Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine  
Former names
 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, Medico-Chirurgical Transactions
Abbreviated title (ISO 4)
 J. R. Soc. Med.
Discipline Medicine
Language English
Edited by Kamran Abbasi
Publication details
Publisher
Sage Publications (United Kingdom)
Publication history
 1809-present
Frequency Monthly
Hybrid
1.717
Indexing
ISSN 0141-0768 (print)
1758-1095 (web)
LCCN 78648718
CODEN JRSMD9
OCLC no. 03722674
Links

The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine is an open peer-reviewed medical journal. It is the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Medicine with full editorial independence. Its continuous publication history dates back to 1907,[1] although it continues a publication legacy dating back to 1809. The present editor in chief is Kamran Abbasi,[2] a former deputy and acting editor at BMJ.[3] Abbasi was appointed in July 2005, following the retirement of Robin Fox who was editor for just under 10 years.[4]

History

The journal commenced publication under its current name in 1978, as a renaming of the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, which had itself been in continuous publication since 1907.[1] It thus has a continuous volume numbering dating back to 1908. The Proceedings were established following the amalgamation of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society with a number of other medical bodies into the Royal Society of Medicine in 1907[5][6][7] and preceded by Medico-Chirurgical Transactions (1807-1907).

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed, Science Citation Index, EMBASE, CAB International, and BIOBASE. According to the Journal Citation Reports, its 2012 impact factor is 1.717, ranking it 52nd out of 151 journals in the category "Medicine, General and Internal".

Content

The journal describes itself as having "an international and multi-specialty readership that includes primary care and public health professionals".[2] It claims to act as "a forum for debate, education, and entertainment for clinicians interested in UK medicine and relevant international developments and research. The aim of the journal is to influence clinical practice and policy making across the whole range of medicine".[2] Each issue contains original research articles, editorials, reviews, and essays. The essay section brings together "think pieces" on current medical issues and medical history. The journal also includes book reviews. Each issue also features a selection of commentaries from the James Lind Library, an online resource for patients and professionals that documents the evolution of fair tests of treatments in health care.[8]

In 2006, the journal introduced open peer review, a system in which authors and reviewers know each other's identities on the assumption that this improves openness in scientific discourse. This made it one of the few medical journals in the world with open peer review.[9]

Editions

The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine is published monthly.[10] The full text of each issue is available to subscribers online on the journal's website at the beginning of each month.[11]

Open access

In March 2006 all research articles published, as well as all other content more than three years old, were made available for free online. An agreement with PubMed Central was also announced, in which a digitised archive of the journal and its predecessor would be created, with issues dating back to 1809 available online for free.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dacie, John (January 1978), Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 71 (1), p. 4, PMC 1436428, PMID 20894216, retrieved 10 January 2014
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 JRSM Manuscript Submission Guidelines, retrieved 8 November 2013
  3. ↑ Annabel Ferriman (17 July 2004), "BMJ group appoints acting editor and acting chief executive", British Medical Journal 329 (7458): 128, doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7458.128-b, retrieved 11 May 2010
  4. ↑ Fox, Robin (August 2005), "Farewell from Fox", Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 98 (8): 340, doi:10.1258/jrsm.98.8.340, ISSN 0141-0768, retrieved 8 November 2013
  5. ↑ "Special General Meeting of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of London", Medico-Chirurgical Transactions 90, 14 June 1907: cxxi–cxxiv, PMC 2038538, retrieved 10 January 2014
  6. ↑ MacAlister, J.Y.W (1907), "Union of Medical Societies", Medico-Chirurgical Transactions; Report of the Committee of Representatives 90: cxxxvi–cxlvii, PMC 2038529, PMID 20897096, retrieved 10 January 2014
  7. ↑ The Royal Society of Medicine: The First General Meeting of the Fellows Under the New Charter, 13 June 1907, pp. cxlviii–clxii, PMC 2038540, retrieved 10 January 2014
  8. ↑ Chalmers, Iain (December 2003), "The James Lind Initiative", Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 96 (12): 575–576, doi:10.1258/jrsm.96.12.575, ISSN 0141-0768, PMC 539653, PMID 14645604, retrieved 8 November 2013
  9. ↑ Abbasi, K (August 2006), "JRSM introduces open peer review", Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99 (8): 379, doi:10.1258/jrsm.99.8.379, ISSN 0141-0768, retrieved 8 November 2013
  10. ↑ About JRSM, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, retrieved 8 November 2013
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Abbasi, K (March 2006), "Open access for the JRSM", Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99 (3): 101, doi:10.1258/jrsm.99.3.101, ISSN 0141-0768, retrieved 8 November 2013

External links