THE INVESTIGATION OF MEDICAL STUDENT JOURNALS

Abstract

Aims: The aim of our study is to examine and evaluate data of medical student journals from around the world for the year 2020. Methods: In this observational study 20 medical student journals were examined. Data analyzed comprised of the year of foundation, country of origin, number of issues per year, types of articles published, and the total number of articles published in a year. Issues that were published in 2020 only were taken into consideration. Results: In 2020, the majority of medical student journals were based in the United States of America, followed by Canada. There were only four indexed (Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded, PubMed) medical student journals; three were from the United States of America, and one from Canada. In comparison with other journals, the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine had the most published issues. They also have the most crowded editorial board. Overall, the median of people on the editorial boards and advisory boards were 17.5 and 14, respectively. The median for issues per year was 2. The median number of publications in medical student journals in 2020 was 23. Among them, 13.1% were original research articles, 10.8% review articles, 9.4% case reports, 4.9% editorials, and 2.9% letters to the editor. The remaining 59.0% were publications that fell into the "others" category. Conclusion: In conclusion, the majority of medical student journals are based in North America and Europe, and a substantial amount of the published articles falls into the “others” category. Considering the lack of effective guidance and regulations with relevance to indexing. Medical student journals face certain challenges regarding visibility, accessibility, and publishing articles. However, provided that the editors of medical student journals remain keen, motivated, and focused, medical student journals will contribute to the scientific community by creating a supportive and intellectual environment for aspiring researchers where they can enhance their understanding of scientific research and publishing skills.

Keywords

• Medical students
• medical student journal
• publications

References

1. 1. Al-Busaidi IS, Sharif K, Hassan A. Gender, geographic and socioeconomic representation in medical student journals: a cross-sectional analysis. Cureus 2021;13(1):e12838.
2. 2. Alamri Y. How do medical student journals fare? A global survey of journals run by medical students. Educ Health (Abingdon) 2016;29(2):136-41.
3. 3. Thawani R, Kaur G, Chatterjee P et al. From the editors of a student journal. Educ Health (Abingdon) 2013;26(2):115-6.
4. 4. Al-Busaidi IS, Alamri Y. Peer review policies in medical student journals. Post- grad Med J 2018;94(1112):362-3.
5. 5. Bonilla-Escobar FJ, Bonilla-Velez J, Tobon-Garcia D et al. Medical student re- searchers in Colombia and associated factors with publication: a cross-sectional study. BMC Med Educ 2017;17(1):254.
6. 6. Chang Y, Ramnanan CJ. A review of literature on medical students and scholarly research: experiences, attitudes, and outcomes. Acad Med 2015;90(8):1162-73.
7. 7. Al-Busaidi IS, Wells CI, Wilkinson TJ. Publication in a medical student journal predicts short- and long-term academic success: a matched-cohort study. BMC Med Educ 2019;19(1):271.
8. 8. Navalta JW, Lyons TS. Student peer review decisions on submitted manuscripts are as stringent as faculty peer reviewers. Adv Physiol Educ 2010;34(4):170-3.

9. 9. Ha TC, Ng S, Chen C et al. Inclination towards research and the pursuit of a re- search career among medical students: an international cohort study. BMC Med Educ 2018;18(1):86.
10. 10. Amgad M, Man Kin Tsui M, Liptrott SJ et al. Medical student research: an in- tegrated mixed-methods systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2015;10(6):e0127470.
11. 11. Fang D, Meyer RE. Effect of two Howard Hughes medical institute research train- ing programs for medical students on the likelihood of pursuing research careers. Acad Med 2003;78(12):1271-80.
12. 12. Lin S. Student journals: facilitating medical student research and physician-scien- tist development. Mcgill J Med 2006;9(2):82-3.
13. 13. Milewicz DM, Lorenz RG, Dermody TS et al. Rescuing the physician scientist workforce: the time for action is now. J Clin Invest 2015;125(10):3742-7.
14. 14. Al-Busaidi IS. Medical student journals: critical to the development of physi- cian-scientists. Educ Health (Abingdon) 2016;29(3):273-4.
15. 15. Malin B, Carley K. A longitudinal social network analysis of the editorial boards of medical informatics and bioinformatics journals. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2007;14(3):340-8.
16. 16. Angel-Isaza AM, Botero-Suarez HF, Gonzalez DC et al. Interest of medical stu- dents for investigation. CIMEL 2010;15(1):9-13.