Submissions

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • Please note in view of the increased cost of production, the publication charges have been revised and all manuscripts accepted for publication after December 1st will be charged at new rates. Look at details carefully in detailed instructions for authors. Authors are also reminded to plan for at least six to eight months and those in a hurry should submit their manuscript to some other journal. Processing time can be increased if author’s failure to follow the instructions results in deficiencies which are identified during initial screening and internal review which have to be rectified before it is sent for external review.
  • We will welcome original research while KAP studies, routine surveys etc., are not accepted. Processing fee is non-refundable hence those who have some doubt, are advised to first send us structured abstract with authors details and their affiliations for review to avoid any inconvenience later.
  • Fast track processing facility is not available at present and authors have to first check with us for that before arranging fast track processing fee.
  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  • The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
  • The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
  • Figures should be uploaded separately and ensure high resolution 300 DPI to ensure good results.
  • Letter of Undertaking signed by all authors which is available in pdf format. Please scan it and upload it.
  • Ethics Committee/Institution Review Committee approval which is a necessary with every paper for further processing.
  • Processing charges are arranged for the manuscript. Upload the online receipt.
  • You may also suggest two to three potential reviewers to accelerate the review process in Covering Letter or as a separate file. Upload it on system as supplementary file. However, Please note only those should be suggested as reviewers who have worked in this area and their comments will be reviewed by the Editorial Committee before taking any final decision. Do send us their name and e mail address and do not forget to mention your submission ref. number.
  • Peer Review:
    We have reviewers from various countries in our reviewer’s database. We practice Open Peer Review system but at times it is difficult for the reviewers to comment on a manuscript since they do not know the local requirements of the regulatory bodies besides their medical education and health services system. Hence it is essential that at least one of the reviewers of the manuscript must be from that country. As such the authors submitting their manuscripts to Pak J Med Sci are requested to suggest at least two to three potential reviewers for their study. The Editorial Team might select any one of them for the review alongwith other reviewers from the journal database. However, please note that, only those should be suggested as reviewers who are willing to review, have worked in that area. Their comments will be reviewed by the Editorial Committee before taking any final decision. Do send us their name and e mail address and do not forget to mention your submission reference number - Chief Editor
  • The whole World is moving towards digitalization. Hence, in view of the recent unprecedented devaluation of the Pakistani currency since the cost of production has increased enormously and we can neither keep on increasing the processing and publication charges nor the authors can afford, we have decided that effective July 2023, Pakistan Journal of Medical Science will only have an Online Edition and no print issue. We had suggested this to the regulatory authorities in Pakistan almost a year ago. However, if the authors wish, we will forward them the soft copy of the title page and they can take print either of their manuscript or the whole issue from the website and keep it for their record. Those authors who are keen to have a printed copy should send their manuscript to some other journal. Editor

Author Guidelines

Note: Please note processing fee is non-refundable. If you have any doubt, you can send abstract by e mail and get opinion about the suitability of your manuscript’s further processing. We accept Good quality research, original articles. Do not send us KAP studies, animal studies and Survey reports. Systematic Reviews, Reviews, Case Reports have low priority and only a few selected ones are entertained. Make sure at least 30% of references pertain to last five years and reference to local studies is essential. Incomplete submissions and those once rejected may not be entertained either. Plan at least for six to eight months and those who are in a hurry better submit their manuscripts to some other journal as we have our own limitations of human resource and financial constraints though good quality manuscripts may be processed on accelerated pace.

Peer Review

We have reviewers from various countries in our reviewer’s database. We practice Open Peer Review system but at times it is difficult for the reviewers to comment on a manuscript since they do not know the local requirements of the regulatory bodies besides their medical education and health services system. Hence it is essential that at least one of the reviewers of the manuscript must be from that country.  As such the authors submitting their manuscripts to Pak J Med Sci are requested to suggest at least two to three potential reviewers for their study. The Editorial Team might select any one of them for the review alongwith other reviewers from the journal database. However, please note that, only those should be suggested as reviewers who are willing to review, have worked in that area. Their comments will be reviewed by the Editorial Committee before taking any final decision. Do send us their name and e mail address and do not forget to mention your submission reference number - Chief Editor

 

Letter of Undertaking in PDF format

Instruction to Authors in PDF format

Important Check List

Specimen of Title Page(Note: To download Specimen of Title Page, right click on the link and in menu clink on Save link as)

Effective: January 12, 2023

Monthly PAKISTAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES follow the “Recommendations for the Conduct,Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly work in medical journals. Updated Dec. 2015. Available at:http://icmje.org/recommendations/” modified and is recognized by Higher Education Commission, College of Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan and PM&DC. This Journal is covered by ISI/Thompson known for IF, Web ofSciences, Indexed by WHO Index Medicus IMEMR Current Contents is covered by EXCERPTA MEDICA,Netherlands, CAB Abstract and Global Health of UK, is registered with International Serials Data System ofFrance bearing ISSN No. 1682-024X (online edition ISSN 1681-715X). It is included in the Directory of OpenAccess Journals (www.doaj.org) on Internet. Hence, all those whose manuscripts are accepted and publishedwill get the necessary credit. (Abbreviated form: PaK J Med Sci.)

While submitting manuscripts, please carefully follow the instructions given below:-

  1. Submit the manuscript with our online editorial system at www.pjms.org.pk In World in one file starting from title of the manuscript to references including tables. E-mail of each author is required during the submission process. All submitted manuscripts must be exclusively contributed to Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. Covering letter should also state what information this study adds to medical literature and how it will influence clinical practice.
  2. Plagiarism: Manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using iThenticate software and those found guilty or involved in publication misconduct are liable  to be black listed.
  3. Do not submit tables as photographs. Give each column an abbreviated heading. Identify  statistical  measures such  as standard deviation and standard error  of the  mean. Make sure that  each figure, table is cited in the text.
  4. The figures should be sent in JPEG format with atleast 300 dpi of resolution as separate file (upload as supplementary file).
  5. We accept only those manuscripts or data that have not been previously published or submitted elsewhere for publication. However, re-analysis of previously published data can be accepted.
  6. In case the  manuscript was earlier submitted to some other Journal and was rejected, the authors must provide full information as to why it was rejected, for proper analysis.
  7. All manuscripts by multiple authors must be signed by all the authors and contain details of individual authors contribution. All authors must fulfill ICMJE criteria for authorship. In case of suspicion of gift authorship the journal may refuse further processing of the manuscript. Maximum of four authors are allowed in single center studies. Please also note in case of KAP Studies, routine surveys and similar manuscripts the maximum number of authors allowed will be four. Manuscripts with more than four authors will not be accepted for further processing and will be rejected.
  8. Informed consent of the patients participating in the study should be undertaken.
  9. All studies must be approved by the relevant Ethics Committee/Institution Review Boards of the respective institutions and approval letter should be submitted alongwith the manuscript. Please note with effect from January 2020, all FCPS Dissertations  based manuscripts,  also need an Ethics Committee/IRB approval if there is some intervention. The same is true for those synopsis approved by Board of Advanced studies of Universities, manuscripts based on Thesis of PhD and M. Phil.
  10. The authors as well as reviewers are expected to declare the conflict of interest if any.
  11. Source of funding for the study should be clearly mentioned. Authors involved in scientific misconduct may be  black listed and barred from further submissions.
  12. The journal will accept:- (a) Guest Editorials on important subjects of current interest, (b) Original Articles, (c) Review Articles, (d) Case Reports, (e) Clinical Updates (f) Short Communications (g) Book Reviews (h) Case Studies (i) Clinical Notes (j) CME (k) Obituaries (l) Letters to the Editor. We do not accept Knowledge, Attitude, Practice (KAP) studies, routine surveys and cross sectional studies. Only selected animal studies are entertained. The authors can suggest two reviewers at the time of making submission who may be contacted by the editor if required.
  13. The desired position of any figure or table should be marked in the manuscript.
  14. Manuscripts except short communications & Guest Editorials should contain the following sections:-
    1. Title Page: The complete title of the manuscript, the name of all the authors with their highest qualifications, the department or institution to which they are attached, address for correspondence with telephone numbers,  cell phones, e-mail, Fax number and short running title of the article, source of funding, number of figures, tables, total word count and total number of pages.
    2. Conflicts of interest: When authors submit a manuscript they must disclose all financial and personnel relationship that might bias their work. Authors must state explicitly whether potential conflicts do or do not exist. They should do so in the manuscript on the title page. Additional details can be provided if necessary in a covering letter which accompanies the manuscript.
      Authors of study funded by an agency with proprietary or financial interest in the outcome must sign a statement that they had full access to all the data in the study and take complete responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. This statement should be submitted along with the manuscript.
    3. Abstract: All original articles must accompany a structured abstract upto 250 words. It should state  Objective  of  the study, Methodology, Results  & Conclusions. (Selection of study subjects or experimental  animals; observational and analytical methods, give specific data and their statistical significance, if possible). Emphasise new and important  aspects of the study or observations. This page should contain structured abstract and key words only. Authors need to be careful that the abstract reflects the content of the article accurately. Single digit figures should be written in words i.e. 2 should be written as two.
    4. Key Words: Below the abstract give few key words not more than ten that will assist indexers in cross indexing the article as they are published with abstract. Use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of index medicus, if suitable MeSH terms are not yet available for recently introduced terms, present terms may be used.
    5. Case Report/Review Article: All review articles and case reports should be preceded by a summary. Authors submitting review manuscript should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting and synthesizing data, data bases searched and the time period. These methods should also be summarized in the abstract.
    6. Introduction: This should summarize the purpose and the rationale for the study. It should neither review the subject extensively nor it should have data or conclusions of the study.
    7. Methodology: This should include exact method or observation or experiment. If an apparatus is used, it’s manufacturer’s name and address should be given in parenthesis. If the method is established, give reference but if the method is new, give enough  information so that another author is able to perform it. If a drug is used, its generic name, dose and route of administration must be given. For patients, age, sex with mean age ± standard deviation must be given. Statistical method must be mentioned and specify any general computer programme used. The Info system used should be clearly mentioned. Ethics Committee / Institutional Review Board (EC/IRB) approval number with date should be included in this section.
    8. Results: It must be presented in the form of text, tables and illustrations. The contents of the tables should not be all repeated in the text. Instead, a reference to the table number may be given. Long articles may  need sub-headings within some sections (especially the Results and Discussion parts)  to clarify their contents. Extra or supplementary materials and technical details can be placed in an appendix where it will be accessible. It may be omitted from the printed version but may be published in the electronic version of the journal.
    9. Discussion: This should emphasize present findings & the variations or similarities with other work done in the field by other workers. Detailed data should not be repeated in the discussion again. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. It must be mentioned whether the hypothesis mentioned in the article  is true, false or no conclusions can be derived. This section should also include as to what new information it has added to the medical literature and its clinical significance.
    10. References: These should be type in superscript. Maximum References: Original Article 25, Case Report 10, Reviews 40. These references should also be marked in the text. The author should ensure reference to locally published studies by doing proper literature search. It may not be possible for the editor and reviewers to check the accuracy of all reference citations. To minimize such errors author should verify references against the original documents. The References should be written in Vancouver style as per "Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly work in medical journals. Updated Dec. 2015. Available at: http://icmje.org/recommendations/". List all authors when there are six or fewer. If there are seven or more list the first six followed by ”et al” Reference should provide the following information: Author’s name with initials, full title of cited article, name of the journal in which the article appeared (in abbreviated form), Year of Publication, Journal’s Volume, Number and finally first & the last page numbers. Write Page No. like this 120-126. Add DOI number of those references where it is available. Example:--
      Hakyemez IN, Kucukbayrak A, Tas T, Yikilgan AB, Akkaya A, Yasayacak A, et al. Nosocomial Acinetobacter baumannii infections and changing Antibiotic Resistance. Pak J Med Sci. 2013;29(5):1245-1248.   doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12669/pjms.295.3885
    11. Reference from the books should have Authors name and initials, full title of cited article, complete title of book, Name of Editors, address (city) the publisher, first and last page numbers and finally the year of publication, such as:-
      Haroon TS. How to plan a scientific study, ‘Medical Writing’ (second edition), Jawaid SA, Jafary MH & Zuberi SJ (Eds), Pakistan Medical Journalists Association, Karachi, Pakistan. 1993;pp 1-13.
    12. In case of multicentre study or trial, the reference should be given as Name of the Group or of study, exact title of the study, full results or partial results, Name of the Journal, Volume and Number, pages and the year. For example:-
      TIMI Study Group: Comparison of invasive and conservative strategies after treatment with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator in acute myocardial infarction. Results of the TIMI Phase-II trail. N Eng J Med. 1989;320:618-627.
    13. Newspaper articles: Malik Mahmood A, autonomous hospitals, “Pulse” International, Karachi, Pakistan, 2000. January 15-31, Page 1 & 2.
    14. Citation of personal communications and unpublished observations should be strictly limited and given in brackets in the text. These should not appear in the list of references. A paper may not be cited as “Under Publication or in Press”  unless it has been accepted for publication & the name of the Journal  is given.
  15. Letter  of  Undertaking:  Manuscripts must be accompanied by letter of undertaking signed by all the authors. Scanned copy of Letter of Undertaking should also be uploaded at our online editorial system. Note: Peer Review may take four to five months. Authors who are in a hurry must first enquire before making submission. Authors should also provide a Certificate of statistical Analysis from the Statistician with submission. 


    Letter of Undertaking in PDF format
  16. Authorship:-
    • Authorship credit should be based on 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be published.  4) Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Authors should meet conditions 1, 2, 3 and 4. (For details of ICMJE Authorship Criteria see Letter of Undertaking).
    • Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group, alone does not justify authorship. All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship & all those who qualify should be listed. A maximum number of four tables or illustrations are allowed. If their numberis more, the manuscript may not be accepted for further processing.
    • All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship and all those who qualify should be listed.
    • Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.
    • In case of more than one authors in a manuscript, the contributions of each person listed as author in the study should be mentioned.
    • When a large, multi-center group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship defined above and editors will ask these individuals to complete journal-specific author and conflict of interest disclosure forms. When submitting a group author manuscript, the corresponding author should clearly indicate the preferred citation and should clearly identify all individual authors as well as the group name. Other members of the group should be listed in the acknowledgements. Addition and deletion of authors may not be permitted after submission with LOU signed by authors.
  17. Acknowledgement: All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be covered in the acknowledgement section. It should include persons who provided technical help, writing assistance and departmental head who only provided general support. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged. Persons who have contributed materially but do not justify authorship can be listed as “clinical investigators” or “participating investigators” or “Scientific advisors” or “critically reviewed the study proposal or collected data."
  18. Length of  the Text: Maximum length of the original manuscript should not exceed 3000 words includingtitle page, table and references. In exceptional cases upto 3500 words may be accommodated. Forreview article 4000 words. Any term which is mentioned in the text quite frequently must be abbreviatedbut only if this does not detract from readers comprehension. Such as Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI). Maximum number of tables & illustrations should not exceed four. Case Report: Short report of cases,clinical experience, drug trials and adverse effects can be submitted. Maximum length should not exceed1500 words, maximum number of ten references, one table or two illustrations. It must contain genuinelynew information. Its format should be Title, Abstract, Introduction, Case Report, Discussion and References.Do mention contribution of each author as per authorship criteria. Case reports should not includereview of literature. Letters: Maximum words 350 with 2 to 3 references. Extra charges will be applicable for lengthy manuscripts.
  19. Never start new sentence or paragraph with figures. For example, “9 patients were admitted” should be written as “Nine patients were admitted”. Single digit figures should be written in words i.e. 2 should be written as two.
  20. The manuscript should be accompanied by a covering letter signed by all authors stating that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors, the requirements as stated earlier  have  been fully  met and each author believes that manuscript contains honest work. Mention the name, address, phone, cell phone, e-mail  and Fax Number of  the corresponding author who will be responsible for communicating and final approval of the proofs. Only correspondence author should communicate with the editor.
  21. Clinical Trials: Clinical Trials submitted for publication must be registered in public registry, provide registration proof & all RCTs must be based on CONSORT statement. Unregistered trials will not be published.
  22. Procedure: PAKISTAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES is a peer reviewed journal. All articles on receipt for publication are immediately acknowledged but this does not mean that it has been accepted for publication. After initial screening the manuscripts with major deficiencies, or of not interest to our readers will not be accepted for further processing and external peer-reviewed and the submitter will get an e mail within two weeks of submission. The manuscript is sent to two or more than two Reviewers. We practice open peer review system. The whole review process may take about four to five months time, although efforts are being made to reduce this period. The ultimate authority to accept or reject the manuscript rests with the Editor. Authors have the right to communicate to the editor if they do not wish their manuscript to be reviewed by a particular reviewer because of potential conflicts of interests usually professional, but they may be asked to explain or justify their concerns which is important for the editor in deciding whether to honour such request. The author can also suggest the name of two possible reviewers but it is up to the editor to accept it. Some manuscripts may be processed earlier at a fast pace keeping in view their importance. On receipt of the comments from reviewers, and if approved, letter of acceptance is issued to the correspondence author. Date of publication is confirmed after receipt of publication charges. If required, clarifications are sought from the authors. No article is rejected unless similar comments are received from at least two reviewers.
  23. Proof Reading: Final version of manuscript is sent to corresponding author for proof reading before publication to avoid any mistakes. Corrections should be conveyed clearly & Editor informed by e-mail.
  24. Article Processing Charges (APC): 

    Payment Mode:

    1. Bank Transfer:

    Title of Account:         Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences
    Account Number:       10030981088721010
    IBAN No:                      Pk58bahl1003098108872101
    Name of Bank:            Bank Al Habib Limited
                                           Shahrah-E-Faisal Branch (1003)
                                           Karachi - Pakistan.
    SWIFT Code:                BAHLPKKAXXX

    2. Credit Card/Debit Card
    pay.pjms.org.pk

    3. Pay-Order / Bank Draft
    Pay-Order / Bank Draft should be drawn in the name of Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences and sent at the Editorial Office.

    4. Cash
    Cash can be deposited at our Editorial Office

    Please note that processing of the manuscript (processing / publication) will be undertaken only after receipt of the charges.

    “All articles published in Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences are open access and freely available online, immediately upon publication. This is made possible by an article-processing charge (APC) that covers the range of publishing services we provide. It includes provision of online tools for editors and authors, article production and hosting, liaison with abstracting and indexing services, and customer services. The APC is payable when the manuscript is editorially accepted but before publication.”

  25. Waiver request: Those who cannot afford processing, publication charges can apply for waiver at the time of submission of paper (decision on case to case basis maximum discount available up to 50%).
  26. Drug Trials: Drug trials of preparations by pharmaceutical firms who are regular advertisers of Monthly  Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences will be published  without any additional charges after their approval by the Review Committee. Others will be required to pay a fee of Rs. Seventy Thousand only payable in advance after the manuscript has been approved by the Review Committee and is accepted for publication.
  27. Ethics Committee Approval: All manuscripts submitted to Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences involving human subject must be accompanied with certificate of Institutional Review Board / Ethics Committee Approval.
  28. Ethical consent: All manuscripts reporting the results of experimental investigations involving human subjects should include a statement confirming the informed consent was obtained from each subject or subject’s guardian, after approval of the experimental protocol by a local human ethics committee.
  29. Scientific Misconduct: Authors from China must provide singed statement related to scientific misconduct (Download PDF File from Journal Website)
  30. Ombudsman: Dr. Behrooz Astaneh, Head of Medical Journalism Dept. at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and Council Member of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) UK can be contacted by authors, others for redress of their grievances if any on e-mail: astanehb@yahoo.com

Use of Artificial Intelligence and AI-assisted Technology in preparation of the manuscript

Where authors use Artificial Intelligence or AI and AI-assisted technologies in the preparation of their manuscripts, they should use it only to improve readability and language. It should not replace key researcher tasks like interpretation of the data and drawing scientific conclusions.  It is important that this technology is used with human oversight and control. One should carefully review and edited version and the result, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output which may be incorrect, incomplete or biased.

AI and AI-assisted technologies cannot be listed as an author or co-author not they can be cited AI as an author. Authorship brings with it certain responsibilities and tasks which can only be performed by human beings. Authors are required to disclose in their manuscript the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing and preparation of the manuscript. When authors declare the use of AI in the writing process, a statement will appear in the published work. However, authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work.

Penalty for Retraction:

In case the authors request for Retraction of their manuscript because of some scientific misconduct, they will have to pay a penalty of US$ 600/- (US$ Six hundred) in case of overseas authors and Rs. 35,000/- (Rs. Thirty five thousand) in case of Pakistan.  On receipt of this penalty fee, the paper will be retracted with a mark of Retraction but it will remain on the journal website.

 

Note: Please note processing fee is non-refundable. If you have any doubt, you can send abstract by e mail and get opinion about the suitability of your manuscript’s further processing. We accept Good quality research, original articles. Do not send us KAP studies, animal studies and Survey reports. Systematic Reviews, Reviews, Case Reports have low priority and only a few selected ones are entertained. Make sure at least 30% of references pertain to last five years and reference to local studies is essential. Incomplete submissions and those once rejected may not be entertained either. Plan at least for six to eight months and those who are in a hurry better submit their manuscripts to some other journal as we have our own limitations of human resource and financial constraints though good quality manuscripts may be processed on accelerated pace.

Meta-Analysis: These are not primary research but secondary research, hence does not qualify to be included as an original article. This is despite the fact that it is quite time consuming and may take much more time to prepare a Meta-Analysis manuscript. Since regulatory agencies in different countries vary in giving credit to such manuscripts, to help authors get due credit, they are included in Original Articles section as Meta-Analysis/Original research.

Regulatory Bodies Like Higher Education Commission and PM&DC keep on changing the category of Science Journals from time to time. Authors in general and PhD. students in particular must check their website for category of the journals and their requirements before submission of their manuscripts.

 

Note: Brevity is the beauty of writing. Make sure your manuscript is within the prescribed word limits. Lengthy manuscripts are not encouraged, if accepted it will also increase publication charges. Tables and Figures could also result in extra charges if the manuscript consume more than four pages of the journal. Each additional page will cost Rs.6,000/-  (US$ 75/- in case of overseas manuscripts).

 

For further queries and further correspondence

CHIEF EDITOR
Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences
c/o. Professional Medical Publications
Office # 701, Seventh Floor, Business Center,
PECHS, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi-Pakistan.
Phones: +92-021-34324732  & +92-021-34324733
Email: pjms@pjms.org.pk

Important Check List for contributors

Effective: January 12, 2023

The authors must ensure that before submitting the manuscript for publication, they have taken care of the following: -

  1. Manuscripts should be prepared following Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals as approved by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org)
  2. All original manuscripts should have Abstract in structured format up to 250 words. It should mention Objective, Methodology, Results, Conclusions and appropriate Key Words.
  3. Maximum length of the manuscripts should be: Original Articles: 2500 words, maximum of four tables, illustrations, maximum references upto 25. Case Reports/Brief Communications: 1500 words, 10 References, maximum of two illustrations. Review Articles: 4000 words including brief summary describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting and synthesizing data. Maximum 40 latest, relevant References. Letters: 750 words with two to three references.
  4. Processing Charges: All manuscript from Pakistan must be accompanied by processing charges of Rs. 5000/- (Non Refundable) by cash or through online Bank Transfer.
    Note: Cheque, Pay Order and Bank Draft are not accepted as processing fee. 
    Fast Track Processing: Rs. 30,000/- (Peer-Review Report in 12 weeks) Overseas US$ 500/- (Seek prior permission to avail this facility).
    Note: For fast track processing please check with us whether it is possible before making payment for fast track processing as this facility is made available in only a very few selected cases because of our limitations of human resource and financial constraints. It ensures peer review report within twelve weeks, but there is no guarantee of acceptance or publication. Authors are requested not to opt for fast track processing unless it is extremely essential.  Normal peer review process takes 4 to 5 months though efforts are being made to accelerate this process. Plan for six to eight months from submission to acceptance after peer review. Contact the editor if you do not hear about your manuscript after three months.
  5. The manuscript should be accompanied by Letter of Undertaking signed by all the authors confirming exclusive submissions to Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, transfer of all copyrights to Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences and willingness to pay Publication Charges of Original Article Rs.30,000/- (upto 4 pages) (in case of overseas US$ 600/-), Case Report / Brief Communications Rs.25,000/- (in case of overseas US$ 400/-) and Review Article Rs.50,000/- (in case of overseas US$ 1000/-) upto 5 printed pages in the journal & Rs.6,000/- extra will be payable for each additional page. Overseas US$ 75/- for each additional page after the write-up is accepted after peer review. Letters Rs.8,000/- (in case of overseas US$ 150/-).
    Note: Processing and Publication charges from authors are taken to ensure their Open Access availability for the readers.
  6. Authors from China must provide singed statement related to scientific misconduct (Download PDF File from Journal Website)
  7. The manuscripts should be submitted direct on our website www.pjms.org.pk Figures should be uploaded as supplementary files. For any details contact on E-Mail: pjms@pjms.org.pk, pulse@pulsepakistan.com and upload complete manuscript from Title Page to References, Tables in one file.
  8. Pictures, illustrations should be submitted in JPEG format & manuscript in Microsoft word format.
  9. Title page should contain title of the write-up, Name of the author/co-authors, their qualifications, designation & institutions they are affiliated with and mailing address for future correspondence, E-mail address, Phone, Cell Phone & Fax number besides a short running title of the manuscript. Don’t type the name of the author/s on other pages in the manuscript except the title page.
  10. References should be marked as 1,2,3 and so on, typed in superscript and as they appear in the text & not by full names of authors. At the end of the manuscript the references should also be numbered accordingly.
    Add DOI number of those references where it is available. Write Page No. in references as 120-126.
  11. Tables should be typed on separate pages. Specify place where you wish tables and illustration to be placed. The journal may ask for data of the study if need be to ensure integrity of research.
  12. Check the total / percentage in the tables carefully.
  13. Make sure for Headings of Tables, their numbers and Captions of illustrations. Don’t repeat the information in tables if it is covered in the text. Table gives quicker idea but it must be able to convey the message correctly.
  14. Photographs / illustrations along with their captions (in duplicate).
  15. All Clinical Trials submitted for publication must be registered in a registry. Provide registration proof.
  16. Disclosure regarding source of funding and conflict of interest if any besides approval of the study from respective Ethics Committee/Institution Review Board.
  17. Covering Letter should be signed by all authors and figures should be in JPEG with resolution 300 dpi.
  18. Manuscript must be accompanied with certificate of IRB/Ethics Committee Approval.
  19. All randomized control trials should be prepared according to CONSORT Guidelines.
  20. Certificate of statistical Analysis should also be provided with submission.

Note: Brevity is the beauty of writing. Make sure your manuscript is within the prescribed word limits. Lengthy manuscripts are not encouraged, if accepted it will also increase publication charges. Tables and Figures could also result in extra charges if the manuscript consume more than four pages of the journal. Each additional page will cost Rs.6,000/-  (US$ 75/- in case of overseas manuscripts).

Privacy Statement

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.