42(1):67-68,2001
                                                                                                                        STUDENTCMJ
                 MakingOurVoicesHeard:WhyStudentJournalsareCrucial
                 Jason O’ Neale Roach
                 Guy’s, King’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals Medical School, London, England, UK
                 ThestudentBMJhasprovidedaforumformedicalstudentdebateforthepasteightyears.Theissuesthatstudentsneedtodis-
                 cussdeservededicatedjournalspace.Beingabletocommentonissuessuchasadmissionspoliciesandteachingstylesmayaf
                                                                                                                                          -
                 fectmanyfuturegenerationsofdoctorsaswell.Astherearethousandsofdoctorsintrainingworldwide,themorewaysavail-
                 able for students to express themselves, the better. A specific journal for Croatian medical students will allow a national
                 perspective on these issues as well.
                 Keywords: journalism; manuscripts; periodicals; students, medical; writing
                      To publish educational and entertaining material           nowadvertisedeveryyearandasuccessorselectedafter
                 for medical students everywhere and facilitate interna-         interview, by editors at the BMJ.
                 tional student debate on medical education, health and               StudentswritethemajorityofourLifesection.Any
                 health policy.                                                  student can send in articles at any time. Many have not
                                            studentBMJ mission statement         written before, and do not have to do anything more than
                                                                                 send an article via e-mail. They cover the diverse range
                      Everycommunityneedsaforumtodebateitsideas.                 ofthoughts,aspirations,andaccomplishmentsthatmedi-
                                                                                 cal students experience all over the world. Medical stu-
                 The studentBMJ has provided this for medical students           dents studying anywhere in the world are eligible to
                 in the UKforthepasteightyears.Ouraim,however,has                write for our journal. We also pay up to £100 for articles
                 always been to represent medical students everywhere.           accepted. If you have an original idea, whether you have
                      Studentbmj.com, our free web based journal, has            written for a journal before or not, we would be inter-
                 certainly helped us achieve this. But, there are thousands      ested in hearing from you. You can contact us at the
                 of doctors in training worldwide and the more ways              e-mail address at the end of this article. We also provide
                 available for students to express themselves, the better.       clear information on the sort of material we are looking
                 This is what makes the launch of a section dedicated to         for on our website at www.studentbmj.com/writing. Why,
                                                                                                                                          -
                 students in the Croatian Medical Journal so exciting.           however, should we plug resources into a journal specifi
                                                                                 cally for medical students?
                      At conception, the studentBMJ was really a
                 monthlyarchiveofthemoststudentrelevantpartsofthe
                 BMJ. It is completely owned by the BMJ publishing                    Addressing the Problems
                                                                           -
                 group and is produced out of its offices in London, Eng              Theissuesthatweneedtodiscussdeservededicated
                 land. Twoyearsafteritslaunch,itwasdecidedtotakeon               journal space. Stress in medical students is a common
                 a student editor each year. This editor took a year out of      phenomenon,forinstance(1).ThestudentBMJwasable
                 medical school to take control of commissioning, edit-          to highlight this issue, and point out ways that students
                 ing, and writing, and began to change the nature of the                                                                  -
                                                                                 can deal with stress more effectively. We recently ad
                 journal. It started to use more original material and was                                                                -
                                                                                 dressedeatingdisordersinstudentsanddoctors(2).Sim
                 redesignedtoappealtoitsstudentreadership.Sincethen,             ple advice and knowing about the resources available
                 this appeal has continued to grow. The StudentBMJ con-                                                                   -
                                                                                 can be of great help to those who may be suffering in si
                 sists of editorials, news, education, papers, and review                                                                 -
                                                                                 lence. Being able to comment on issues such as admis
                 sections.Mostisspeciallycommissioned,andwrittenby                                                                        -
                                                                                 sions policies, and teaching styles may affect many fu
                 doctors in tune with the educational and extracurricular        ture generations of doctors as well (3). A specific journal
                 needsandinterestsofstudents.Thestudenteditorpostis                                                                       -
                                                                                 for Croatian medical students will allow a national per
                                                                                                                  http://www.vms.hr/cmj 67
                  O'NealeRoach:MakingOurVoicesHeard                                                              CroatMedJ2001;42:67-68
                 spective on these issues. It will also encourage debate on           Success Depends on You
                 specific issues in Croatia, such as the current shortage of          RemembertheStudent CMJis your journal. I hope
                 jobs for young doctors.                                         readerswilltakeownershipofthisnewventure,andhelp
                                                                                 theprojectsucceed.Itisthereadersandstudentcontribu
                                                                                                                                          -
                      Catering for Our Needs                                     torswhomakethejournalgreat.Withyourhelp,itcango
                      Thenatureofmedicaljournaldevelopmentistradi                from strength to strength.
                                                                           -
                 tionally slow. Student journals can generally adapt to
                 reader’s demands much more rapidly. This means the                   References:
                 contentcancloselyreflectwhatyouwanttoread.Design                 1 Roach JO, Guthrie E. Dealing with stress. StudentBMJ
                 and layout is often more appealing and accessible as                2000;8:218-9.
                 well. An example of this is the ‘Papers’ section of the          2 Armstrong R. Why I left medicine. StudentBMJ
                 studentBMJ. This has traditionally been perceived as ir
                                                                           -         2000;8:205.
                 relevant and uninteresting. While we have not abolished          3 Wykurz G. Can patients teach students. StudentBMJ
                 this section, we have been able to use shorter formats,             2000;8:260-1.
                 addincommentaries,andusemoreinterestingpresenta
                                                                           -
                 tion to make it more appealing.                                      Received:October30,2000
                      Students do much more than study at medical                     Accepted:November29,2000
                 school. We are people too! We write, paint, campaign,
                 travel, and vote as well. This is why our journals have to           Correspondenceto:
                 be flexible and varied in a way that is difficult for main-          JasonO’NealeRoach
                 streammedicaljournalstodo.Wealsoappreciateeduca-                     c/o studentBMJ
                 tional material presented in innovative formats to aid our           BMAHouse
                 learning. We can provide case based learning with an                 TavistockSquare
                 emphasis on practical tips and aide memoirs.                         London,WC1H9JR
                                                                                      UnitedKingdom
                                                                                      jroach@bmj.com
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