College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM)

Publishing research as a medical student or resident is an excellent way to set yourself apart and contribute to the scholarly discussion of the field. Top-tier medical journals are highly selective, with relatively low acceptance rates in most cases. To improve the chance of publication is is imperative that your manuscript is well written, follows the journals author guidelines, is submitted to the right journal for your topic, has the appropriate oversight -- including IRB approval if necessary, any copyright permissions, and faculty mentor approval.

Below are resources to assist COM students, residents, and faculty in support of publication -- in particular writing cases, choosing a publication for submission, and information on Open Access, which usually carries an article processing charge (APC) that may be a barrier to entry-level researchers.

For general guidance see:

Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Medical Writing: An Editor’s Advice

As the original type of medical literature, case reports/studies can be an excellent way to share a novel or interesting clinical presentation, diagnosis, or process, contributing to the relevant scientific literature or proposing a new hypothesis for consideration. That said, the decrease in publication of cases in favor of higher tiers of evidence makes both finding the right journal and following the structure and guidelines key to publication success.

Resources

CARE Case Report Guidelines
CARE Checklist (2013)
How to Write a Case Report (Student BMJ)
How to Write a Case Report (Harrison Reed Writing Guides)
SCARE Guideline for Surgical Case Reports and SCARE 2020 Checklist

Rison, R.A. A guide to writing case reports for the Journal of Medical Case Reports and BioMed Central Research Notes . J Med Case Reports 7, 239 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-1947-7-239

Nishizawa T, Ishizuka K, Otsuka Y, Nakanishi T, Kawashima A, Miyagami T, Yamashita S. Writing Case Reports Can Improve Seven Components in Clinical Reasoning. Int Med Case Rep J. 2024 Mar 21;17:195-200. doi: 10.2147/IMCRJ.S449310. PMID: 38533427; PMCID: PMC10963171.

Jeyaraman M, Ramasubramanian S, Jeyaraman N, Nallakumarasamy A, Sharma S. Revitalizing case reports: Standardized guidelines and mentorship. World J Clin Cases. 2023 Jul 6;11(19):4729-4733. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i19.4729. PMID: 37469735; PMCID: PMC10353498.

CARE-writer -- online formatting tool aligned to the CARE Guidelines

Medical Journals that Accept Case Reports (OSF)

Akers, K. G. (2016). New journals for publishing medical case reports. Journal Of The Medical Library Association, 104(2), 146-149. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.104.2.010 A 2016 list of journals publishing medical case reports.

One of the KEY features of case reports is that the patient information is deidentified and patient consent is obtained. See this list of potential patient identifiers.