About the Journal

Peer Review Process

The McGill Journal of Medicine uses Open Journal Systems (OJS) software to carry out our review process online.

Author submit an article through the MJM portal.
Submitted articles are assigned to a team of two editors who assess the submission for language and scope. Articles are either rejected if they do not fit the Journal’s scope or language requirements, moved forward to peer review, or sent back for revisions by the author. Authors can expect to hear back within 2 weeks regarding their initial submission.
Articles that are deemed appropriate for peer review are assigned a primary section editor. The primary section editor organizes double blinded external (for original research articles, brief reports, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, narrative reviews, case reports, commentaries, brief reports and ‘an approach to’ articles) or internal (for letters to the editor, reflections, fine arts, editorials) peer review. Comments from peer review are compiled and a decision is made to either reject the article, accept the article (with or without minor revisions) or return the article to the author for major revisions. Peer reviewers are given 4 weeks to review an assigned article and provide feedback. Authors should be aware that some delays may occur while appropriate peer reviewers are found.
Should revisions be required authors are given up to 3 weeks to provide point-by-point response to reviewer feedback and resubmit a track-changed manuscript. Revised manuscripts are either accepted as is, returned to the author for further changes or undergo a second round of peer review. All rounds of revision will follow the above timeline of 4 weeks for review and feedback and 3 weeks for authors to respond.
Upon acceptance, section editors will copy-edit the manuscript and provide suggestions regarding grammar and form. Authors will have the opportunity to reject or accept said suggestions. Once all copy-editing has been agreed upon a final proof will be generated. Authors will have one final opportunity to request any changes to the form of the final article before it is uploaded online to the MJM website.

Please Note: Some delays in the review process can be expected during the Summer months. Should you have any questions regarding the stage of your article please contact your assigned editor or mjm.med@mcgill.ca.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Fees

We do not charge article processing charges (APCs) or article submission charges.

Copyright

Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal right of first publication. Articles are distrubuted under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Publication Ethics

The MJM has zero tolerance for plagiarism and research misconduct. Plagiarized articles will be rejected outright, and the faculty of the author will be notified. In the event that research misconduct (falsification/fabrication of data) has been conducted, the MJM will do a careful review of allegations posed, and if misconduct is found, will immediately retract the article from its database, and the faculty of the author will be notified. Furthermore, the authors will not be permitted to submit future articles to the MJM. Disregard for publication and ethics standards will also be considered for retraction, as appropriate. The original article will remain but will be marked as retracted.

The MJM will publish corrections, clarification, retractions and apologies when necessary, at any time pre- and post-publication of relevant submissions.

Commitment to Equity, Diversion, and Inclusion

The McGill Journal of Medicine is an international peer-reviewed journal that accepts publications from authors of diverse institutions and fields of medical research. The MJM is committed to promote practices that support an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment in scientific publishing.

University Affiliate Journal Policy on Published Editorial Materials

Publication in the MJM does not imply association with McGill University. The thoughts and opinions represented by authors in this journal should not be presumed to be shared by McGill University nor the McGill University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Journal History

The McGill Journal of Medicine (MJM), is an international, peer-reviewed publication run entirely by the medical and science students of McGill University. Re-launched in 1994 and again in 2015, the MJM's mandate is to provide students with the opportunity to publish on all aspects of medicine and to open up dialogue on a variety of medical issues including education, practice and research.

The nature of the administration of the MJM makes it particularly sympathetic to contributions from students who are just beginning their careers in the medical and scientific fields. As such, this journal hopes to encourage students to continue their research by providing them with an editorial staff eager to consider their submissions and an opportunity to experience the peer-review process. Many students publish their first articles with the MJM and readily recognize that this journal served as a launch pad for their future contributions to scientific literature.

The unique flavour of this journal has gained the attention of many authorities, including NEJM, JAMA, and Annals RCPSC, who recognize the value of a journal created by students for students. Going forward, the MJM will continue to strive to remain a relevant and reputable student medical journal. A major goal of our re-launch is to help the MJM evolve with the changing needs of readers and authors by expanding our desktop and mobile presence and publishing online, as well as in print. We aim to be easily accessible electronically and publish articles that are of sound scientific quality and appealing to our readers.

Our editorial team welcomes any comments on how we can improve your experience as a reader or author and are looking forward to reviewing your submissions!

Governance

The McGill Journal of Medicine is governed by a Board of Governors comprised of MJM executive membership and faculty representatives from the McGill Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Mackenzie Michell-Robinson, MSc.
Co-Editor-in-Chief, McGill Journal of Medicine
MDCM & PhD Student, Class of 2025
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
McGill University

Stefanie Perrier, HBSc.
Co-Editor-in-Chief, McGill Journal of Medicine
PhD Student, Class of 2022
Integrated Program in Neuroscience
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
McGill University

Diana Colby
Director / Directrice, Communications
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
McGill University

Phoebe Friesen, PhD
Assistant Professor
Biomedical Ethics Unit, Department of Social Studies of Medicine
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
McGill University

David Ragsdale, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, MNI
Associate Member, Department of Physiology
Member, McGill Centre for Medical Education.
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
McGill University

Terry Hébert, PhD
Professor
Graduate Program Director
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Canadian Pacific Chair in Biotechnology
Assistant Dean, Biomedical Science Education
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
McGill University