The International Journal of Medical Students (IJMS) is an international peer-reviewed open-access scientific journal that publishes research on health sciences and medicine in the form of Original Articles, Short Communications, Reviews, Case Reports, Interviews, Experiences, and Letters. These publications must have at least one medical student or one recently graduated physician enrolled in any medical school in the world as an author. The Journal thrives to be the primary diffusion platform for early-career medical scientists.
We follow the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, issued by the International Committee for Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) code of conduct for editors.
Every submission should include as supplementary material a filled checklist from the EQUATOR's Network, specific to the study design (Observational: STROBE, Case report: CARE, Experimental CONSORT, Narrative review: SANRA, Meta-analysis: PRISMA) and indicating where in the manuscript the item is fulfilled.
The IJMS is committed to improving transparency in authorship. Every author must create and link their Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID) with their metadata before submission.
Original, short communication or review articles must include at least one senior researcher as part of the authorship team. This individual should possess substantial experience in the relevant research area and, ideally, hold formal research qualifications, such as a graduate degree.
Research Studies Accepted for Publication
The IJMS accepts clinical trials, survey research, reports of diagnostic tests, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and observational and analytical studies. These studies must be adherent to their specific guidelines posted in the EQUATOR Network and must be registered in their specific platforms (i.e., clinicaltrials.gov, PROSPERO, etc.). Observational studies of interventions should be registered in clinicaltrials.gov as per Zarin DA (https://nam.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CERIC-07.25.13-Deborah-A.-Zarin.pdf).
Five types of manuscripts may be submitted:
The IJMS prioritizes manuscripts of original research in which there has been substantial participation of at least one medical student or recently graduated physician (defined as within three years of graduation). Substantial participation includes meaningful involvement in study design, data collection, data analysis, or manuscript preparation. This includes clinical, translational, and basic science research. The manuscript should be approximately 3500 words (excluding Abstract and References), with around 30 to 40 references, although flexibility may be applied depending on study complexity.
Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses are considered Original Articles. These manuscripts should be approximately 4500 words (excluding Abstract and References), with up to 100 references, and must adhere to the PRISMA guidelines. Authors are expected to provide a comprehensive and reproducible search strategy, include an appropriate risk of bias assessment, and follow established methodological standards for evidence synthesis.
The Abstract should be structured into four sections (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion) and should not exceed 250 words.
Introduction: The Introduction should clearly define the research problem, summarize the most relevant literature, and justify the need for the study. It must explicitly state the study objective and, when applicable, the hypothesis.
Methods: The Methods section must include the study design, setting, participants or materials, inclusion and exclusion criteria, interventions or exposures, and outcome measures. Ethical approval and informed consent procedures must be reported when applicable. Authors should describe the statistical analysis in sufficient detail to allow reproducibility, including software used, handling of missing data, and assumptions tested. Whenever appropriate, robust statistical approaches are expected, including multivariable analyses to control for confounding factors. Power calculations or sample size justifications should be included when relevant. Well-established methodologies should be referenced, while novel methods must be described in detail. Authors should follow appropriate reporting guidelines (e.g., CONSORT, STROBE, STARD) when applicable.
Results: Results must be presented clearly and logically, without interpretation. Data should be reported with appropriate measures of effect size, variability, and precision (e.g., confidence intervals). The sequence should follow a logical order, typically beginning with participant characteristics and proceeding to primary and secondary outcomes. Redundancy between text, tables, and figures should be avoided.
Discussion: The Discussion should interpret the findings in the context of existing literature, highlighting the main contributions of the study. The opening paragraph should summarize the principal findings without repeating detailed results. The discussion should address implications, compare findings with prior studies, and provide a balanced interpretation. Limitations must be explicitly acknowledged, including potential sources of bias or confounding. Conclusions should be concise, supported by the data, and presented in the final paragraph.
References: References should be relevant, current, and primarily from peer-reviewed sources. Authors are encouraged to include only those necessary for scientific context and interpretation. While approximately 30 to 40 references are typical, this may vary depending on the scope of the study.
Short Communications should present a complete and methodologically sound study that is more limited in scope than a full-length Original Article. Suitable submissions include pilot studies, preliminary findings, focused analyses, or studies with smaller sample sizes that still provide meaningful scientific or clinical insight.
All methodological and reporting requirements for Original Articles apply. Despite their shorter length, submissions are expected to maintain scientific rigor, including appropriate statistical analysis. When relevant, authors are encouraged to use robust analytical approaches, including multivariable methods to address potential confounding.
Manuscripts should follow a structured format consistent with Original Articles, including a structured abstract (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion).
Case Reports are intended to provide educational value by presenting clinically relevant observations, diagnostic challenges, or management decisions that contribute to medical knowledge. Submissions should emphasize clear clinical reasoning, a well-documented course of care, and meaningful lessons for practice. Novelty may include unusual presentations, unexpected outcomes, or important clinical insights; rarity alone is not sufficient.
Authors are required to adhere to the CARE guidelines for case report preparation. Submission of a completed CARE checklist is strongly encouraged.
The manuscript should follow a structured format that includes, at minimum: Introduction, Case Presentation (including history, examination, investigations, management, and outcome), and Discussion. A timeline of clinical events is recommended when appropriate.
The Discussion should focus on the clinical relevance of the case, comparison with existing literature, and key lessons learned. The emphasis should be on education and applicability rather than speculation.
Ethical considerations: Written informed consent must be obtained from the patient or an appropriate representative prior to submission. Authors must include a statement in the manuscript confirming that consent was obtained. All identifying information must be removed to ensure patient confidentiality. Institutional approval or exemption should be reported when applicable. An Informed Consent Form is available for authors. Authors should not upload the consent to the Journal but they should seek consent from the patient or a representative for publication.
The following specific criteria should be considered for Case Report manuscripts:
Only invited articles will be published. Please contact the Editor-in-Chief prior to submission. Unsolicited Review submissions will not be considered.
IJMS publishes two invited Review categories: Narrative Reviews and Systematic Reviews without Meta-analysis. Authors must clearly identify the review type at submission and prepare the manuscript according to the corresponding standards below.
Narrative Reviews provide a structured, critical, and scholarly synthesis of the literature on a defined topic without requiring exhaustive or fully reproducible search methods. These articles are intended to offer conceptual integration, clinical relevance, educational value, or expert interpretation.
The IJMS encourages authors to adhere to the SANRA guidelines before submitting a Narrative Review.
The suggested outline for reviews of medical disorders includes Introduction, Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention. Alternative structures may be used when more appropriate for the topic, provided that the manuscript is logically organized.
Systematic Reviews without Meta-analysis must address a focused research question using a rigorous, transparent, and reproducible methodology for literature identification, selection, appraisal, and qualitative synthesis. These manuscripts must be as comprehensive as possible.
Authors must adhere to the latest PRISMA statement and include a detailed Methods section describing the review question, eligibility criteria, databases searched, complete search strategy or search strings where feasible, screening process, study selection, data extraction, and qualitative synthesis methods. A PRISMA flow diagram is required.
Systematic Reviews without Meta-analysis must include a section entitled "Search strategy and selection criteria." This section must provide sufficient detail to allow replication of the search and selection process. To be considered for publication in IJMS, these reviews must search Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar at minimum. When relevant to the topic, authors should also include PsycINFO or CINAHL. When appropriate, authors are strongly encouraged to incorporate the Cochrane Library as part of an updated and comprehensive search strategy, in line with recommendations on systematic search development (Bramer et al, Syst Rev. 2017).
No language restrictions are permitted in Systematic Reviews without Meta-analysis.
Authors must define explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria and report a formal assessment of the quality or risk of bias of included studies using appropriate tools. Findings should be synthesized qualitatively in a structured and methodologically sound manner.
Citations to papers published in non-peer-reviewed supplements, non-peer-reviewed journals, or preprints are discouraged.
Failure to adhere to the methodological and reporting standards corresponding to the declared Review type may constitute a major concern during peer review.
Meta-analyses are considered Original Articles in the IJMS.
This section includes Letters to the Editor, Experiences, Interviews, and other invited or editorially approved contributions of interest to IJMS readers, including medical students, recently graduated physicians, and early career scientists.
Submissions in this section are generally shorter and focused. Unless otherwise specified, manuscripts may undergo editorial review and may not require external peer review.
Letters to the Editor provide concise commentary on articles published in IJMS. Submissions must specifically address an article published in the journal within the previous six (6) months. Letters that do not meet this criterion will not be considered. This section does not accept original research data or case reports.
Letters are typically not externally peer-reviewed. The Editorial Board may invite a response from the authors of the original article. All accepted letters are subject to editorial revision, and proofs will be sent to authors prior to publication.
The Experiences section provides a platform for medical students and early career physicians to share structured reflections on academic activities, social outreach, student exchanges, research experiences, or other relevant initiatives. Submissions should emphasize lessons learned, challenges encountered, and practical implications.
At least one figure is mandatory. Figures may consist of photographs or conceptual diagrams (e.g., frameworks, processes, or models) that enhance understanding of the experience. Submissions without any figure will not be considered.
Interviews are typically commissioned by the Editorial Board and feature discussions with individuals of relevance to the journal’s readership. These may include clinicians, researchers, educators, or leaders in medicine and related fields.
This section may also include brief reports or communications from institutional or organizational partners regarding relevant academic or professional activities. Submission to this subsection is generally by invitation.
In brief, IJMS uses Vancouver style but the numbered references within the text must be in superscript. Journal articles even if they are online, are classified as journal articles, and must be cited as follow:
Websites should be cited as follow:
Simple website addresses should be included in the references section. It should follow this format: [Organization]. [Title]. Available from: [URL]. Last updated [Month day, year]; cited [Month day, year].
Where updated is the date the website was updated and cited the last date the authors visited the website. Please make sure to remove the brackets ([]) when replacing the information. It should read:
Further information about references, tables, and figures, can be found in the Appendix of these norms for authors.
We suggest the use of the Articles Template; however, we have adopted the idea of "your article, your way", therefore, authors can upload their work in their preffered form.
General instructions for articles:
For Tables and Figures (See Appendix B):
The IJMS encourages the submission of separate supporting information files, all appendices, detailed protocols, or details of the algorithms pertaining to new protocols or less well-established methods. These are published as Supplementary Material.
Generic drug names should generally be used and in cases where proprietary brands have been used, the brand names must be included in parenthesis. Where available, the accession numbers of any nucleic acid sequences and protein sequences cited in the manuscript and the corresponding database name should be provided.
The criteria that a manuscript needs to meet to be published in the IJMS include: originality, transparency, readability, factual accuracy, clear authorship roles and involvement, and conflict of interest disclosure.
At least one author of the manuscript must be:
Additionally, at least one of the authors of any original article, short communication or review article submitted for consideration for publication needs to be a senior researcher, someone who has experience in the area of research and who preferably has formal research training (i.e. graduate degree).
Each author must have contributed directly to the intellectual content of the manuscript, the genesis, and the analysis of their data. All authors are required to identify their contributions to the work in the manuscript. The IJMS has adopted the CRediT Taxonomy to describe each author’s individual contributions to the work. When submitting, make sure to build the author's contribution statement using the website form found at https://www.scisco.co/author-signature-form-copy/ or fill the PDF and get the statement at: https://www.scisco.co/authorform/.
The corresponding author takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer-review, and pre-post publication process.
Those whose contributions do not justify authorship may be acknowledged individually or together as a group under a single heading (e.g. “Clinical Investigators” or “Participating Investigators”), and their contributions should be specified (e.g., “served as scientific advisors,” “critically reviewed the study proposal,” “collected data,” “provided and cared for study patients”, “participated in writing or technical editing of the manuscript”).
Because acknowledgment may imply endorsement by acknowledged individuals of a study’s data and conclusions, the corresponding author must obtain written permission to be acknowledged from all acknowledged individuals.
A conflict of interest may exist when an author (or the author’s institution or employer) has financial or personal relationships or affiliations that could influence or bias the author’s decisions, work, or manuscript. Each author’s disclosure of conflicts of interests should be accurate, up-to-date, and consistent with what is reported in the “Conflicts of Interest statement” and “Financing” sections on the first page of the manuscript based on the ICMJE Form.
The policy requiring disclosure of conflicts of interest applies for all manuscript submissions, including letters to the editor. If an author’s disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is determined to be inaccurate or incomplete after publication, a correction will be published to rectify the originally published disclosure statement, and additional action may be taken as necessary.
For all manuscripts reporting data from studies involving human participants or animals, formal review and approval, or formal review and waiver, by an appropriate institutional review board or ethics committee is required and should be described in the Methods section. For those investigators who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki as revised in 2008 should be followed. For investigations of humans, state in the Methods section the manner in which informed consent was obtained from the study participants (i.e., oral or written).
For case reports, authors should obtain informed consent from the patient or their legal representative in agreement with the COPE specific guidelines for informed consent in case reports. The journal has a consent form for case reports in case the authors require one.
IJMS is adherent to the Consensus Author Guidelines on Animal Ethics and Welfare for Editors of the International Association of Veterinary Editors (IAVE). All material published in IJMS must adhere to high ethical standards concerning animal welfare.
There is a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism (including self-plagiarism) in the IJMS. Manuscripts are screened for plagiarism before, during, and after publication, and if found they will be rejected at any stage of processing. In case that a paper is already published in the Journal, but plagiarism is still detected, it will be retracted and the authors' institutions and department heads will be notified to take action.
If you take notice of any unethical irregularities in IJMS content, please let us know at contact@ijms.info/ or ethics@ijmsinfo/.
Submission to the IJMS is through our website. At least the Corresponding Author should be registered on the website as Author. From User Home, choose “New Submission” to start the five-step submission process. Here are some notes on each step:
Table 1. Documents, Formats, and File Extensions to be Submitted as Supplementary Files.
|
Nº |
Document |
Format |
Extensions |
|
|
1 |
Photos, if any. |
JPG or PNG format |
.jpg or .npg |
|
|
2 |
Graphs: charts, histograms, diagrams, Box-Plots, schemes, etc; if any. |
Excel©, SPSS© Output Navigator or Stata© Graph |
.xls/x, .spo or .gph |
|
After submission, the Corresponding Author can keep track of the progress of the editorial process by logging into the IJMS website and choosing the manuscript submitted.
The IJMS aims to provide all authors with an efficient, unbiased, fair, and consistent editorial process. Submitted manuscripts will be evaluated by the Scientific Editor for fulfilling the IJMS requirements. Then they will be assigned to a member of the Editorial Team (usually an Associate Editor). The Associate Editor with his team of Student Editors will assess the manuscript to determine whether it is within the scope of the Journal, the quality of the data presented, and the standard of presentation before sending it for peer-review. If the article is suitable for the Journal, Two Student Editors will carry out an independent review of the manuscript based on the Web of Science Academy review form. The Associate Editor will review the Student Editors' responses and send a response by email to the author with the required editions standardizing the responses and checking their accuracy. After this first step and receiving the response from the authors, the manuscript is sent to Peer-Reviewers.
The author could suggest or be asked to suggest reviewers and they will be considered alongside other potential reviewers identified by their publication record or recommended by Editorial Board members. However, the final decision on the choice of reviewers rests with the Editorial Team without any obligation to contact any of the authors' recommended peer reviewers.
Manuscripts will be sent to at least two Peer-Reviewers who will independently assess if the manuscript is technically and scientifically sound and coherent. The final editorial decision is made based on the recommendations of the Peer-Reviewers and that the provided observations are in accord without any strong dissenting opinions. Once all reviews have been received and considered by the Editors, a final decision is made and a letter is drafted to the corresponding author. The final decision on acceptance, revisions required, or rejection of manuscripts is under the discretion of the Executive and Editorial Board.
The review process takes twelve weeks on average and the decision is notified by email
Possible final decisions include:
Where there are issues with the standard of presentation or clarity of language, the authors will be informed accordingly and provided with suggestions or assistance for rectification.
The editorial process of IJMS is described in the figure below:
After a manuscript is accepted, a copyeditor communicates the final style and language corrections to the author as an Initial Copyedit. The author should be able to comply with the requested edits accordingly and upload a new version of the manuscript with the suggested changes promptly. The Final Copyedit is then moved to the next step: Layout. In the Layout step, the Layout Editor diagrams the final copy of the to-be-published article.
Electronic proofs will be available on the website to the corresponding author as a PDF file.
Page proofs are considered to be the final version of the manuscript prior to its publication. With the exception of typographical or minor errors, no significant changes will be made to the manuscript at the proof stage. The corresponding author is expected to approve the final PDF copy promptly to avoid unnecessary delays in publication.
Because IJMS will be published freely online, authors will have free electronic access to the full text of the article in HTML, XML and PDF formats. Authors can freely download their article from which they can print unlimited copies.
Ethical Standards
Various authorities have their own definitions of scientific misconduct. At the IJMS, we address these issues on a case-by-case basis while adhering to guidelines produced by regulatory bodies which include the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
The IJMS follows the COPE guidelines for allegations of misconduct. In brief, we follow the 6 steps described by Dr. Wager former Chair of COPE (J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2014 Dec;15(2):146-50) of (1) Assess, (2) Give people an opportunity to explain, (3) Seek an investigation, (4) Protect readers from potentially misleading work, (5) Have clear journal policies and processes, and (6) Educate authors and reviewers.
Scientific misconduct includes these behaviors:
|
Falsification of data |
From fabrication and/or deliberate suppression and/or distortion of data to deceptive selective reporting of findings and omission of conflicting data. |
|
Plagiarism |
The use of others' language, ideas, or thoughts without crediting the original source and presenting them as one's own original work. Plagiarism is evaluated in every submission using an iThenticate. Authors are informed of the findings and if there is clear plagiarism the article is rejected. |
|
Improprieties of authorship |
Improper credit assignment, such as excluding others, misrepresenting the same material as original in multiple publications, including individuals as authors who have not made a significant contribution to the work published, or submitting multi-authored publications without consent of all authors. |
|
Misappropriation of the ideas of others |
The exchange of ideas among colleagues is an essential aspect of scholarly activity. During the process of reviewing grant applications and manuscripts, scholars can pick up new ideas from others. However, if this information is misused, it can result in fraud. Wholesale appropriation of such material constitutes misconduct. |
|
Violation of generally accepted research practices |
Serious deviations from accepted practices in proposing or conducting research, improper manipulation of experiments to obtain biased results, deceptive statistical or analytical manipulations, or improper reporting of results are all examples of serious deviations from accepted practices. |
|
Material failure to comply with legislative and regulatory requirements affecting research: |
For example, serious or substantial, repeated, willful violations of applicable local regulations and law involving the use of funds, animal care, human subjects, investigational drugs, recombinant products, new devices, or radioactive, biological, or chemical materials. |
|
Inappropriate behavior in relation to misconduct |
Unfounded or knowingly false accusations of misconduct, failure to report known or suspected misconduct, withholding or destruction of information relevant to a claim of misconduct, and retaliation against people involved in the allegation or investigation are all examples of this. |
Many journals, including The IJMS, also consider redundant and duplicate publication, lack of declaration of competing interests and of funding/sponsorship, and other failures of transparency, to be forms of misconduct.
If we suspect misconduct
We take seriously all possible misconduct.
If an editor has concerns that a submitted article describes something that might be considered to constitute misconduct in research, publication, or professional behavior, we may discuss the case in confidence with The IJMS's ethics committee.
If the case cannot be resolved by discussion with the author(s), and the editor still has concerns, they may report the case to the appropriate authorities. If during the course of reviewing an article, an editor is alerted to possible problems (for example, plagiarism) in another publication, The IJMS editor may contact the journal in which the previous publication appeared to raise the concern.
The IJMS is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Cases of research or publication misconduct may also be referred to COPE in an anonymized format.
Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions
The IJMS publishes three types of post-publication notice:
As discussed below, we use these notices to address:
In addressing issues raised about IJMS publications, we uphold our journals’ policies, publication criteria, and editorial standards, and we follow ICMJE and COPE guidelines, where applicable. The IJMS Publication Ethics team works in collaboration with journal editors on post-publication cases that involve serious ethics or integrity concerns, including those for which the issues may warrant an Expression of Concern or retraction.
Notifying IJMS of concerns about submitted or published work
Corrections
We publish corrections to address errors in articles published in IJMS if, per our editorial assessment, all of the following criteria have been met:
An error that affects key aspects of the publication's metadata (e.g., misspelling of an author's name, or errors in the competing interests, funding, or data availability statement) may also result in an IJMS correction.
In most cases, a correction notice will appear as a post-publication notice linked to the original IJMS article. In rare cases, the IJMS may choose to republish a corrected version of an article instead of the original online version. When we republish an article, we usually include a correction notice that is linked to the article and documents the changes.
Corrections for typographical errors or other minor issues that have no bearing on the scientific integrity, comprehension, or indexing of the article are not published in the IJMS. Authors are encouraged to post comments on their article's webpage to keep readers informed about these issues. Please contact the journal office if you have any questions about whether a correction or comment should be used to address an error in an IJMS article.
Expressions of Concern
Expressions of Concern (EOCs) are notices published at the discretion of the editors to alert readers to serious concerns about previously published work. We will usually finish the case's follow-up before publishing a notice, but in some cases, we may publish an EOC as an interim notice while IJMS or another entity investigates an issue. If we reach the end of our follow-up process and issues remain unresolved, an EOC may be used as a resolution to a post-publication case.
IJMS staff and/or the journal's Editor(s)-in-Chief or Executive Committee write EOCs. An EOC, like a correction, is posted at the top of the article's IJMS webpage and linked to the article's publication record. The status of the linked research article does not change as a result of an EOC. Following the publication of an EOC, the same article or the EOC itself may be corrected or retracted, depending on the editors' evaluation of information, data, and/or materials received in subsequent discussions.
Before publishing an EOC, IJMS makes an attempt to notify the authors of the affected article, but we do not require their approval or agreement. With an EOC, the editor may seek to publish data or other materials received from the authors as supporting files; in such cases, the authors are consulted and have the option of not having their files/materials published.
Retractions
Retraction is a mechanism for correcting the literature and notifying readers of major concerns about the integrity, validity, or reliability of an article, as discussed in COPE’s Retraction Guidelines. If the editors determine that issues that have not been resolved in our discussions with the authors warrant retraction, the article will be retracted in accordance with COPE guidelines. IJMS may also retract an article if we discover after it has been published that it violates key aspects of the journal's requirements or editorial policies; or if there are image or data concerns for which the original raw data is not provided, not available, or insufficient (in our editorial opinion) to address the issues.
We reserve the right to retract an article even if the problems were caused by honest mistakes or misconduct. IJMS does not adjudicate on intent or individual-level responsibility for issues raised, and we do not issue partial retractions, as per COPE guidelines.
IJMS publishes a notice of retraction when an article is retracted, explaining the reason(s) for the retraction. The notice appears at the top of the IJMS webpage for the affected article and is linked to the article's publication record. The authors or the editors of a journal can retract a manuscript. In both cases, the IJMS editors have the final say over the contents of the retraction notice, but in author-led retractions, the editors work with the authors to prepare the notice.
Before completing a retraction, we try to notify all authors of the retraction decision and the notice text. Other affected third parties, such as the authors' institution(s) or another journal/publisher with an article or submission in the case, may also be notified of a retraction by IJMS.
An article that has been retracted is no longer considered part of the published record. Retracted IJMS articles, on the other hand, remain online and available, with the retraction status clearly indicated, as per COPE guidance. We update the downloadable PDF, HTML, and XML available at the article's IJMS webpage at the time of retraction so that the retracted status is clearly noted on subsequent downloads.
Every author of a contribution must be credited as such. Also, a person should not be named an author when is not an author. The IJMS preference is for authors to resolve complaints and disputes amongst themselves, although that is not always possible. Further information including COPE flowcharts on addition or removal of authors, guest, ghost, or gift authorship, and advice on how to spot authorship problems can be found here.
Author's Conflict of Interest
A competing interest, also known as a ‘conflict of interest’, can occur when you (or your employer or sponsor) have a financial, commercial, legal, or professional relationship with other organizations, or with the people working with them, that could influence your research. IJMS asks its authors to disclose any potential conflict of interest. Please review our policies about conflict of interest.
The IJMS asks its reviewers and editors to disclose any potential conflict of interest when reviewing submitted manuscripts. In case of any conflict, including personal, financial, and non-financial, editors and reviewers are required to disclose those to prevent bias in the editorial process.
In case of submissions from a member of the editorial team, from the same institution of the editor or reviewer, personal relationships with authors, or a previous review in another journal, the manuscript is assigned to a different editor or reviewer.
IJMS World Conference of Medical Student Research (WCMSR) Submission Guidelines and Policy
We are pleased to invite you to participate in the IJMS World Conference of Medical Student Research (WCMSR), an exciting event aimed at promoting the integration of medical students and early-career physicians into the field of medical research. This conference will take place online on November 15th, 2025, and aims to foster international collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity in scientific discovery. Below are the key guidelines and policies for submitting abstracts for consideration.
To ensure your abstract is eligible for the conference, it must adhere to the following guidelines. The IJMS Conference Team will review all submissions and reserves the right to request additional information or clarification, or decline submissions that do not meet the requirements.
Abstracts must be submitted via the IJMS website, using the official Abstract Template. Complete all required fields on both the website and the template.
Only original research abstracts will be accepted, including:
Basic science studies
Observational studies
Descriptive studies (case reports, case series)
Analytical studies
Experimental studies (including trials and educational interventions)
Meta-analysis
Abstracts must be structured according to the following guidelines:
Original research: Background, Aim, Methods, Results, Conclusion
Case reports: Background, Case, Conclusion
For guidance, refer to the STROBE, CARE, CONSORT, and PRISMA guidelines where applicable.
Word Limit: Maximum of 500 words
Keywords: A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 keywords from MeSH-NLM
Figure or Table: One figure or table (mandatory)
No References: Abstracts should not include references.
Plagiarism: Abstracts must be free of plagiarism. Any form of plagiarism will result in automatic rejection.
All authors must comply with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship criteria.
ORCID: All authors must link their Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID) to their submission.
Eligibility: At least one author must be a medical student or a physician within the first three years of their graduation.
Corresponding Author: One designated corresponding author must be responsible for communication with the conference team.
Presentation: One author must be willing to present the abstract during the conference. The presenting author can differ from the corresponding author.
The IJMS Conference Team reserves the right to decline abstracts that do not meet the established guidelines.
Minor modifications to the rules may be made by the Conference Team, and any changes will be communicated promptly.
The conference accepts abstracts in the following fields:
Clinical Medicine and its Subspecialties
Surgery and its Subspecialties
Public Health and Epidemiology
Basic Science in Medicine
Medical Education Research
Accepted research designs include:
Meta-analysis
Interventional studies (e.g., Randomized Controlled Trials, Educational Interventions)
Observational studies (e.g., Case Series, Cross-sectional, Cohort Studies)
Case reports
Research topics outside of these areas will not be accepted.
Submission Steps:
Download and complete the Abstract Submission Template.
Submit the abstract through the IJMS website under the section "Abstracts of the WCMSR."
Pay the abstract submission fee via PayPal and upload a copy of the transaction (PDF or screenshot) as a supplementary file.
Submission Fee: Fees are based on the World Bank's country income classifications:
Low-Income Countries (LICs): $10
Lower-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs): $20
Upper-Middle-Income Countries (UMICs): $30
High-Income Countries (HICs): $40
IJMS Student Editors are eligible for a 50% fee reduction.
Fee waivers or reductions may be requested with justification.
Screening: All abstracts undergo a preliminary screening to ensure compliance with submission guidelines.
Plagiarism Check: Abstracts will be checked for plagiarism.
Peer Review: Abstracts passing the initial screening are reviewed by IJMS Student Editors and Junior Editors. Each abstract will be scored based on:
Originality
Quality of data
Methods used
Clarity and explanation
Impact on scientific community
Selection of Presentations: Abstracts with the highest scores will be selected for presentation at the conference. Approximately 40 abstracts will be chosen for inclusion.
The conference will be held online using an interactive platform. Presenters will share their screens during their presentations.
Presentations will be allocated 7 minutes, broken down as follows:
Introduction (30 seconds)
Background and Aim (1.5 minutes)
Methods (2 minutes)
Results/Practical Applications (2 minutes)
Conclusion (1 minute)
After each presentation, a jury will ask questions based on the content, with each presentation receiving a score based on:
Quality of research (5 points)
Clarity of the speaker's presentation (5 points)
Clarity of the material presented (5 points)
Answers to questions (5 points)
Awards will be given to the top presenters:
1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place for Best Research Presentation (Original Research)
1st and 2nd Place for Best Case Report Presentation
1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place for Highest Abstract Scores (Original Research)
1st and 2nd Place for Highest Abstract Scores (Case Reports)
Award for the Most-Liked Presentation by the Public
All accepted abstracts will be published in the supplement of the IJMS Volume for the year of the conference, with a digital object identifier (DOI).
For any inquiries or clarifications, please contact the IJMS Conference Team at:
Email: conference@ijms.info
Submission site: IJMS Submission Portal
We look forward to your participation and the opportunity to share innovative research at the IJMS WCMSR!
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
The names and email addresses entered in this Journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this Journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
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Dear IJMS Readers,
For many medical students and recent graduates, presenting research is not only about dissemination. It is also part of building a stronger academic profile for future training, scholarship, and professional opportunities.
If accepted at WCMSR 2026, your work may be presented as an oral or poster...
Dear IJMS Readers,
Not every research conference offers a platform specifically designed for medical students and recent graduates. WCMSR was created to provide exactly that: an international venue where early-career researchers can present their work, receive recognition, and engage with a global academic audience.
...
This journal is published by Pitt Open Library Publishing.
ISSN 2076-6327 (online)
