Student BMJ
Student BMJ (SBMJ; Student BMJ) is an international website for medical students and junior doctors from the BMJ Group.
On 21st April the new website was born, sharing her birthday with Iggy Pop and Queen Elizabeth II. The content is free of charge after registration.
- Content updated at least weekly
- Education: important clinical topics, practical advice, expert tips
- Debates, ethics, art, history, politics, and student experiences
- Careers advice
- Views and reviews
- Access to the rest of the BMJ Group’s content
- International medical events on our events board
- Web 2.0 functionality
The Student BMJ was launched as a print journal in 1992 with the aim of publishing articles for the medical students, and is compiled by a full time student editor, who takes a year out from medical school.International expert authors and students work together to explain how to read research papers, provide practical careers advice, and put theory into practice both in print and online to give medical students everything they need to keep abreast of the latest information.
The current student editor is Prizzi Zarsadias (email: studenteditor@bmj.com) who works together with the current senior editor is Giselle Jones, also the editorials editor of the main BMJ, and the managing editor is Richard Hurley. The print issue is designed by Adam Di Chiara and the picture editor is Vanessa Fletcher. Leslie Herbst looks after the Marketing and Nick Gray the Advertising Sales.
Articles
Most of the articles are written by medical students and are submitted rather than commissioned. The Student BMJ publishes News; Editorials; Life (a range of articles including debates, ethics, art, history, politics and student experiences); Careers; Education; Picture quizzes; Research explained (a student friendly look at a BMJ research paper); Views and reviews; and Eyespy (short, quirky medical stories).
The website operates continuous publication, and is updated at least weekly. Web 2.0 technology allows users to leave comments to articles.
The journal also has a print magazine, which contains articles from the website. Here you can also find blogs, medical events, comment on articles, vote in the weekly poll and submit articles. (see below for more details).
Peer review
Although it is a student journal, it functions as professionally as any other medical journal. Articles are peer reviewed by students from a large international advisory board. These student advisors help the student editor decide if the articles are internationally relevant and whether an article is suitable for publication or not. They also suggest how articles might be improved. The journal receives about 50 submissions each month. A decision is made to accept it or not 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.
Other services
Student BMJ has a Twitter account (follow us on [1]) and Facebook group. The editorial team also writes a monthly email alert called “5 Minutes for Students,” with short summaries of articles and other services from the BMJ Group.
Former student editors
- 2008 - 2009 Jessie Colquhoun
- 2007 - 2008 Hugh Ip
- 2006 - 2007 Balaji Ravichandran
- 2005 - 2006 Tiago Villanueva/Klaus Morales
- 2003 - 2005 Deborah Cohen
- 2002 - 2003 Anna Ellis
- 2001 - 2002 Navin Chohan
- 2000 - 2001 Jason O'Neale Roach
- 1999 - 2000 Siân Knight
- 1998 - 1999 Simon Kirwin
- 1997 - 1998 Jessica Buchan (Westall)
- 1996 - 1997 Pritpal Tamber
- 1992 - 1996 Luisa Dillner (staff member)