Publications

[Falcons_lass]

Hey guys,

So there has been a lot of talk about how competitive it is actually applying to F1 posts etc, and I was told that if you contribute something to a journal and get published that can really boost your chances. I was wondering if any of you had got an article published, and if you had any advice? Thanks xxx

[Gizmo says -]

this is good news macca.

i am almost finished drawin up me first draft of Dr Monkey and the Jungle Surgery (iz me picture book for encouraging poor inner city kiddies into medicine).

[rjm]

I had my first piece of research published when I was a medical student, however getting published is not easy and is extremely time consuming at times. I think your better off concentrating on your finals and clinical skills unless you are involved in a research project anyway.

[Anjoo]

Hi Guyz

Just wondered.. what type of things do you publish? or what can you publish.. I don't mind doing something when I have some spare time.

Yours ideas are most welcome or some advice.


Thanks

[James]

You need to publish something in an area you are interested in. You may get an extra point applying for your F1 post if you have published an article. But when you are applying for higher training posts publishing articles 'for the sake of it' in non-relevant areas is not well looked upon (ie. lack of commitment to your chosen specialty).

Also bear in mind that most (decent) journals take 6-12 months from accepting an article to actually publishing it.

[Will Watson]

You will get one whole extra MTAS point for having a publication in a peer reviewed publication or writing part/all of a textbook. So it's useful to have but don't bust a gut doing it - if you find a topic you are interested in and have something worth publishing, great.

[Anjoo]

Thanks all for your advice

Which known publishers would be willing to publish your article/research?

Thanks

Anjoo

[James]

Anjoo you need a supervisor - someone who has had lots of publications in the past. They will be able to advise you on appropriate journals to submit your research to.

[kiya]

Originally Posted by rjm

I had my first piece of research published when I was a medical student, however getting published is not easy and is extremely time consuming at times. I think your better off concentrating on your finals and clinical skills unless you are involved in a research project anyway.

Although not a medical student, I have been successful in publishing an article in a peer review medical journal. I would have to agree with rjm and James. It is extremely time consuming to get research published. It took two years from the start of my research to getting the final article published. Even after you've submitted something that the journal thinks is worth publishing, you will probably have to make changes to the manuscript (depending on what the reviewers and editor have said). It then takes more time as you have to resubmit, it might be sent out to reviewers again, etc. etc. Then from final acceptance to publication it is usually 6 months or more.

I'm not sure what it is like with other research areas, but I've found primary care research to be quite a clicky group and the researchers that are most successful in publishing those who have government/university funding.

[rjm]

My research from start to publication took the best part of 4 years. ie, this is not something that you do overnight.

Anjoo, if you dont know what is published or who publishes stuff then that might be where you want to start - how about going into a library and looking at the journals and seeing what they publish. Each journal has its own style and you need to write for a journal rather than write somehting and then submit it randomly.