Editorial – submitting work to the journal

I would like to focus this editorial on encouraging submissions to the journal and talking through the various sections and options for submissions that there are. The journal of Visual Communication in Medicine is owned by the Institute of Medical Illustrators (IMI) and published by Taylor and Francis. There are four issues per year, with two being published together twice per year as physical copies. We encourage submissions from both IMI members and beyond. Our authorship is diverse, and in this and recent issues we have papers from medics and surgeons, clinical photographers, medical illustrators, dermatologists, masters’ students, university lecturers, forensic scientists, and more. Together we form a community of like-minded individuals with a passion for visual communication in medical, with the journal providing a platform for sharing research findings, case studies, good practice, as well as examples of visual work.

I thought it would be helpful to outline the journal’s main sections and the sort of thing that could be submitted under each. The three following sections are primarily for written work. These generally go out for peer review. However, please don’t let this put you off. Peer review is an important process in maintaining standards, and our reviewers are an important part of our community. I have found their feedback to be overwhelmingly useful and constructive and they can be a great asset in making your paper the best it can be.

Scientific and technical

This section is generally for research papers, but may also include case studies and review articles.

Professional development

This section is for papers that help with professional development in the fields related to the visual communication of medicine. They are often ‘how to’ and technical papers.

A backwards glance

This section is for papers that take on a historical perspective. Perhaps looking at how an imaging technique, application of technology, or even professionally body such as the IMI has changed over the years.

We also have two gallery sections as follows:

Professional gallery

This gallery is to showcase examples of work from professional, practicing medical illustrators, including clinical photographers, medical artists, graphic designers and videographers.

Alternative gallery

This gallery has a wide remit and may include examples of creative practice that feature medicine as a subject but are not professional medical illustrations. This can include fine art, crafts, and graphic medicine, to mention just a few.

Gallery pieces generally do not go for peer review, but rather are assessed by the journal’s gallery section editor.

You can find more detail Instructions for Authors here: https://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?show=instructions&journalCode=ijau20

I hope this encourages you all to consider submitting to the journal. As you see, a wide range of paper types and images encouraged.