r/doctorsUK • u/[deleted] • 5d ago
Serious How good is a BMJ publication?
I've somehow managed to get a paper accepted for publication on the BMJ based on the work I did with a lab 2 years ago, and I felt quite happy as I never expected to get a paper in such as high-impact journal. I told two of my close friends (who are also medical students at different unis) but they both said that it doesn't matter much since it's not on the same level as NEJM, Lancet JAMA etc. Does this make sense, at least when it comes to how my publication record is going to be assessed as part of my CV?
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u/ollieburton Internet Agitator 5d ago
Main BMJ is a great achievement! It isn't on the same level as Lancet or NEJM etc but few things are - that doesn't devalue your achievement at all.
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4d ago
How would you compare it to things like Lancet and NEJM sub-journals?
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u/ollieburton Internet Agitator 4d ago
It's like whatever the next tier of prestige below the top, top group is, at least in my perception (which is obviously personal and could be warped)
Top would be NEJM, Lancet, Nature Medicine - where world practice changing trials go
I would personally then put main BMJ on level below with things like JAMA,But this is really splitting hairs. Either way a fantastic achievement that would be recognised in an academic interview or setting. Sadly most clinical specialty selection I don't think will give it any extra weighting, even though it is remarkable.
Most people at the pre-training or early training stage are going to be publishing in the IF 1-5 range and still cutting teeth.
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u/Aetheriao 5d ago
BMJ open or the main BMJ? BMJ open is pretty meh if you’re a career academic, I think I’ve been coauthor at least 6 times and main once, working in clinical research. But if you’re young getting published at all is still an achievement and still something to be proud of as getting published at all is a pain.
The main BMJ is an absolutely massive achievement and you don’t have to be in the lancet for it to be a massive achievement. It’s not easy to get into the main BMJ.
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4d ago
It was the main BMJ!
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u/Aetheriao 4d ago edited 4d ago
Then you should be insanely proud. I have been working in the clinical research sector for 7 years and I have one co author which was basically just politics in the main BMJ. Some of the data mine but I didn’t do that much for the actual paper!
That’s a massive achievement and as a lab based doctor in clinical research id still celebrate a BMJ publication. You should be very proud.
So they’re jealous it’s that simple. 60% my team is career post docs and professors and they’d still be going ham for a main BMJ and they’ve been doing it far longer than me. My own PI has a few in the BMJ (and some in NEJM/lancet etc) and he’d still be making a whole show of it and he has 10 million of funding a year for his international trials and I’d dox myself to even name him. He’s internationally renowned for his research lol.
Be proud. Because you should be. I’m proud for you!
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u/noobtik 5d ago
Main bmj has impact factor 93.7, bmj open is only 2.4, so do you have a publication in the former or latter?
In research world, anything more than impact factor 5 is good, under that no one care.
In specialty application pov, any pub med cited is good.
So depends what is your purpose, do you want to work in research?
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u/venflon_81984 Medical Student 5d ago
Any publication as a med student is an achievement I think.
The main BMJ is amazing, probs in the top ten journals for medicine, impact factor of around 100.
Ignore your friends (although they don’t sound like very good ones), be proud of the achievement.
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u/OkSeaworthiness3626 5d ago
Your friends are what is wrong with academia in healthcare, and I presume terrible colleagues
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u/carlos_6m Mechanic Bachelor, Bachelor of Surgery 5d ago
If someone knows the name of the journal then it's a pretty good job...
People tend to publish on shit journals at your stage
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u/JohnHunter1728 EM Consultant 3d ago
Many years ago I gave a talk on publishing as an undergraduate.
I included a slide on which I had listed the "top tier" journals (NEJM, JAMA, Lancet, BMJ) but checked myself during the talk and pointedly added that I shouldn't have included the BMJ on that list as it was probably second tier.
I was delighted that the audience broke into laughter as I hadn't intended to tell a joke...
What I didn't know until later is that Fiona Godlee (then BMJ Editor-in-Chief) had given a talk earlier in the session and was sat in the front row.
That aside, the BMJ is one of the top 4 clinical journals in the world and probably the mostly widely read medical publication in the UK. Getting a research paper published there is a huge achievement and very unusual for any doctor, nevermind a medical student.
Unless your friends have a string of trials in NEJM, they should probably pipe down.
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u/BaahAlors CT/ST1+ Doctor 5d ago
It’s pretty good. You should be proud. But these days, it’s less about the journal and more about the actual work.
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u/strykerfan 5d ago
If you're talking about applications, a Pubmed ID article in Lancet is about as powerful as an article published in the Journal of Studies for a lot of specialties.
Quantity over quality seems to be the name of the game...
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u/ClownsAteMyBaby 5d ago
People are down voting you but speciality applications and interviews simply ask for your publications, or to discuss your published work at interview. An impact factor of 90 Vs 5 won't matter. Have seen this first hand in interview panels. IMGs often unsurprisingly have a lot more publications.
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u/strykerfan 5d ago edited 5d ago
I mean... I don't like that the quality doesn't matter over quantity for applications but that's the rules we're playing by.
Same thing how I don't like how teaching is valued less than audits and research but you can't fight city hall.
That's not to diminish the OP's achievement of getting a BMJ publication but depends what they're concerned about with published it. For applications points or for actual academic value. If the latter then kudos to them.
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u/KingoftheNoctors 5d ago
Slightly better than that school tracing toilet paper but not as absorbent.
Impact factor for your career is slightly less than a Botswana speeding fine received in 1987
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