For medical students and residents, case reports can act as a first step in getting published in medical journals. They also offer an opportunity to engage with scientific writing and practice critical thinking skills.
"A case report is a description of a single case with unique features. This includes a previously unreported clinical condition, previously unreported observation of a recognised disease, unique use of imaging or diagnostic test to reveal a disease, previously unreported treatment in a recognised disease, or previously unreported complication of a procedure. Case reports should be short and focused, with a limited number of figures and references. The structure of a case report usually comprises a short unstructured (or no) abstract, brief (or no) introduction, succinct but comprehensive report of the case, and to the point discussion" (Peh & Ng, 2010).
BMJ Case Reports accepts cases in a wide range of clinical and non-clinical specialties, so there are opportunities for students, staff and faculty in medicine, nursing and public health.
If you're interested in publishing with BMJ, they offer a variety of resources in order to help potentials authors during the writing process. These resources include a pre-submission checklist, a case template word document, and a patient consent document. These and other resources can all be found on their "For Authors" page.
Dell Medical School offers a Fellowship that allows students and faculty to publish with BMJ Case Reports for free! For more information, contact Dell Medical School Librarian Imelda Vetter.
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