UNA EXPERIENCIA CON LA EVALUACIóN INDIVIDUAL CON LA PRODUCTIVIDAD ACADéMICA EN LA FACULTAD DE MEDICINA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DE SAN PABLO, BRASIL

summary: the university of s？o paulo compares favourably with a middle-ranking research university in the united states. peer review at its school of medicine is basically honest. however, in today's world of intense specialization, most medical subdisciplines are simply too small and close-knit to allow for objective peer review from within. moreover, the biomedical sciences have come to the point where there is no real separation between the disciplines. most university faculties are poorly paid public servants who have a job for life, and a salary paid by the government. in s？o paulo, brazil, state universities receive around 10% of the state taxes; sooner or later they will have to have something to show for it. following three decades of very low wages, the present system pays salaries to non-productive staff and results in poor peer review of academic productivity. our school of medicine receives substantial support through a private foundation set up for that purpose. an efficient use of resources should include a budgetary system that provides the faculty staff with incentives to excel in academic activities. this has been obtained by complementing the low wages through the awarding of fellowships, grants and prizes (on top of salary) in order to raise the ceiling up to international standards. to spend part of the budget in complementing university faculties salaries would require special programs, including adoption of routines for regular assessment of academic productivity. reliable performance indicators permitted the classification of faculty staff into quality categories in order to differentially complement their salaries according to productivity. the selection of individuals is based strictly on merit, with explicit guidelines helping the faculty to understand the criteria by which their requests will be judged. budgetary priorities should be intended to enhance the ability to deliver high quality health care to patients and to provide medical educ