Is It Worth Publishing in a Medical Students’ Journal? Insights From a 10-Year Journey

Abstract

Very little has been said about young scientists publishing in Journals that are led and carried forward by medical students or recently graduated physicians themselves. What has been said, however, is not always supportive. For some, these Journals should not exist, arguing that medical student research is for the sole purpose of training or rather, it should be aimed at reaching the level of rigor and impact held by other professional journals. For others, the lack of indexing and impact make these Journals a place where potential visibility and recognition is lost. Yet, there is a community of believers who see us as a way to improve science by training the next generation from the onset of their careers. A for-students, by-students Journal is the crossroads between publication, and therefore visibility, of student research, and a training ground for the ins and outs of peer-review and the writing standards held in science and medicine. With time, the rigor and excellence of these journals grows, and indexing follows. We shared exciting news as well as a summary of the articles that we are publishing in this issue.

Advancing Research Through Early-Career Scientists’ Publications and Training the Next Generation of Medical Editors: The First 10-Years of the International Journal of Medical Students

“…1 Other accomplishments that are noteworthy in the journal's first decade of existence include the indexing of multiple publications in PubMed Central (PMC). 1,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Another major accomplishment can be appreciated when looking at the journal's success as it pertains to funding of the research that is published. Medical students under the mentorship of investigators with funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) of the United States have specifically chosen the IJMS to publish their work.…”

Global Needs and Barriers for Medical Research Education: Initiatives to Solve the Physician-Scientists Shortage

“…Our innovative, 10-year tested and validated, two-step peer-reviewing process help us achieve high quality early-career scientists publications. [2][3][4] It includes a step of real peers (medical students with publications) reviewing and suggesting ways to improve the research or the way that is being described or analyzed to make it into a publishable scientific article.…”