Guidelines for Authors

Why write for the studentBMJ?

The studentBMJ is an international magazine for medical students and is available both free on the web and in paper form for our subscribers. More than 16 000 people subscribe and we currently get more than 250 000 visits (2 million hits) each month, so it's the ideal forum for you to share your ideas and experiences with an international community of medics. Before you actually start writing, it's worth asking yourself a few of questions to save yourself a lot of time and effort.

  • What message do you want to get across and do you think it will fit into the studentBMJ? (See section make up to get a better idea of what we publish.)
  • Do you think it will interest other people?
  • Has it been done before in the same format in the studentBMJ? (You can find out by doing a search on the studentBMJ website or emailing the editor studenteditor@bmj.com) or your local studentBMJ adviser.
  • If you are writing about patients you have seen, or about experiences involving patients in any way, have you obtained written informed consent from them? If you haven't, the studentBMJ will not publish the article or will edit out the appropriate part.
  • At this point, it's worth noting that we don't publish original research or essays that you have written for your course - in other words, articles should be written with the studentBMJ in mind.

If you have satisfactorily answered these questions then the next thing to do is write your article for the appropriate part of the magazine. The studentBMJ is divided into nine sections, each of which has different requirements for the articles published in it. Below are the guidelines for the different types of article published in the studentBMJ.

There is also some general advice that applies to all authors and all articles. Other important things to find here are information on consent and where you can also get the official BMJ consent paperwork.

Lastly, remember that we pay authors for most articles that we publish and you can find information on the rates we pay in this section too.

When you submit your article, you also need to send in the following forms:
Competing interests:
Licence for publication/copyright:
And if approrpiate, patient consent:

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Some General Advice for Authors
  • Read the guidelines for the type of article you want to write.
  • To make sure that the topic you want to write about has not been covered before, do a quick search in our topic collections (which covers all content since January 2000)
  • If you are still unsure about the subject you want to write about, or feel like you need more advice, contact the editor at studenteditor@bmj.com or contact your local studentBMJ adviser.
  • Remember that the studentBMJ has a broad international readership so try, as far as possible, to keep your articles internationally relevant and keep the language as simple as possible. (You're writing to communicate a message, not to show off how many long words you know.)
  • We need electronic copies of your work. The best way to submit articles is by email as an attachment (we use Microsoft Word so please make sure whatever you use is compatible so that we can open it). Please make sure your references are complete.
  • If you have any high quality pictures to accompany your article, please email them to us. These must be high resolution JPEG or TIFF files. You can also send us photographic prints to scan in (BMJ Editorial, BMA House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JR).
  • You can send diagrams and annotations but please note that we always get these redrawn by a professional illustrator.
  • Unless explicitly stated by the editor, there is no guarantee of publication of your article.
  • Most submitted articles will have to go to our monthly Student Editorial Committee (SEC), a panel of 100 medical student advisors from all around the world who help guide the studentBMJ and its content. The SEC views articles on a secure website and decides if they think an article should be published. It will either decide to accept, reject, or return the article to the author for amendments.
  • Even if your article is accepted for publication, it will be edited, and will normally undergo changes before it hits the pages. If we make major changes to your article (not very often) we will send it to you to approve. If you are emailed for approval or to check the article, we need you to get back to us very quickly (usually with in 3 days) if we are to consider any further changes you make.
  • Please note that if you submit work to the studentBMJ then you may not submit it elsewhere for publication without our explicit consent. As the publisher of content, we own the exclusive licence of your article. On the same note, we will not publish an article that has been published elsewhere. However, if you rework it, we might consider it.
  • Please ensure that you meet our requirements for patient consent.
  • Check out the tips from a student adviser.
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Types of article in the studentBMJ

Editorials

  • Editorials discuss current hot topics or important issues in medicine and medical education. Topics can relate to anything from reforms in undergraduate education to the influence of international policy on health to new surgical techniques. There is a lot of scope for ideas and we do especially like topics that are controversial.
  • You can structure an editorial so that it has a slant. This means that you can express your opinion so long as you back it up with facts. However, it is not simply an opportunity to rant.
  • All facts in an editorial should be referenced, though we do place a standard limit of 12 references at most per article. We are increasingly putting the references on the website only and not in the paper magazine.
  • An editorial shouldn't be any longer than 1200 words.
  • It has to be checked (or coauthored) by an expert in the area you are writing about. For example, if your editorial is about medical education, then get it checked by a medical educationalist. We will normally ask for written proof of this. This rule does not apply if you are an expert yourself.
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News

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Education

  • Education articles are meant to teach students things that they will need during their undergraduate studies, in their exams, and in their early years as doctors.
  • The studentBMJ has a policy of trying not to publish material that students can just find in standard text books. Education articles should either be about subjects not well covered in academic books, or if about commonly covered subjects then the article should provide a new way of learning about it. This should be presented in a novel way (for example, have case studies, scenarios, and key points) so that your article is different to what our readers would see in a standard text book.
  • Education articles must be coauthored with an expert in the area you are writing about. For example, if you are writing an article about x rays, then it should be written in conjunction with a radiologist.
  • The maximum number of words for an education article is 1500. However, if the subject you want to write about needs more space then you can split it into 2 parts or even work on a series of articles. However, if you want to do this then you should check with the editor and, for series, you will need to produce an outline of the whole set of articles saying what you will cover in each.
  • Diagrams and boxes should be clear and properly referenced in the article text.
  • Picture quizzes should be in standard format. Look at previous quizzes for an idea of you should write them. The format is a brief presentation, a few questions based on the image, the answers, then a discussion. The word limit for the text is 800 and don't forget that you will need written informed consent from the patient.
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Papers plus

  • Papers is a section of the journal that students are not allowed to write for. This is because it is where we reproduce a study from BMJ, and then get a critical appraisal guide written by a public health physician to help readers begin to understand research. Understandably, this requires expert skills.
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Careers

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Profiles

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Tips on

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Life

  • Life articles are about anything to do with medicine and being a medical student so the scope of these is enormous. Articles can cover special projects, (such as working in a refugee camp), alternative or eccentric subjects which usually have some sort of medical link (such as radical medical innovations), general life experiences and student issues or problems (such as studying for exams), or political topics (such as describing or critiquing a health care system)-the list is endless.
  • Writing life articles should be fun as you have more creative licence with them than other articles.
  • If you have an idea, you may want to pitch it at the editor (or your local student adviser) first, who can give you more advice about how to approach it.
  • We don't require an expert coauthor for Life articles but any facts you mention should still be referenced.
  • In the past, we have published articles about electives and exchanges. From now on, all reports are to be submitted via the Electives and Exchanges section on studentbmj.com
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Spotlight on

  • These are magazine style features allowing students to cover topical and controversial subjects in a lighter way than an editorial. Examples of topics include medical students receiving free gifts from pharmaceutical companies, views from doctors about accession to the European Union, and the effects of the Bologna process, and so on.
  • We'd like the subject to be as topical and as cutting edge as possible. But you should always try to address the issue in an objective way and represent both sides of the argument if you can.
  • For this section, we strongly advise you to pitch your idea to the editor first of all. We will be able to give you guidance about how to approach your topic and suggest angles to take and people to speak to.
  • You should try to seek out good sources of information and get quotes from experts
  • As usual, any facts should be backed up with references.
  • Make good use of boxes and sources or links for further information.
  • This feature can also be longer than an editorial and can be up to 2000 words.
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Rapid Responses

  • Rapid responses are exactly that-responses to something previously published in the studentBMJ.
  • They should all be submitted as rapid responses to the relevant article or letter, through the response system on studentbmj.com
  • At the end of each article on the web, there is the option to submit a response to the article. This is where you should write them.
  • A letter shouldn't be any longer than 400 words.
  • All letters submitted as rapid responses are published on our website unless they are in breach of libel laws or ethical committee guidelines (these are set by BMJ)
  • There is no guarantee of publication of any letter or rapid response in the paper version of the studentBMJ.
  • Please note that even though we have a low threshold for posting rapid responses (in line with bmj.com policy) your rapid response will not be posted if it is libellous or defamatory in any way
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Reviews

  • The Reviews section includes a number of different articles.
  • In the past, we have featured a lot of books, but we are moving away from them towards more website reviews (see below for "What's on the web"), workshops and seminars for students, theatre, and film.
  • A review is an article that critically appraises a book, CD ROM, film, audio CD, art or museum exhibition, theatre play, or other form of media. The subject of the review has to have some sort of link to medicine or medical students. It is often worth checking with the editor if you are in doubt about your subject.
  • Note that we do not publish reviews of academic text books in the paper version of studentBMJ.
  • The maximum number of words for a review is dependent on the subject. For books, films, CDs and CD ROMs we normally look at no more than 500 words. For reviews of exhibitions and plays we allow up to 850 words.
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Viewpoints

  • These articles have replaced personal views and allow you to express your own point of view on any issues relevant to medical students. You can use it as your soapbox to have a rant or to recount your own experience of something. We like these to tackle controversial subjects.
  • An article for Viewpoint shouldn't be longer than 450 words.

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What's on the web?

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Eyespy

  • ? Eyespy is a section where you can read snippets of information about quirky reports, which you may not have seen in the global medical press or which are relevant to medical students. If you see a study that relates to medical students, this is your opportunity to highlight it and bring it to the fore.
  • You should send in any unusual or funny medical reports you come across. You will get no publication credit for this (after all, it isn't your original publication) but it helps us to compile Eyespy and you can mention it on your CV.
  • The type of things you may want to submit to Eyespy are studies about medical students that will not make a news story, novel research and studies, outcomes from international conferences and workshops, and so on.
  • We also publish very short case reports on important or unusual clinical presentations.
  • You can submit a photo and short patient report for Eyespy. This must be coauthored with an expert or the doctor who looked after the patient. It should not exceed 200 words and the photo must be supplied. Please also ensure that you obtain full, written patient consent (see the section in these guidelines on consent).
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Consent

  • ? studentBMJ has strict guidelines regarding consent from people featured in articles, especially if there is a carer patient relationship involved. These guidelines are in line with the policy of BMJ Publishing Group.
  • Please ensure that you have obtained full consent from any identifiable patients in your articles before submitting it to us. We recommend using the BMJ consent forms for this purpose. You can use your own if they explain the purpose of the patient's information fully.
  • If you are unable to obtain consent then the patient should be in no way identifiable. We will probably still have to modify the article further, possibly completely removing the patient from your article. In some cases, lack of consent is grounds to reject an article for publication.
  • Read the BMJ's position on consent guidelines.
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Rates of Pay for Authors

  • The studentBMJ pays authors for articles if they are published in the paper version of the journal. We do not pay for letters, and we do not pay for material published on the web only.
  • We pay in the author's local currency, based on the exchange rate from sterling at the time.
  • Payment is only made after publication of the article, and can take up to four weeks from that point.
  • The rates of pay for authors, are
    • News, short reviews (<500 words), personal views, fillers, Minerva short cases, other miscellaneous articles less than 500 words £50 (€80, $80 or whatever the current exchange rate is)
    • Editorials, education articles, careers articles, profiles, life articles, long reviews (>500 words) £100 (€160, $160 or whatever the current exchange rate is)

    (Last updated 18/04/04)