Success at Publishing in Biomedical Journals: Hints From a Journal Editor

Abstract

Scholarly activity is what distinguishes the academic physician from the nonacademic physician. Because decisions concerning hiring, as well as academic promotion and tenure, are generally based on such scholarly activity, there is considerable cynicism expressed by physicians about the process: ‘‘the object of science is publication,’’ ‘‘publish or perish,’’ or ‘‘promotion committees can count but not read.’’ The system of physician education is partly to blame for this situation. From entry into medical school, students are tasked with memorizing the vast knowledge base of biomedical sciences and are given little opportunity for creative scientific thinking. As clinical clerks, and then as house officers, their tasks are to follow protocols for obtaining the symptom history, doing the physical examination, and performing various procedures or surgery. More senior trainees acquire some experience in teaching their junior colleagues. Thus, by the completion of training programs, physicians are good at clinical service activities and have done some teaching, and therefore, are well-equipped to enter a nonacademic practice. However, those choosing an academic career find that scholarly activity is more prized than the clinical service and teaching activities. Too often, the new academic faculty physician receives no mentoring on scholarly activities and is basically in a ‘‘sink or swim’’ situation. Even more problematic is the fact that scholarly activity is generally equated with publication in scientific journals. The need for the published documentation of scholarly activity has resulted in a proportional growth in scientific journals. Since the publication of the first widely-circulated scientific journal 1 —the Philosophical Transactions of the

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