It is often stated on these forums that people who believe in creation can't be real scientists or if they are, they are failed scientists.
I would not say that - and I don't think people claim that either. What is often seen is named scientist , or referred to as a scientific source by creationists, in these forums. These, referred to, scientist are often claimed to be failed scientist. I.e. the scientist as source (or as authority in the field) has been rejected based on their own (failed) achievements in their field of profession. Some of these "scientist" are not even scientist, and if they are, they are most often not scientist or experts in the field they have an opinion - supposed to validate the YEC argument - so why should such scientist opinion then matter more than mine, your, or anyone else opinion?
Imo, a creationist scientist is not a scientist in creationism but a scientist that also happens to believe in creation. Simply because there is no know research field called "creationism" - this have even been acknowledged by leading creationists them self.
Therefore, I see a difference in naming someone a "scientist" and a "creationist scientist". It does not mean (s)he is a scientist in creations or that creations is a science - it just mean some scientist are labeled with their belief, just like a scientist can be called a "religious scientist" - that does not mean religion is science, does it?
In that respect creationist scientist are real scientist, but they are scientist that carries non-scientific beliefs. I have no problem with that. Just like I have no problem with a "religious scientist".
However, it begins to becomes a problem when one starts to claim once non-scientific beliefs are scientific and this is where the so called "creationist scientist" comes into the picture. When you start to say that creation and science is compatible and when you further on claims evolution is false, this where we start to see these so called failed scientist pop up.
But what does it mean to fail as a scientist?
In science your success rate is measured in number of publication, number of grad student you produce, the size of your research group, your influence on other scientist research, etc, etc. If you look at these factors, then you soon find out that "creationist scientist" do below average, e.g. the poster child of Intelligent Design, Michael Behe, fits in here.
If we look at "creationist scientists" at creationist institutes like Answer In Genesis (AiG), then it is even worse. There scientific achievement is far below average. Based on the measurement YEC organiaations have, I could call myself a scientist, but I don't.