 52.

ObjectiveA number of recent therapeutic advances have resulted from basic science research. With the change in medical education and practice towards evidence-based medicine, we wished to determine the role of basic science research in Australian intensive care practice. We believe this is the first survey of Australian intensivists and trainees to assess the influence of basic science research on their clinical duties. We discuss the importance and influence of basic science in intensive care practice and the development of postgraduate appreciation of basic science, highlight the impact of some of the changes in medical education on basic science undergraduate teaching, and discuss the clinical applicability and current participation in basic science research.MethodsA questionnaire was mailed in November 2006 to all registered Fellows and trainees of the Joint Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine who were resident in Australia.Results267 of 801 surveys were returned (33% response rate): 74% of respondents believed basic science is an important or very important influence on clinical decision-making, which is consistent with previous studies, and 8% believed it is crucial. The most familiar areas of basic science research are those with established clinical applications, such as drug metabolism, regional perfusion and the complement cascade. Most current intensive care practitioners were taught basic science as undergraduates. Involvement in basic science research increases during intensive care training, from 10% before a medical degree to over 30% at the end of training, with over a quarter of practicing intensivists having a basic science degree. Despite this increase in interest during training, only 9% of journal club attendees reported that they discuss basic science articles.ConclusionCritical care practitioners consider basic science research to be relevant and important to their practice. There is interest in clinically applicable basic science research, but few people regularly review basic science articles at journal clubs. Reassuringly, participation in basic science research increases throughout intensive care training, despite changes in medical education and lack of protected time for research.

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