Student BMJ

Student BMJ (StudentBMJ, sBMJ) is a monthly, open-access (no registration, free of charge) medical journal published principally for medical students from around the world. It comes from the BMJ Publishing Group, which publishes the highly prestigious British Medical Journal and more than 25 other sub-speciality journals. It was launched in 1995 with the express aim of publishing articles for the medical students, and is compiled by a student editor with a yearly tenure. The current editor is Hugh Ip. The current senior editor is Trish Groves, also the deputy editor of the main BMJ.

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Articles in the journal

Student BMJ does not publish any original research article, even from students. The structure of the journal is divided into an initial editorial section, followed by 'Education', 'Careers', 'Life', 'Letters' and 'Reviews' in that order. The journal also publishes news articles, and a separate section called 'Paper Plus', where a pertinent expert reviews a recently published BMJ article for the benefit of medical students.

The editorials are often written by medical students themselves, but not infrequently, editorials which previously appeared in the BMJ are re-published here. Education section usually features review-style articles and series in a student-friendly manner. The section frequently has clinical scenarios and picture quizzes. A recently instituted sub-section features interesting medical controversies.

'Life' is perhaps the most popular section of the journal. In the journal's website, the journal's 'author guidelines' puts succinctly what this section is all about - "Life articles are about anything to do with medicine and being a medical student so the scope of these is enormous. Articles can cover special projects, (such as working in a refugee camp), alternative or eccentric subjects which usually have some sort of medical link (such as radical medical innovations), general life experiences and student issues or problems (such as studying for exams), or political topics (such as describing or critiquing a health care system)-the list is endless."

In addition, the website of the journal offers exclusive contents such as 'Topic Collections', 'Article Responses', and a special section on international student electives and exchanges. The website has consistently reinvented itself through the decade it has been online.

How the journal functions

The journal, though intended primarily for students, functions in as professional a manner as any other medical journal. Apart from a student editor, the journal has a huge advisory board composed of student advisors from around the world. These student advisors help in shaping the content of each issue of the journal. Because sBMJ is a peer-reviewed journal, these advisors often play a critical role in helping the student editor decide whether an article is suitable for publication in the journal. And because much of the content is written by students themselves, these advisors can act as potential points of reference for authors from corresponding countries.

The journal receives approximately 80-100 submissions each month. Most of the articles which are initially accepted are sent for external review, and a decision is made within eight weeks (on average). Only a handful of the submissions are finally accepted.

Impact and awards

The student BMJ is perhaps the most widely read medical publication for students, and offers all its contents entirely free online. The internet is the major portal of access for medical students from around the world, the print version mainly benefitting the UK readers.

The journal has won the Guardian Student Media Awards twice.