The BMJ. Comprehensive. Authoritative. Trustworthy
Published since 1840, The BMJ is among the most influential medical journals in the world. Its peer-reviewed research is widely cited by other researchers in their own work, and in clinical guidelines. Its education content is trusted by medical educators everywhere. Its campaigning journalism tackles the burning issues of the day in clinical practice, academic medicine, health systems and policy. Readers know they can trust The BMJ.
The BMJ publishes a host of content for the research-focused user including breakthrough original research, research reviews, and research methods and reporting guidelines (RMRs).
Explore a wealth of education, clinical and practice content including Rapid Recommendations which lead to better clinical decision-making and patient outcomes around the world.
Discover our main education section with a wide variety of article types and topics to support study, and our BMJ Student section too.
Engage with The BMJ on its website, through its Medicine & Science and Sharp Scratch podcasts, and social media channels like YouTube, Instagram, X, FaceBook and LinkedIn.
Who is The BMJ for?
Academics and faculty
The BMJ has broad appeal for university-based users, including researchers, educators and undergraduates too.
Many of you will be engaged in research, teaching or clinical practice—perhaps involved in all three at different times of the week? So whether you are working on your latest research project, or lecturing to students—or treating patients at the teaching hospital next door—you will find useful content in The BMJ to support your work in each of those settings.
Finally, although undergraduate users are mostly studying medicine, The BMJ’s vast archive is also a treasure trove for undergraduates in many subjects, including law, english and across the humanities.
Researchers
Researchers visit bmj.com to find articles they will want to cite in their own work—and discover a place where they will aspire to publish their own best work.
Medical research authors can choose from 30,000 medical journals, so it says a lot about The BMJ that so many choose to submit to it—the acceptance rate for research papers is just 4%, so you can understand why publication in The BMJ is a badge of honour which can advance research careers.
In addition to the original research articles and research reviews you will find in The BMJ, there are the guidelines and research methods and reporting articles (RMRs) which are the most highly-cited section of The BMJ and a famous strength of this journal.
Clinicians
Clinicians comprise the largest part of The BMJ’s audience: doctors in primary or secondary practice, directly involved in treating patients. The following article types will be of particular interest to clinicians:
- Rapid recommendations’ articles are our most popular clinical article type because they accelerate new research insights into actionable clinical guidance
- State of The Art (SOTA) reviews
- Clinical practice articles typically have a ‘long tail’ of usage, extending over several years
- Practical Prescribing articles (produced in conjunction with the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin) cover medicines commonly prescribed in primary and secondary care. Suitable for all prescribers, especially doctors in training
Medical Educators
Whether you are looking for a high impact research article to analyse in journal club or a clinical topic summary to recommend, Medical Educators can be sure that materials they find in The BMJ are top-quality teaching material because
- our articles are crafted to engage and challenge all students from undergraduates through to post-doctoral students in diverse specialties and global settings
- we strive to find truly original content, unlike that found in standard textbooks
- we prioritise topics that are common or have serious consequences
- every education article offers bullet points covering the specific take home messages and a one-sentence suggestion how readers might implement these learning points in their own practice or institution
- some articles are designed with early career readers in mind, like the Practical Prescribing series and our Essentials series–articles that focus on interpreting and acting upon test results; and those detailing more universal skills such as quality improvement and leadership
- our What Your Patient Is Thinking series is valuable for instilling early a respect for the patient’s perspective into the next generation of clinicians
Students
Your lecturers know that the materials they find in The BMJ are top-quality teaching material. For instance:
- a high impact research article to analyse in journal club (all our research articles have been selected for clinical relevance, so they are far more likely to be of interest to undergraduate medical students than research published in the average medical journal)
- a clinical topic summary crafted to engage and challenge readers interested in diverse specialties and based in diverse global settings
- our Practice Pointer series that give you practical tips in carrying out clinical procedures that you won’t find in textbooks
- education articles — every one offers bullet points covering the specific take-home messages and a one-sentence suggestion how readers will be able to implement these learning points when they enter practice themselves
At The BMJ we strive to find truly original content for medical students, unlike that found in standard textbooks. But, in choosing what to cover, we prioritise topics that are common or have serious consequences–to maximise their relevance to the greatest number of medical students. And if you ever have questions like “What should I wear to placement?” or “Do I have medicolegal responsibilities if I were to carry out a Good Samaritan act?” then it is in The BMJ that you will find an answer.
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