Wikipedia

The BMJ

(Redirected fromBMJ)
"BMJ" redirects here. For other uses, seeBMJ (disambiguation).

The BMJis a weeklypeer-reviewedmedical journal, published by BMJ Group, which in turn is wholly-owned by theBritish Medical Association(BMA).The BMJhas editorial freedom from the BMA.[1]It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Previously called theBritish Medical Journal,the title was officially shortened toBMJin 1988, and then changed toThe BMJin 2014.[2]The journal is published byBMJ Publishing Group Ltd,asubsidiaryof theBritish Medical Association(BMA). The currenteditor-in-chiefofThe BMJisKamran Abbasi,who was appointed in January 2022.[3]

The BMJ
DisciplineMedicine
LanguageEnglish
EditedbyKamran Abbasi
Publication details
Former name(s)
Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal, British Medical Journal, BMJ
History1840–present
Publisher
BMA (United Kingdom)
FrequencyWeekly
Immediate, research articles only
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License
93.6 (2023)
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4BMJ
Indexing
CODENDXRA5
ISSN0959-8138(print)
1756-1833(web)
LCCN97640199
JSTOR09598138
OCLCno.32595642
Links

History

edit

The journal began publishing on 3 October 1840 as theProvincial Medical and Surgical Journaland quickly attracted the attention of physicians around the world through its publication of high-quality original research articles and unique case reports.[4]TheBMJ's first editors wereP. Hennis Green,lecturer on the diseases of children at theHunterian School of Medicine,who also was its founder, andRobert StreetenofWorcester,a member of theProvincial Medical and Surgical Associationcouncil.[citation needed]

Cover of the 1st issue of theProvincial Medical and Surgical Journal

The first issue of theProvincial Medical and Surgical Journal(PMSJ) was 16 pages long and contained three simple woodcut illustrations. The longest items were the editors' introductory editorial and a report of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association's Eastern Branch. Other pages included a condensed version ofHenry Warburton's medical reform bill, book reviews, clinical papers, and case notes. There were2+1⁄2columns of advertisements. Inclusive of stamp duty it cost 7d, a price that remained until 1844. In their main article, Green and Streeten noted that they had "received as many advertisements (in proportion to the quantity of letter press) for our first number, as the most popular Medical Journal [The Lancet], after seventeen years of existence. "[4]

In their introductory editorial and later statements, Green and Streeten defined "the main objects of promotion of which theProvincial Medical and Surgical Journalis established ". Summarized, there were two clear main objectives: the advancement of the profession, especially in the provinces, and dissemination of medical knowledge. Green and Streeten also expressed an interest in promoting public well-being, as well as maintaining 'medical practitioners, as a class in that rank of society which, by their intellectual acquirements, by their general moral character, and by the importance of the duties entrusted to them, they are justly entitled to hold'.[4]

In April 1842 the journal was retitled theProvincial Medical Journal and Retrospect of the Medical Sciences,but two years later it reverted to thePMSJunder the sole editorship of Streeten. In 1857 theBMJfirst appeared, when thePMSJwas merged with theAssociated Medical Journal(Volumes 1–4; 1853–1856), which had itself evolved from theLondon Medical Journal(Volumes 1–4; 1849–1852) under the editorship ofJohn Rose Cormack.[5]

The BMJpublished the first centrally randomized controlled trial.[6]The journal also carried seminal papers on the causal effects of smoking on health[7][8]and lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking.[9]

For a long time, the journal's sole competitor wasThe Lancet,also based in the UK, but with increasing globalization,The BMJhas faced tough competition from other medical journals, particularlyThe New England Journal of Medicineand theJournal of the American Medical Association,[10]now known as JAMA.

In 1980, the journal split in two parts -British medical journal (Clinical research edition)[ISSN 0267-0623] andBritish medical journal (Practice observed edition)[ISSN 0267-0631].[11]

Journal content

edit

The BMJis an advocate ofevidence-based medicine.It publishes research as well as clinical reviews, recent medical advances, and editorial perspectives, among others.

A special "Christmas Edition" is published annually on the Friday before Christmas. This edition is known for research articles which apply a serious academic approach to investigating less serious medical questions.[12][13][14]The results are often humorous and widely reported by the mainstream media.[13][15]

The BMJhas anopen peer reviewsystem, in which authors are told who reviewed their manuscript. About half of all submitted articles are rejected without external review.[16]Manuscripts chosen for peer review are then reviewed by external experts, who comment on the importance of the work and its suitability for publication, before the final decision on a manuscript is made by the editorial ( "hanging" ) committee, so called because of its similarity to committees that decide which works of art should be hung in an exhibition. The acceptance rate is less than 7% for original research articles.[17]

At the beginning of February 2021,The BMJintroduced a charge of £299 for publishing obituaries. This was widely criticized on social media, by the British Medical Association among others, because of the large number of medical staff being killed by COVID-19.[18]The decision was explained, but reversed, by the end of the month.[19]

Rapid Recommendations

edit

In response to the many problems with traditionalmedical guidelines,the journal introducedBMJ Rapid Recommendations,a series of trustworthy guidelines focused on the most pressing medical problems.[20]

Rapid Responses

edit

The BMJpublishes most e-letters to the journal on its website under the heading Rapid Responses,[21]organized as a fully moderated Internet forum. Comments are screened for unacceptable content, such as libel or obscenity, and contributors may not remove or edit contributions once they have been published.[22]As of January 2013,88,500 rapid responses had been posted on the BMJ's website.[22]

Indexing and citations

edit

The BMJis included in the major indexesPubMed,MEDLINE,EBSCO,and theScience Citation Index.The journal has long criticized the misuse of impact factors to award grants and in the recruitment of researchers by academic institutions.[23]

The five journals that citedThe BMJmost often in 2008 were (in order of descending citation frequency)The BMJ,theCochrane Database of Systematic Reviews,The Lancet,BMC Public Health,andBMC Health Services Research.[24]In the same year the five journals most often cited in articles published inThe BMJwereThe BMJ,The Lancet,The New England Journal of Medicine,Journal of the American Medical Associationand theCochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.[24]

Impact

edit

In the 2023Journal Citation ReportsThe BMJ'simpact factorwas reported to be 93.6.[25]ranking it 3rd among general medical journals.[26]However,The BMJin 2013 reported that it had become a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (commonly known as theDora Agreement), which deprecates the inappropriate use of journal impact factors and urges journal publishers to "greatly reduce the emphasis on the journal impact factor as a promotional tool, ideally by ceasing to promote the impact factor or by presenting it in the context of a variety of journal-based metrics."[27]

Cello scrotum hoax article

edit

In 1974,Elaine Murphysubmitted a brief case report under her husband's nameJohnwhich suggested a condition known as "cello scrotum",a fictional condition that supposedly affected male cellists. It was originally submitted as a joke in response to" guitar nipple ",[28]a condition similar tojogger's nipplein which some forms of guitar playing causes irritation to the nipple, which Murphy and her husband believed was also a joke. The case report was published inThe BMJ,[29]and although not widely cited, it was cited occasionally, often by sceptics,[30][31]because, for example, "when the cello is held in typical playing position, the body of the instrument is not near the scrotum."[32]

In 2009, 35 years after the original case report was published, Murphy wrote a letter toThe BMJrevealing that the report had been a hoax.[33]

Website and access policies

edit

The BMJwent fully online in 1995 and archived all its issues on theWorld Wide Web.In addition to the print content, the site contains supporting material for original research articles, additional news stories, and electronic letters to the editors.

In 1999, all content ofThe BMJwas made freely available online; however, in 2006 this changed to a subscription model. Original research articles continue to be available free, but from January 2006 all other "added value" contents, including clinical reviews and editorials, require a subscription.The BMJallows complete free access for visitors from economically disadvantaged countries as part of theHINARIinitiative.[citation needed]

In October 2008The BMJannounced that it would become anopen accessjournal for research articles. A subscription continued to be required for access to other articles.[34]

Editions

edit

The BMJis principally an online journal, and only the website carries the full text content of every article. However, print editions are produced, targeting different groups of readers with selections of content, some of it abridged, and different advertising.[35]The print editions are:

  • General Practice(weekly) forgeneral practitioners
  • Clinical Research(weekly) for hospital doctors
  • Academic(monthly) for institutions, researchers, and medical academics

The BMJalso publishes a number of overseas/ foreign language editions: Argentine (in Spanish), Greek, Romanian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern (in English). There is also theStudent BMJ,an online resource for medical students and junior doctors, which publishes an annual print edition each September.

Other services and information

edit

The BMJoffers several alerting services, free on request:[36]

  • This Week In The BMJ:A weekly table of contents email, latest research, video, blogs and editorial comment.
  • Editor's choice:The Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor introduces a selection of the latest research, medical news, comment, and education each week.
  • Today on bmj.comA daily alert with links to a short selection of articles published inThe BMJin the previous 24 hours.

Editors

edit

References

edit
  1. ^"Publishing model".bmj.com.BMJ.Archivedfrom the original on 1 November 2020.Retrieved14 October2020.
  2. ^Payne, David; Abbasi, Kamran; Godlee, Fiona; Delamothe, Tony (30 June 2014)."The BMJ, the definite article".BMJ.348:g4168.doi:10.1136/bmj.g4168.ISSN1756-1833.PMID24982510.Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2020.Retrieved19 November2018.
  3. ^Kmietowicz, Zosia (15 December 2021)."Kamran Abbasi appointed as editor in chief of The BMJ".BMJ.pp. n3084.doi:10.1136/bmj.n3084.Archivedfrom the original on 23 December 2022.Retrieved22 December2022.
  4. ^abcBatrip P (1990).Mirror of Medicine: A History of the British Medical Journal.Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-261844-X.
  5. ^"Archive of" Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal "".NCBI.US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.Archivedfrom the original on 30 October 2016.Retrieved16 March2020.
  6. ^Medical Research Council (October 1948)."STREPTOMYCIN treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis".British Medical Journal.2(4582): 769–82.doi:10.1136/bmj.2.4582.769.PMC2091872.PMID18890300.
  7. ^Doll R, Hill AB (September 1950)."Smoking and carcinoma of the lung; preliminary report".British Medical Journal.2(4682): 739–48.doi:10.1136/bmj.2.4682.739.PMC2038856.PMID14772469.
  8. ^Doll R, Hill AB (June 1954)."The mortality of doctors in relation to their smoking habits; a preliminary report".British Medical Journal.1(4877): 1451–5.doi:10.1136/bmj.1.4877.1451.PMC2085438.PMID13160495.
  9. ^Doll R, Hill AB (November 1956)."Lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking; a second report on the mortality of British doctors".British Medical Journal.2(5001): 1071–81.doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5001.1071.PMC2035864.PMID13364389.
  10. ^Mayor S (2004)."BMJ and Lancet rank among the most clinically relevant medical journals".BMJ.329(7466): 592.doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7466.592-e.PMC516693.
  11. ^https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog?sort=pubdate&size=200&term=%22Br+Med+J%22%5BTitle+Abbreviation%5D[bare URL]
  12. ^Eveleth R (23 December 2013)."The Best of the British Medical Journal's Goofy Christmas Papers".The Smithsonian.Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2016.Retrieved14 January2016.
  13. ^abLiberman M (21 December 2007)."Language Log: 'Tis the season".Language Log.Archivedfrom the original on 9 November 2020.Retrieved30 January2009.
  14. ^Delamothe, Tony (22 December 2007)."Orthopaedic gorillas no more".BMJ.335(7633): 0.doi:10.1136/bmj.39430.559375.47.PMC2151146.Retrieved10 March2024.
  15. ^Bronson, Po; Merryman, Ashley (15 December 2014)."Santa's a Health Menace? Media Everywhere Are Falling for It—But the Study Was Meant as a Joke".Newsweek blog.Archived fromthe originalon 6 January 2010.
  16. ^"BMJ peer reviewers: resources — BMJ resources".The BMJ.Archivedfrom the original on 6 April 2011.Retrieved7 January2011.
  17. ^"Is The BMJ the right journal for my research article?".The BMJ.Archived fromthe originalon 31 August 2015.Retrieved7 September2015.Our rejection rate for research is currently around 93%.
  18. ^"British Medical Journal slated over 'disgraceful' obituary charge".the Guardian.22 February 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 22 February 2021.Retrieved22 February2021.
  19. ^Godlee, Fiona (23 February 2021)."Reversing our decision to charge for placing a BMJ obituary".The BMJ.Archivedfrom the original on 25 June 2022.Retrieved22 March2022.
  20. ^Siemieniuk RA, Agoritsas T, Macdonald H, Guyatt GH, Brandt L, Vandvik PO (2016)."Introduction to BMJ Rapid Recommendations".BMJ.354:i5191.doi:10.1136/bmj.i5191.PMID27680768.S2CID32498374.Archivedfrom the original on 17 July 2018.Retrieved22 March2022.
  21. ^"All Rapid Responses".The BMJ.Archivedfrom the original on 24 February 2024.Retrieved10 March2024.Constantly updated list.
  22. ^ab"Sharon Davies: Why we're reluctant to remove rapid responses from bmj.com".The BMJ opinion.31 January 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 5 March 2016.Retrieved14 January2016.
  23. ^Seglen PO (February 1997)."Why the impact factor of journals should not be used for evaluating research".BMJ.314(7079): 498–502.doi:10.1136/bmj.314.7079.497.PMC2126010.PMID9056804.
  24. ^ab"Web of Science".Archivedfrom the original on 14 February 2010.Retrieved23 February2010.
  25. ^"About BMJ".bmj.com.Archivedfrom the original on 7 October 2008.Retrieved22 June2015.
  26. ^2022 Journal Citation Report Science Edition, Clarivate, 2023.
  27. ^Mayor, Susan (3 July 2013)."BMJ joins campaign to put" science into assessment of research, "as its impact factor rises".BMJ.347:f4327.doi:10.1136/bmj.f4327.ISSN1756-1833.PMID23824094.Archivedfrom the original on 1 August 2020.Retrieved11 July2019.
  28. ^Curtis, P. (27 April 1974)."Letter: Guitar nipple".The BMJ.2(5912): 226.doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5912.226-a.PMC1610876.PMID4857619.
  29. ^Murphy, John M.(11 May 1974)."Letter: Cello scrotum".The BMJ.2(5914): 335.doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5914.335-a.PMC1610985.PMID4827125.(Retracted, seedoi:10.1136/bmj.b379,Retraction Watch)
  30. ^Gambichler, Thilo; Boms, Stefanie; Freitag, Marcus (2004)."Contact dermatitis and other skin conditions in instrumental musicians".BMC Dermatology.4(4): 3.doi:10.1186/1471-5945-4-3.PMC416484.PMID15090069.
  31. ^Rimmer, Steve; Spielvogel, Richard L. (April 1990). "Dermatologic problems of musicians".J. Amer. Acad. Dermatology.22(4): 657–663.doi:10.1016/0190-9622(90)70093-W.PMID2138638.
  32. ^Shapiro, Philip E. (1991)."'Cello scrotum' questioned ".J. Amer. Acad. Dermatology.24(4): 665.doi:10.1016/s0190-9622(08)80178-8.PMID1827803.(in reference toRimmer & Spielvogel 1990)
  33. ^Murphy, Elaine; Murphy, John (January 2009)."Murphy's lore".The BMJ.338:b288.doi:10.1136/bmj.b288.PMID19174435.S2CID34252130.
  34. ^Suber P (20 October 2008)."BMJ converts to OA".Open Access News.Archived fromthe originalon 10 November 2012.Retrieved20 October2008.
  35. ^"The BMJ and Student BMJ ISSNs".The BMJ. Archived fromthe originalon 17 April 2016.Retrieved14 January2016.
  36. ^"Receiving email alerts".The BMJ.Archivedfrom the original on 14 November 2015.Retrieved14 January2016.
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related toThe BMJ.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_BMJ&oldid=1240640976"