Author Information
Family Medicine publishes 10 times a year, with combination issues in July-August and November-December, both in print and online. Family Medicine is indexed in Index Medicus, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, Current Contents®/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index, and select articles from the Educational Resources Information Center Clearinghouse on Higher Education.
Manuscripts published in Family Medicine fall into five general categories: (1) Original Articles, (2) Brief Reports, (3) Narrative Essays (4) Letters to the Editor, and (5) Book and Media Reviews. Family Medicine does not publish clinical review articles.
Original Articles:
Original Articles are scholarly manuscripts describing original research, in-depth analyses, or systematic reviews germane to the broad disciplines of family medicine and primary care in the US and internationally. Regular articles are generally limited to 3,000 words and are considered under the general categories shown below (listed alphabetically). This information is provided to guide authors in the types of manuscripts published; it is not necessary for the author to specify a category at the time of manuscript submission. In general, manuscripts offering opinion only will not be published as regular articles.
- Clinical Research and Methods: This category includes manuscripts reporting clinical, epidemiologic, or health services research, or describing new or important clinical interventions, patient education methods,treatments, practice management innovations, etc.
- Continuing Education, Faculty Development, and Continuous Professional Development: Articles in this category focus on strategies for career development of primary care clinicians and faculty members. Priority is given to articles reporting research on the effectiveness of such strategies.
- Core Concepts in Family Medicine Education: Core Concepts articles are scholarly reviews of fundamental methods and skills involved in family medicine and primary care education in the US or in other nations. These articles can review new or established educational methods, but they should be extensively referenced and should provide new or original insight into the educational process.
- Educational Research and Methods: Articles describing original research about the educational process in family medicine and primary care are a major focus of the journal. Such articles might describe the content and effectiveness of educational innovations pertinent to medical students, residents, fellows, academic physicians and scientists, interdisciplinary primary care teams, or practicing physicians in the US or in an international arena. To be published as original articles, such articles should describe ideas that might be generalized to multiple institutions or programs and should include a rigorous evaluation process.
- Health Policy Analyses: This category includes scholarly reviews, essays, original research, and theoretical papers related to health policy topics at the international, national, or regional level. Papers addressing policy issues related to the health professions workforce needed to care for patient populations in the US or internationally are particularly welcome.
Brief Reports
Brief reports are limited to 1,000 words and may represent works in progress, conceptual ideas, or concise summaries of projects that are not sufficiently developed to be published as original articles. In general, they will be considered under the same categories listed above for original articles.
Narrative Essays
Family Medicine is a discipline defined as much by our stories as by our science. Narrative essays published in Family Medicine will be stories from clinical practice or from the educational setting and may be submitted by teachers, learners, patients, or professionals practicing in the primary care disciplines. These papers will generally be limited to 1000 words and should present a creative perspective both in their content and in their story-telling style. Narrative essays published in the journal will be legitimate scholarly articles and will peer-reviewed as carefully as original articles and brief reports. In general, these essays should illuminate the unique complexity and genuine personal dimensions of patient care and education in family medicine, primary care, or community medicine.
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the editor can comment on articles that were recently published in the journal, and to discuss issues pertinent to family medicine education or practice, They will be published as space is available and preference will be given to letters that contribute to ongoing debate and discussion of issues important to family physicians and educators. Letters to the editor should be limited to 600 words.
Book and Media Reviews
Book and Media Reviews present critical analysis and commentary on recently published books, electronic resources, and other media that are pertinent to the teaching and practice of family medicine. Most reviews are invited. Publishers who wish to submit books for possible inclusion in Family Medicine’s book and media reviews section should send texts to Jan Cartwright, Publications Assistant, Family Medicine, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, 11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Leawood, KS 66211. Those interested in writing book or media reviews for publication should contact William Cayley, Jr, MD, Book and Media Reviews Editor, by email at bcayley@yahoo.com.
Download Family Medicine's complete Instructions for Authors (below) for a more detailed description of categories.
Instructions for Authors (PDF format)
Manuscripts should be prepared according to guidelines describe in "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, which can be found at:
To Submit a Manuscript:
Submit manuscripts using our Online Manuscript Submission SystemFor additional editorial correspondence, contact:
John Saultz, MD, Editor, Family Medicine
Oregon Health & Science University
OHSU Family Medicine
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd/Mail Code FM
fmeditor@ohsu.edu
