The Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons is a postgraduate medical college established by an Act of Ghana’s parliament to be responsible for the training of postgraduate doctors and dentists. Among its functions under the Act is to “prepare and publish journals and pamphlets on its own or in collaboration with other bodies or organizations.”

The College launched a journal at its Annual General and Scientific Meeting held in December 2009.

The journal, called the “Postgraduate Medical Journal of Ghana” (PMJG), is intended to be the scientific, as well as professional mouthpiece of the College. It will, as its primary purpose, publish articles that would advance the aims of the College, namely:

• Promote specialist education in medicine, surgery and related disciplines;

• Promote continuous professional development in medicine, surgery and related disciplines;

• Promote and coordinate education and research in medicine, surgery and related disciplines;

• Contribute to the formulation of policies on sound health and public health generally.

The journal is expected to publish, in addition to original research articles, review and feature articles that will advance the above stated aims of the College. It is planned that the first issue of the journal will be published in 2010.

Aims and Editorial Policy

The Postgraduate Medical Journal of Ghana is intended to be the scientific, as well as professional mouthpiece of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. Its primary purpose is to publish articles that would advance the aims and objectives of the College, namely, training of high quality medical practitioners to meet the manpower requirements of Ghana, ensuring their participation in continuing professional development programmes and promoting excellent health care delivery to all Ghanaians. To this end, the journal will publish:

• High quality review articles detailing up-to-date scientific knowledge and currently accepted, evidence-based procedures and techniques related to all fields of medical practice. Text should not exceed 10 pages.
• Commentaries on various topical aspects of medical practice
• High quality articles reporting the results of original basic, clinical and clinico-pathological studies. Text should be between 10 – 15 pages.
• Reports of relevant clinical and technical innovations. Text should not exceed 6 pages.
• Correspondence, including responses to previous articles. Text should not be more than 500 words.
• Case reports only if they advance knowledge and understanding of diseases or are of exceptional interest. Text should be 3 – 4 pages.
• Book Reviews

Manuscripts may also be submitted as an email attachment to pmjg@ghcps.org. Authors should note that all manuscripts submitted in hard copy must also be submitted electronically as an e-mail attachment to: pmjg@ghcps.org. The preferred medium of submission is by email.

All manuscripts are subject to peer review and are received with the explicit understanding that they are not under simultaneous consideration for publication in any other journal. This fact must be clearly stated in the cover letter.

Cover Letter

All submissions should be accompanied by a cover letter which must include statements on the following points:

1.      All authors have made a significant contributions to the methods and findings in the paper.

2.      All authors have read and approved the final draft.

3.      Financial or commercial interests must be acknowledged.

4.      The work has not already been published and has not been submitted simultaneously to any other journal.

5.      The corresponding author takes on the above responsibilities with his/her signature.

Arrangement

The order of the text should be as follows: title page, abstract (structured) of no more that 250 words with 2-8 key words (MeSH terms) at the bottom. This must be followed by introduction, subjects (or materials) and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgements, references, tables, legends to figures and figures. Each section should begin on a new page and all pages must be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page

Title Page:       The first page should include the title, names of authors, centre where the work was carried out and a short running title. The full postal address of the corresponding author, with postal code, phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail address must also be provided on the title page.

Abstract:          A structured abstract (no more than 250 words) is required for original articles and must provide an overview of the entire paper, with succinct statements on objectives, design, subjects, interventions, outcome measures, results and conclusions. For other types of manuscript, a short summary may be adequate.

Tables:             Tables must be typed on separate pages and numbered consecutively. Each must have a brief heading describing the contents. Tables must be referred to in the text and information in them not duplicated in the text.

Illustrations:    Photographs, photomicrographs, electron micrographs and imaging figures must be of high quality and submitted in three original copies. A size of 235 x 264 mm is advised and the figure number should appear on the back of each, together with an arrow indicating the top edge. For photomicrographs, details of stains and a scale bar should be provided. Where patient’s identity is not concealed in a photograph, a written consent from the patient must be submitted. Colour figures may attract a fee (consult the editorial office for details). If any tables, illustrations or photomicrographs have been published elsewhere, a written consent for reproduction is required from the copyright holder and the author(s). Charts and drawings must be done professionally. When charts are submitted, the numerical data on which they were based should be supplied..

Abbreviations: Abbreviations should be defined on first use and then applied consistently subsequently. Non-standard abbreviations or those used less than three times in the text are not permitted.

Numbers and Units:    Measurements must be reported in metric units only. Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius. Blood pressure should be expressed in mm Hg. and haematological and biochemical measurements in SI (Systeme Internationale) units. Decimal points must be used appropriately and not commas.

Trade Names:  Non-proprietary (generic) names of products should be used. If a brand name for a drug is used, the British or International non-proprietary (approved) name should be given. The source of any new or experimental preparation should also be given.

References:      References ahould be limited to those relating directly to contents of the paper. Double spacing should be used and references should be in sequence, numbered by Arabic numerals, in brackets and superscript and in the order in which they appear in the text. The list of references at the end of the article should give the names and initials of all authors, unless there are more than six, in which case only the first three should be given, followed by et al. The authors’ names must be followed by the title of the article, the title of the journal, abbreviated in the style of the Index Medicus, the year of publication and the first and last page numbers. References of books should give the title of the book, followed by the place of publication, the year and the relevant pages.

Examples

Article

Mc Lendon WW. A historical perspective as a compass for the future of Pathology. Arch Pathol Lab Med 1986; 110: 284-288.

Book

Talbot CH. Medicine in Medieval England. Oldbourne, London. 1926 p 120-136.

Book Chapter

Philips SJ, Whisnan JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Bremner BM, editors, Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis and management. 2^nd Ed. New York: Raven Press, 1995, p465-478.

Review Process

The PMJG will peer review all the material it receives. 

Proofs

Proofs will be sent to the corresponding author, preferably as an attachment to an e-mail. Corrected proofs should be returned with the least possible delay.