Submissions

Author Guidelines

Res Medica accepts various types of articles that benefit our medical student audience. All our articles are peer reviewed by a student and a clinical or academic expert. Please see Peer Review Process.  Please note we do not charge authors for publication.

All authors must register with the journal before submitting online.

We will notify authors of the outcome of their submission as soon as possible during the review process. Please email the editor if you have any questions (editor@royalmedical.co.uk).

The Res Medica conforms to the guidelines as set out on the EQUATOR network. For all original research and systematic review articles, we ask authors to conform to the international guidelines below, complete the relevant checklist and attach it with the submission as a supplementary file.

•CONSORT checklist for a randomised controlled trial.

•PRISMA checklist and flowchart for a systematic review or meta-analysis of randomised trials and other evaluation studies

•MOOSE checklist for a meta-analysis of observational studies

•STARD checklist and flowchart for a study of diagnostic accuracy

•STROBE checklist for an observational study

•GRIPS for genetic risk prediction studies

•CHEERS for an economic evaluation

Original Articles are scientific reports of the results of original clinical research. The text is limited to 2,500 words, with an abstract (250 words), a maximum of 5 tables and figures (total), and up to 40 references. All articles should contain an abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. At the end of each article, please include a box with the following headings, ‘what is known already’, and “what this study adds”, including 3-5 bullet points for each. We welcome SSC4/ student projects, as well as extra-curricular research conducted by students and doctors. NB. Studies that address important questions will not be excluded on the basis of negative findings.

Systematic Review Articles are rigorous studies that systematically look at all the available primary research evidence in response to a research question. They identify, evaluate, combine and summarise all the relevant individual studies. These should follow the format aforementioned in original articles, and follow the PRISMA checklist.

Clinical Review Articles are clear, up to date accounts of a topic aimed at the general medical student and non-specialist. The review should include a broad update of recent developments and their potential for clinical application in primary and secondary care. They should stimulate readers to read further bridge the gap between the knowledge of medical students, with current academia or clinical research. All review articles undergo the same peer-review and editorial process as original research reports. The word count is 2,500-3,500. Further details of clinical review articles you may wish to consider are the following: 1) The introduction should answer the question, ‘why should I read this paper as a medical student’. 2) Please include a methods box, outlining in 150 words what methods and sources of information were used to prepare this review and how you selected these. 3) At the end please include a summary points box, including 3-5 ‘key points’ as bullet points. 4) Even if you do not perform a systematic review we hope you consult Cochrane and other systematic reviews. 5) Please clarify the strength of the evidence you base your statements, for example - "A large well conducted randomised conducted trial finds..." "The findings of a small case series suggest...". 6) Presentation is important and the body of the text should be reader friendly, with subheadings. 7) Illustrations are particularly welcome – please provide two or three, including clinical photographs, line drawings and charts.

Perspective Articles include long comments, personal observations or reflections on aspects on medical teaching, education or practice. Examples include, the recent NHS strikes, changes in clinical training, thoughts on medical student research, exams, and so on. The article should be of interest to the Res Medica readership. The word count is 1200 words. You may wish to send us a pre-submission inquiry before writing an article for the Res Medica.

Historical Articles are very welcome. Topics may include the history of medicine, history of medical schools, or historical articles on medical men and women. All historical articles will be reviewed by an expert and undergo the same peer-review and editorial process as original research reports. They should be written for the general medical student audience and not specialists. The word count is 3,000. Please contact us if you have an idea or would like to discuss a potential article with the editor.

Case reports are cases with clinically valuable lessons for students. We will accept common or rare cases that present a diagnostic, management, or ethical challenge. We encourage reports of cases from medical student electives, rural medicine, and in unusual settings. Cases with interesting images are especially welcome and will be considered favourably. Cases may be on the following topics: learning from errors, unusual presentation of common disease, myth busted, rare disease, new disease, unusual association of disease, novel treatment, rural medicine, and medical student electives. Word count is limited to 1500 words. Content should include (* indicates optional): a title, summary (150 words), background, case presentation, investigations*, differential diagnosis*, treatment*, outcome and follow up, discussion, learning points, references, figures/ images*, and patient’s perspectives*. Authors will need to ensure that they have written patient consent for the publication of the case.

Audits are an important way of improving clinical practice within the wards. We recognise this at the Res Medica and welcome audits by medical students to be submitted. Word count is 1500 words and follows the standard format for research studies. You may want to contact us first prior to submission.

Formatting Requirements

• English.
• Double spaced
• Margins of 2.5cm on all sides.
• 12-point sized font.
• Times New Roman
• Include page numbers at the bottom right corner of each page
• Microsoft Word document
• Do not include the author name or any other identifiable information in the manuscript (peer reviewers will be blinded to the author).
• Please include a title page as a supplementary file, stating:

1. Title of article
2. Type of article (original article, review article, case report..)
3. Corresponding authors’ full name, postal address, and email address
4. Full names, departments, institutions, city and country of all co-authors.
5. Up to five keywords or phrases suitable for use in an index (it is recommended to use MeSH terms).
6. Word count – excluding title page, abstract, references, figures and tables.
7. Acknowledgments
8. Competing interests
9. Funding

• Please ensure that anything you submit to the Res Medica conforms to the uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals, drawn up by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Referencing should be in Vancouver format.

Images must be uploaded as separate files (view further details in Figures/illustrations). All images must be cited within the main text in numerical order.

Plagiarism found within the manuscript will lead to automatic rejection. For information on plagiarism, please refer to the Learnhigher guide

Permissions from co-authors and patients must be received where relevant. Authors are responsible for ensuring that consent is obtained by supervisors, co-authors and/or patients (e.g. Case Reports) depending on the type of submission to the Res Medica.

All work that you submit shall be reviewed on the basis that it has not been submitted for publication in another journal concurrently, or been published elsewhere.