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Emergence and Evolution of the Journal of Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons
Its more than a mere change, three decades of the JBCPS is a tedious endeavor of addon development and growing. To understand the pace of the journal there is need of perceiving the emergence and evolution of medical journals beyond the country domain and its impact within.
Bangladesh Medical Journal (BMJ) published by the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) is the oldest journal of the country first published 50 years back in July 1972 edited by Dr. AQMB Choudhury, four scientific articles were included in the first issue, an editorial and a rare list of doctors who laid their lives for the liberation war in 1971. Then the Bangladesh Medical Research Council Bulletin (BMRC Bulletin) was published in December 1975. The Journal of Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons popularly known as the ‘BCPS Journal’ was first published in August 1983. Now it becomes one of Bangladesh's most prestigious clinical and laboratory-based research publications.
Figure 1: Cover page of the first issue of the BCPS Journal.
Winds and Waves of Changes in BCPS Journal
In the first volume it had two issues. The first issue (volume 1, number 1) was first published in August 1983, and it was proudly edited by a five-member editorial board where Prof. Golam Rasul was the first Editor-in-Chief. Other members of the first board were Dr. A K Azad Khan, Dr. K M H S Sirajul Haque, Dr. Nazmun Nahar and Dr. Shafiqul Hoque. The historical first issue contained six articles, college news section and obituary, no editorial was published in the initial issues. The second one (volume 1, Number 2) was published in February 1984. At the beginning the year was considered from July to June and two issues per volume per year was continued for eight years till February 1991 when it had published its Volume 8, Number 2. The next volume consisted of two issues - named as Volume 9 Issue 1&2 and Volume 9 Number 3. These two issues were published in 1991 too. Then it started to publish according to the calendar year (January to December) two issues per year.
Then the college and the editorial board have decided to publish three issues per year and continued for the next twenty years till 2010. Thereafter in 2011, due to the increased numbers of the articles the board had decided to publish four issues per year to accommodate more articles which is continued till date. First editorial was included in January 1993, volume 11, number 1 and the title was ‘AIDS and the Bangladesh Surgeon the time for complacency is over’ by Dr. Omar Faruque Yusuf and Dr. M A Majed was the Editor-in-Chief. The first design of the cover page was also continued but the first design change was adopted in 1991. Latest in 2004, the new design and the concept of the cover was taken place which is continued till date.
Figure 2: Historical wave of changes in the cover page of BCPS Journal: The cover page of the first issue in August 1983 (left); first change in colour & design were taken place in May 1991, volume 9, number 1 (middle); new design & colour of the cover was adopted in January 2004 (right).
Figure 3: The first issue of the BCPS Journal – shadow cover page, editorial board and the contents
Till date, the BCPS Journal was embraced by 15 Editors-in-Chief, a list of them is mentioned in the figure 5. The Editors-in-Chief of the BCPS Journal used to be selected by the college council among the fellows having a track record of editing journals and publication interests, used to be rolled over every two years at a time. If required, the council requests the Editor-in-Chief to continue the tenure for further two years.
Figure 4: Editor-in-Chiefs of the BCPS Journal
Special Supplement
BCPS Journal always tries to cater the need of the fellows. In that line the first supplement issue was published in the year 2000 on Medical Education. Then another special supplement was published in 2020 - which was the first such issue on COVID 19 pandemic in Bangladesh. The Golden Jubilee Issue is the third in this series published on June 2022 which is available online.
Current Status
In 2021, a new era began with leadership and editorial board changes as the new-generation journal began to take on a new identity. The Journal of Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons (JBCPS) is a peer reviewed journal, published four times a year (January, April, July and October). It welcomes original research articles, review articles, case reports, short communications, commentaries, letter to the editor and clinical images from the wide range of medical sciences. Complimentary copies of journal are sent to libraries of all medical and other relevant academic institutions within the country and selected overseas institutions.
Current Board
The BCPS Journal having two boards – the Editorial Board and the Advisory Board. Each of the board is formed for two years tenure. The Editorial Board is the managing committee of the journal is headed by a chairperson. The main managerial part of the journal is headed by the Editor-in-Chief and consists of a moderate number of members along with an office consists of three temporary staffs. The Editorial Board underwent some changes and adopted two Joint Editors-in-Chief to assist the Editor-in-Chief to complete the mammoth tasks. All the above committee members are voluntarily do their tasks selected among the fellows and members of the college based on their expertise in the field of scholarly publication.
Current Policy/ Aims
While every effort is always made by the Editorial Board and the members of the Journal Committee to avoid inaccurate or misleading information appearing in, information within the individual article is the responsibility of its author(s). The JBCPS, its Editorial Board and the members of the Journal Committee accept no liability whatsoever for the consequences of any such inaccurate and misleading information, opinion, or statement.
The core aims are to -
• Publish a wide range of clinical and educational material of multi-specialty interest to local and
international readership
• Facilitate medical education and disseminate up to date knowledge through the publication of quality original research papers
• Welcome submissions from a wide range of authors (not limited to the Fellows and Members of the College), provided the paper has relevance to a general medical audience
• Promote and enable clinicians and researchers to keep up to date with developments in other specialties, particularly, those which may impact upon their practices
Editorial and Review Process
The Editor in Chief or any member of the Editorial Board will review all manuscripts submitted. Manuscripts containing materials of insufficient scientific merit or of a priority issue, or those that do not meet the requirements for publication, may be rejected or returned to the author(s) for resubmission with necessary changes to fit one of the submission categories. Manuscripts that meet the criteria according to the Journal's style and are deemed appropriate for consideration are sent out for peer review. Submissions that the reviewer deems eligible for publishing may require revisions or alterations before being published. The ability of the evaluated and revised/modified contribution to be published is ultimately decided by the Editorial Board. The author(s) may be issued a proof of an accepted work, which must be amended and submitted to the editorial office within one week. At this time, no changes to the manuscript will be considered.
Figure 5: Current editorial process of BCPS Journal
Synopsis on Publication
It has a rapidly growing national and international readership. It showcases the most cutting-edge clinical and laboratory research in a variety of medical fields, as well as a forum for medical scientists to share their experiences in order to help others deliver better patient care.
Till date, up to April 2022, volume 40, issue 2, it has published a total of 1212 articles since the first issue in August 1983. The short synopsis of the journal was made by the authors of this article: total 40 volumes published till 2022 consisted of 123 issues including two special supplements. Out of 1212 articles, 565 were original articles followed by 138 reviews, 316 case reports, 114 editorials, 37 images in medical practice, 36 letter to the editor and 6 others on different issues. The analysis of the published articles were plotted in the Figure 7 and 8.
Figure 6: Number of articles published - year by year (1983 - 2022)
Figure 7: Articles categories (1983 - 2022)
The authors analyzed the published articles in different perspectives. It was remarkable
Figure 9: Number of articles published categorized by gender (1983 - 2022)
finding that a commendable number of articles been published by the female doctors comprises almost one third of all (375, 31%). In 2016, 2017 and 2018- female doctors lead the list with highest number of articles published and narrowed down the gap. On the other hand, the readership is increasing day by day including the international acceptance. It was evident that authors from over twenty countries from different continents published their articles in the BCPS Journal since the first issue in August 1983. Total 46 articles were published from the overseas authors.
Figure 10: Distribution by gender (n=1212)
Figure 11: Articles from the overseas countries shown in the world map
Looking Forth
‘Change is inevitable, growth is optional’
—John C. Maxwell
The world is ever changing and the things around us continues to change, and thus true for BCPS Journal in its evolutionary journey. We will highlight some of the refinements as well as more changes yet to come.
Increase Impact Factor
The impact factor of a journal is commonly used as one of the best and popular metrics of journal quality. The primary aim of BCPS journal should be to become a high-quality journal. If the scientific quality and the visibility of the articles increase, the impact factor will rise accordingly. The following approaches will help BCPS journal to increase the quality of it and thereby the impact factor: attract quality manuscripts, good editorial work, increase visibility of the journal trustful cooperation with owner & publisher. The journal committee has taken the initiative to improve this part.
Improvement of Editorial Work
BCPS journal is a high-quality journal through appropriate editorial processes and publishing high-quality, ethical articles. Editorial work of BCPS will be further improved with providing an objective review process; working promptly; providing good professional English editing; providing a statistical review; continuing the education of editors, authors, and reviewers; and following major international editor associations.
International Reviewer Involvement
A strong editorial board including appropriate international reviewers who are eminent scholars in the field will play a key role in taking BCPS journal to heights of success. When a group of famous academics come together or become a part of JBCPS, they will bring their credibility and reputation to the editorial and review process of the journal. The journal has a rich panel of national reviewers and has included reviewers from North America, Europe and South-East Asia and willing to incorporate more into the list in the coming years.
Figure 12: Reviewers by country
Build a Journal for Modern Readers
One common mindset that still plagues the scientific publishing is the idea to think about online journals like the traditional print journal production. BCPS journal is emphasized on a modern web presence and convenient online browsing experience. To improve the discovery and reach of the articles, will create categories on BCPS website and make sure that the articles will be easily searchable.
Invited Articles Series will be introduced based on “Editor’s Perspectives” reflects important concepts and practical issues our fellows face in their professional and personal lives. Future articles will focus on observation, the art of questioning, and how to run a meeting, creativity, art of scientific presentation and research.
Expand the Scope
A scientific journal based on specific topics can get more targeted traffic which can increase citations and BCPS journal will follow this strategy. Make sure that the title and the scope are descriptive and intuitive for readers and potential authors. Allowing authors to submit their manuscripts in a variety of formats can attract more submissions.
Promote Published Articles
An editor’s job should not end once an article is published. Promote the articles to increase awareness, attract citations, and improve usage. Invest time and effort into a marketing mechanism that works for publicity of BCPS journal. Increasing the readership and citation is the key to any journal as well as very important for an author. Without citation, one cannot improve the H-index, Citation index and other parameters indicating the readership.
Publish more Review Articles
Comprehensive review articles attract a high number of readers and citations. Active recruitment of review articles may be required, but in many cases, review articles are more heavily cited than the original articles. We are committed to improve it.
Shorten the Review Process
Fresh and recent studies are more likely to be cited than outdated articles. We need to make sure the review process works efficiently – shorter turnaround times tend to attract more article submissions.
Get Indexed
The BCPS journal included in several niche indices to increase its rank. These give more weight to content quality rather than publishing history. These are the best way to get BCPS Journal discovered by target readers. High-quality peer-reviewed content, consistent publishing history, and a strong editorial board are essential for inclusion. JBCPS has planned to index in Pubmed, Index Medicus, and Citation Index in near future. We have planned to develop a website and revised editor panels with national and international advisory body.
Smart Editorial Process
The current editorial board is keen to improve the editorial process to reduce the process time, quality review, track record, quality article, improving the standard and a smooth error free process. To continue the indexing and worldwide readership, it is pivotal to incorporate online/ electronic manuscript submission, online review, electronic management system and online hosting for international visibility. The big challenge shall be to recruit a paid ‘Managing Editor’, a trained team in the editorial office and a dynamic independent web portal but the authority is on the process.
The College now is a large assembly of about 10,000 Fellows and Members. The JBCPS owe their progress over the years to this clan of kindred spirits. As the Journal starts its two-score year of its existence, there is no way other than congratulating each one of them on this fascinating endeavor. The college council expects that their contributions as authors, reviewers, editors, editorial staffs and the flag bearers of the JBCPS continues to grow.
The emergence, evolution and rolling of changes - these novel ideas come from authors, reviewers and editors. It has been said that the secret of change is to focus all the energy to build the new and fighting the old. Change is inevitable but the growth of the JBCPS is entirely up to all of us working for the journal, in many capacities as a mission of exposing the addon knowledge, in other worlds building the science. But we should not forget – ‘Respect and remember who we are, where we have come from, and embrace the future’.
Let us reflect Tagore, ‘Ever I am restless, I am athirst for the far’.