Write on!

Students often email me to ask what topic they should write about. They think too highly of me: I have a finite amount of knowledge, experience, and ideas. Ideas are the lifeblood of journals, so I respond, “Why don’t you tell me your ideas?”

The Student BMJ editorial and production crew: Giselle Jones (senior editor), John Mayor (production editor), Adam Di Chiara (senior artworker), Hugh Ip (student editor), Richard Hurley (technical editor), Les Perkins (proofreader)

Huza Zhang, a medical student at Oxford University, followed through with the idea he pitched. Although ethnically Chinese, he grew up in Britain. Wanting to find out about medical student life in China, he visited Capital Medical University in Beijing. I am delighted to publish his unique perspective because it fulfils the first of my three key criteria for choosing articles for Student BMJ—original angles, added value, and relevance (http://student.bmj.com/issues/08/07/life/266.php).

The second criterion, about adding value, is that articles should be different from what you can find in standard textbooks, in terms of presentation or content. We don’t want authors to redesign the look of our articles but to present information in new ways. Summary tables, figures, and diagrams are always helpful. Tariq Ayoub and Laura Ferrigan have done just that, pulling together information about various aspects of Parkinson’s disease care to explain how the multidisciplinary approach works (http://student.bmj.com/issues/08/07/education/280.php).

Nevertheless, some countries lack a well developed multidisciplinary approach. So although the best way to understand the function of multidisciplinary team meetings is to attend one, this may not be an option for every medical student. Because the topic is not covered in many textbooks I recommend an article that seeks to fill the gap (http://student.bmj.com/issues/08/07/education/280.php).

The third criterion is that the topic must be relevant to medical students. As I finish my year at the Student BMJ I will be exchanging the stress of publication deadlines for the inevitable pressure of medical school (http://student.bmj.com/issues/08/07/careers/272.php). Some medical students resort to stimulants to increase their concentration, as discussed in an article in the April issue (2008;16:142-3; http://student.bmj.com/issues/08/04/life/142.php). But surely the pressures of medical school cannot compare with what athletes will face at the Beijing Olympics. If history is any guide, some of them will be tempted to use illicit substances to enhance performance. We are unlikely to see gene doping scandals in Beijing because its research is still at a developmental phase. But it could happen in London 2012. Richard Brixley and David Gould take you through the details (http://student.bmj.com/issues/08/07/education/282.php).

I hope that you will continue submitting excellent articles to the Student BMJ. That will certainly make the new student editor’s job a pleasure. I wish Jessie Colquhoun the very best as she takes over. I am excited about returning to clinical studies, despite my worries about the workload that comes with it. Christopher Martyn’s article has reassured me that medicine does not have to be all consuming (http://student.bmj.com/issues/08/07/life/271.php). If we want, we can always find time to convert that great idea into an article.

   

 Printable version     Download PDF   E-mail this to a friend   Respond to this article