Authors Guidelines

Manuscripts are processed with the understanding that they have not been published or submitted for publication in whole or in part elsewhere. Such prior publication includes appearance in a previously published review article, book chapter, published symposium or journal supplement, or internet publication. Prior presentation or publication as an abstract at a scientific meeting or as an unindexed lecture handout does not present a conflict. Please clarify unusual situations with the editorial office prior to submission.

Submissions are received with the understanding that all listed authors have participated in the planning, implementation and/or analysis phases of the work presented; manuscripts drafted by anyone not listed as an author are not acceptable. All authors are asked to attest to the accuracy and validity of the contents. All persons or organizations involved in data collection or processing must be listed as authors or otherwise acknowledged.

The submitted manuscript must be accompanied by a cover letter identifying the corresponding author’s name, mailing and e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers. The cover letter should (1) include statements regarding the above policies; (2) disclose any of the authors’ commercial associations that represent a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted (other associations such as consultancies, equity interests, or patent licensing arrangements should be noted at the time of submission); (3) clearly define any and all funding sources supporting the submitted work including all corporate sponsors, even if their support is indirect (e.g.: to a local research foundation that funded the project); and (4) include the statement "the authors undersigned hereby transfer, assign, or otherwise convey all copyright ownership to the Journal of Education in Perioperative Medicine effective if and when the submission is accepted for publication."¹

Manuscripts are reviewed by two or more members of the editorial board to determine validity, importance, originality of contents and conclusions. At the discretion of the editor-in-chief, manuscripts may be reviewed by ad-hoc reviewers with specialized expertise. Authors are encouraged to suggest the names of potential reviewers. Authors will usually be notified within 4 weeks whether articles are accepted, rejected, or require revision prior to acceptance. In some cases, the review process may take longer; substantial revisions may be required before a decision can be made. Authors may also contact the editorial office to inquire about the status of a manuscript.

The editorial board discourages authors from dividing the results of a single investigation into separate papers unless the presentation of the entire work in a single paper cannot be accomplished in a well-organized fashion. If the authors believe that subdivision is appropriate, the editor should be notified at the time of original submission. The editor must also be notified if another manuscript derived from the same investigation has been published previously, or has been submitted to another journal. Failure to provide such information may be grounds for rejection.

Original Articles should address a focused issue or problem in perioperative education which has been addressed by the authors’ quantitative or qualitative original research. Research methods may include, but are not limited to: surveys, interviews, expert script analysis, quantitative observational techniques and videotape analysis. Articles must not exceed 3,000 words and should not include more than 6 illustrations and tables. Note that each separate part of a figure counts as an illustration. Up to 30 references are permitted.

Special Articles may address an important education issue, research methodology or education process not easily dealt with as a review or original paper.

Brief Reports should include short original studies or reports which are preliminary in nature and deal with small samples. They should not exceed 1,500 words; 1 or 2 illustrations and up to 10 references are permitted. Original articles and brief reports can feature interactive teaching and learning tools. Authors are encouraged to provide information which makes it possible for the Journal to provide electronic links to access such tools. Please consult the editorial office if special requirements arise. One of the goals of the Journal is to facilitate access to educational tools described in feature articles and the Electronic Educational Library (EEL).

Electronic Educational Library (EEL). Educators are encouraged to submit educational materials to the Journal which they find to be particularly helpful. Examples are evaluation forms, feedback templates, goals and objectives for particular rotations or exercises, spreadsheets, slide-libraries, etc. Manuscripts submitted for Pre-publication Interactive Discussion are also posted in EEL. EEL submissions will be posted acknowledging the name and affiliation of the submitting educator. Submissions are the sole responsibility of the author.

Arrange manuscripts in the following fashion beginning each section on a separate page:

Title Page: The title page should contain the title of the article; the first name, middle initial, and last name of each author, with their highest academic rank (including fellowship and board affiliations), and institutional affiliations; the name, complete mailing address, phone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the corresponding author; the department and institution to which the work should be attributed; the source(s) of financial support from foundations, institutions, pharmaceutical, and other private companies.

Abstract: For original articles and brief reports, provide an abstract of no more than 250 words. It should contain four paragraphs: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. They should briefly describe, respectively, the problem being addressed, how the study was performed, the salient results, and the authors’ conclusions. Below the abstract, list up to six (6) key words applicable to the contents of the manuscript. Use terms from the medical subject headings of Index Medicus whenever possible.

Text: The body of the manuscript is usually, but not necessarily, divided into four parts (each beginning on a new page): Introduction; Materials and Methods; Results; and Discussion.

Acknowledgments: Funding sources and corporate or institutional associations should be given on the title page. Acknowledgments to individuals who assisted with the study or with manuscript preparation, including statistical review, should appear on a separate page before references.

References: Double-space references throughout, numbering in the sequence in which they appear in the text. Type reference numbers in the text as superscripts (e.g.: above the line of text). Restrict references to those that have direct bearing on the work described. Include names and initials of all authors, title, abbreviated titles of the medical journals as they appear in Index Medicus and Science Citation Index, year, volume, and inclusive page numbers. Include only references accessible to all readers. You may cite material appearing in programs of meetings or in organizational publications provided they are accessible in a library setting or you submit the item for inclusion in the Electronic Educational Library (EEL). Material on the World Wide Web may be referenced if properly identified by their most current internet address and subdirectory. Abstracts are acceptable as references only if published within the previous five (5) years in an indexed journal or otherwise publicly accessible medium. Abstracts, editorials, and letters used as references should be identified as such parenthetically following the title. Manuscripts in preparation or submitted for publication are not acceptable as references. If you cite manuscripts "in press" as references, please provide three (3) copies of those manuscripts when you submit the new manuscript and mark them as "in press".

Use the following formats:

Journal: (List all of the authors when four (4) or less; when five (5) or more, list only the first three and add et al.) Breslow MJ, Jordan DA, Christopherson R, et al. Epidural morphine decreases postoperative hypertension by attenuating sympathetic nervous system hyperactivity. JAMA 1989;261:3577-81.

Book: Schubert A. Clinical Neuroanesthesia, Butterworth-Heinemann Publishers, Boston, MA, 1997.

Chapter: Maze M, Baden JM. Anesthesia for patients with liver disease, In: Miller RD (Ed.). Anesthesia, 2nd ed. New York, Churchill Livingstone Inc. 1986;1665-80.

Legend for Illustrations: Provide a full legend for each illustration. Type legends double-spaced on a separate page after references, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustration (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend. Define all abbreviations used in each illustration. Repeat definition if the abbreviation is used in a subsequent legend.

Tables: Type tables double-spaced, each on a separate page. Number tables with Arabic numerals (Table 1, Table 2, etc.) consecutively in order of appearance. Each table must have a caption above the tabular material. Do not submit tables as photographs. Do not submit tables that rely on vertical lines for clarity or coherence; use as few horizontal lines as possible. Do not repeat information in a table that is already given in the text and do not make a table for data that can be reported in the text in one or two sentences.

Illustrations: Number figures with Arabic numbers (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.) consecutively in order of appearance. Submit four (4) unmounted, untrimmed glossy prints or high quality laser prints of each line drawing, graph, photograph, electron micrograph, x-ray, echocardiogram, etc. None should exceed 8-1/5 x 11" in size. The contents and lettering of the illustrations should be of proportional size. Protect illustrations for mailing. Do not staple, clip, or write heavily on the back. Paste a label on the back of each illustration indicating its number in order of appearance, corresponding author’s name, and an arrow indicating the top edge of the picture. For figures taken from another publication, permission letters releasing copyright for their reproduction are required once an article is accepted for publication. For electronic submission of figures, see section on electronic manuscripts.

Electronic Manuscript Submission (preferred): Submission by e-mail or computer disk is highly encouraged. Manuscripts should be prepared using the General Preparation of Manuscripts section guidelines.

Each e-mail submission should include a cover letter and one (1) copy of the manuscript formatted as a text file (ASCII) or a Microsoft Word file (preferred). Illustrations/figures must be in GIF or JPEG format and should not exceed 100K in size. When e-mail submission is received by the editorial office, a confirmation message will be sent notifying the corresponding author to fax signed copy of cover letter to the editor-in chief.

Manuscripts submitted on disks should include one (1) copy of the manuscript formatted as a text file (ASCII) or a Microsoft Word file (preferred). As with e-mail transmissions, illustrations/figures in GIF or JPEG format should not exceed 100K in size. Disks must be labeled with the title of the manuscript, the corresponding author’s name, and the file format used. A hard copy of the signed cover letter must be included with each disk submission.

Please include in your e-mail or other cover letter if you wish to have your contribution placed on the electronic library for pre-publication discussion and feed back from readers. Until the paper is peer reviewed, it will remain in EEL with a statement to readers to direct their comments to the authors.