Submissions

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word document file format.
Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
The text is double-spaced; uses 12-point Times New Roman font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.
If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.
Authors must detail any potential conflicts of interest within their submission in comments to the editor.

Author Guidelines

Information for Authors

The Memorial University Medical Journal (MUNMJ) accepts manuscripts and other works written in English. Submissions should focus on the medical field and its aspects including biomedical research, clinical research, medical education, surgery, public health, or community health and humanities.

In addition to the implied original research articles MUNMJ also publishes editorials, opinion pieces, case reports and review articles among other pieces. Full criteria for each category of accepted submissions can be found under our Section Policies below. Other creative endeavours (e.g. poetry, short-story, photography, etc.) related to medicine/healthcare are also considered for publication on a case-by-case basis through correspondence with the Editor-in-Chief via email at munmedjournal@mun.ca.

The Memorial University Medical Journal does not charge author fees or processing charges for publication.

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically via our online submission system. Manuscripts must be a MS Word (.doc/.docx) file that is: double-spaced, in a 12-point times new roman font, with pages numbered consecutively in the top right corner using the automatic page numbering function in Word. All included figures must be submitted as a separate TIFF file(s).

Failure to conform to these guidelines and those below may lead to significant delay in publication.

Manuscript Structure

Title Page

Must include:

Full names and affiliations of the author(s).
Concise and informative title.
A mailing address, telephone, and e-mail for the corresponding author.
Acknowledgment of funding, grants, or any potential author conflict of interest.

Abstract

Each article must be preceded by a structured abstract no longer than 250 words. Abstracts should state the rationale/purpose of the study, methods or procedures used to carry it out, and summarize the main findings/conclusions.

Tables

All tables should be numbered sequentially, as they are referred to within the text, with arabic numerals. Each table should be accompanied by a title explaining the table components. Any abbreviations should be detailed in the footnotes of the table.

Figures

Photographs and/or illustrations. For vector graphics, the preferred file type is EPS. Half-tone images should be submitted as TIFF files. Name your figure files “Fig”, followed by the figures number (e.g. Fig1.tiff).

Figure captions should appear at the end of the manuscript on a separate page. When preparing your figures, please keep in mind that they need to fit into either one or two columns of text for publication. In other words, the figures should appear properly at half- or full-page width.

References

This section should come near the end (just before any figure captions). References should be numbered sequentially in the order they are referenced in the main body of text. Additionally, each item should be single-spaced. If there are more than three authors for a given reference, only the first three author should be listed followed by “et al.”.

Each reference should contain author last name along with first and middle initial. Article title in sentence case. Abbreviated journal title. Publication year; journal volume (issue), and page numbers. doi #. (Please see examples below).

When providing page numbers, the second number should be truncated as follows:

1226 – 37 and NOT 1226 – 1237.

Reference Style

In-text Citations

Each reference should be cited in the text using superscript Arabic numerals. These superscript numbers should appear outside periods. Multiple references may be cited in the same instance. If you are citing sequential references, these should be indicated with a hyphen, whereas non-sequential references should be separated with commas. There should not be a space between numbers.

Examples:

Lamont & Weber (2015) found…¹

A recent study by Janes et al. (2023) indicated example findings.²

Citation Format & Examples

Journal Article

Author AA, Author BB, Author CC, et al. Title in sentence case. Abbreviated Journal Title in Title Case. Year;volume(Issue#):PP-PP. doi: ##

Lamont MG, McCallum P, Head N, et al. Binge drinking in male rats and its relationship to persistent behavioral impairments and elevated proinflammatory/proapoptotic proteins in the cerebellum. Psychopharmacol. 2020;237(5):1305-15. doi:10.1007/s00213-020-05458-3

Chapter in Book

Author AA, Author BB. Title of chapter. In: Editor AA, Editor BB, eds. Book Title. Vol no. Nth ed. Publisher; Year:page numbers. DOI or URL (if applicable)

Dog TL. Botanicals in the management of pain. In: Audette JF, Bailey A, eds. Contemporary Pain Medicine: Integrative Pain Medicine: the Science and Practice of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Pain Management. Humana Press; 2008:447-470.

Book

Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Book Title. Vol no. Nth ed. Publisher; Year.

Cameron P, Little M, Mitra B, Deasy C, eds. Textbook of Adult Emergency Medicine. 5th ed. Elsevier; 2020.

Website

Author Last name OR Group name. Title of page. Site name. (Year, Month date). URL

Price D. Laziness does not exist. Medium. (2018, March 23). https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01

Original Research

Original research submissions are not subject to specific word limits; however, they should be written in a succinct and concise manner. Reported data must be original and as timely as possible. Manuscripts should contain an introductory section that states a study objective; study design and methods (including study dates and setting, inclusion and exclusion criteria, study participants and response rate, as well as utilized outcome measures); results, discussion (which addresses the findings in the context of previously published literature, any limitations of the study and relevant implications); conclusion.

Being Human in Medicine - Our Stories

Submissions are narrative descriptions given by physicians, medical students, or residents with a purpose of cultivating self-compassion and providing tips for wellbeing and success in medicine through personal stories. These narratives should attempt to present lived experiences and their relation to personal growth and medical practice/schooling along with any relevant individual interpretations. While candid, submissions must respect the confidentially of any involved individuals and not exceed 1000 words. These submissions should not be centred around specific patient encounters, but rather the experiences of the writer.

Book Review

All book reviews must be approved in advance by the Editor-in-Chief. Reviewers should refrain from reporting on books for which they have a conflict of interest. Book reviews should not exceed 1000 words and should provide an informative, engaging and critical discussion of a work relevant to the field of medicine. Additionally, the review should reflect a number of key elements of the work:

Overview of the book's author(s)
A description of who the work is intended for
Key ideas and major objectives of the book
Comparison to other pertinent works in the area
Comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the publication

Case Report

Case reports should be concise reports detailing practical lessons relevant to a general audience not in excess of 1500 words; 20 references. Individual reports should contain four sections detailing background, case presentation, discussion and conclusions. Please include a brief abstract (150 words or less) highlighting the main points of each of the the four sections of the manuscript. Preference is given to unusual presentations of common conditions as well as important presentations of rare conditions. Case reports should provide exceptional focus on the utilized clinical approach and management strategy and reasoning for such.

Clinical Images

The Clinical Images section is used to present dramatic presentations of various conditions, with reference given to unusual presentations of common conditions as well as important presentations of rare conditions. Submissions are limited to one image (accompanied by a figure caption) and a concise, 500-word maximum, description of the image and up to 5 references. The description should contain a brief history, examination, and findings from investigations.

Commentary

Commentaries must be based on articles previously published in the Memorial University Medical Journal and not exceed 1000 words or 10 references. Typically, commentaries are solicited, however, we will also consider unsolicited works of this nature on a case-by-case basis.

Interviews

All interviews must be approved in advance by the Editor-in-Chief. Interviews consist of a Q&A style report conducted with a medical professional or scientist who has contributed greatly to their field. These submissions should highlight the interviewed individual’s educational and professional backgrounds, contributions to the field and reflection on experiences during their career. Additionally, interviews should contain any relevant advice for students wishing to pursue a similar career.

Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor should begin with “To the Editor,” and not exceed 500 words; 5 references. Submitted works must be related to previously published articles in the Memorial University Medical Journal. The Letter to the Editor section is not peer reviewed and publication is at the discretion of the editorial team. Letters to the Editor may be edited for clarity or length and may be subject to peer review at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

Patient Encounters

Encounters are narrative descriptions by caregivers, medical students or residents pertaining to real-time patient interactions that stimulated significant reflection and growth. These submissions should present a thought-provoking topic with evident immediacy and realism to our healthcare system. While candid, submissions must respect the confidentially of involved patients and colleagues and not exceed 1200 words. Signed releases must be obtained from all people who may potentially self-identify.

Quality Assurance/Improvement

Quality Assurance/Improvement pieces should follow the same submission guidelines as original research articles as detailed above.

Opinion

Opinion submissions are designed to present a personal, anecdotal or thought-provoking view on controversial issues in science or medicine relevant to medical students, residents, practicing physicians and/or patients. These pieces should be written in such a way that can be understood by a wide readership from medical and non-medical disciplines. Submissions should not exceed 2000 words.

Perspective

Submissions falling under the perspectives category are intended to discuss recent news and developments relevant to medicine (scientific discoveries & innovations, policies, economics, technological advances, education, etc.). These submissions can express personal opinion, but should be stated as such from the outset. Submissions should not exceed 2000 words.

Reviews

Authors conducting systematic reviews or meta-analyses should attempt to address a specific question while adhering to PRISMA statement checklist and flow diagram (http://www.prisma-statement.org/PRISMAStatement/PRISMAStatement)

Authors conducting scoping reviews should also adhere to PRISMA guidelines while attempting to address a specific research question (http://www.prisma-statement.org/Extensions/ScopingReviews)

Rapid reviews are an additional form of knowledge synthesis which accelerates the process of conducting a traditional systematic review through streamlining or omitting. Submissions should attempt to adhere as closely to PRISMA guidelines as possible.

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work

Privacy Statement

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