•  
  •  
 

Cumberland Medica

Contents

{ top }

Guidelines for Submission Types


The following additional guidelines are specific to each type of submission.
The following submission types will be peer reviewed:

  1. A research article should be divided into the following sections: abstract (≤250 words), introduction (≤500 words), materials and methods, results, discussion, references, and legends to figures and tables with an overall word limit of 10,000. Figures and tables should be separate from the main text and clearly labeled.
  2. A literature review should be no more than 8,000 words including figures, tables and references and includes an abstract of no more than 250 words.
  3. A methodology report should follow the same guideline as that for a research article except for the overall word limit of 3,000.
  4. A case report or case series should contain the following sections: abstract (≤250 words), background, case presentation, investigation, differential diagnosis, treatment, outcome and follow-up, discussion, references, and legends to figures and tables. The report should be no more than 3,000 words in length.
  5. Medical Arts and Literature include poems, essays, drawings, and photographs. Poems should be less than 50 lines and essays less than 2,000 words in length. Drawings and photographs should be accompanied by a description of no more than 150 words.
  6. Medical and Scientific Media submissions should be of appropriate quality. File formats include RAW, JPEG, PNG and TIF for image and MP4, AVI and MOV for video. There can be no more than 3 authors. A description of the case and/or image should be included and be no more than 250 words.
  7. History of Medicine articles should be limited to no more than 2,500 words. The abstract should be limited to no more than 250 words.
  8. A Research Precis should include an abstract of no more than 250 words and a graphic abstract that highlights the overall finding of the study or the most exciting aspect of the study.

The following submission type may undergo peer and/or editorial review, depending on the type of submission:

  1. Medical Education articles include two types of submissions, Quantitative and/or comparative studies should be limited to 10,000 words with an abstract of no more than 250 words. Those submissions will be peer reviewed. Descriptive and/or reflective articles should be limited to no more than 2,500 words. They should include an abstract of no more than 250 words. They will undergo editorial review.
  2. Faith and Medicine submissions include two types of submissions. 1) A conceptual argument addressing a particular issue of spirituality or religion in health care, that can draw on humanistic disciplines such as philosophy, theology, history, sociology, anthropology, etc. Articles should be 4,000-6,000 words and will be peer reviewed. 2) A narrative that reflects on the significance of spirituality or religion in personal formation, medical education, medical practice, or the health care system. Articles should be no longer than 1,500 words and will undergo editorial review. Both types of submissions should include an abstract of no more than 250 words.

The following submission types will undergo editorial review only:

  1. A Service-Learning Reflection should start with an introduction that briefly describes the purpose, where, when and to whom the service was provided, a description of the expectations and any preconceived notions about the experience, an analysis of the key observations and insights gained, a personal reflection on the impact of the experience, and a plan to apply the lessons learned. Articles should be no more than 1,500 words in length with an introduction of no more than 150 words.
  2. An Opinion and Perspective article should be focused and brief and may address current topics of interest, especially related to medical education, provide insight and context about other published articles, or communicate information about the journal or about important topics from the editors. Articles should be no more than 1,500 words with a synopsis of around 150 words.

    3. { top }

    Formatting

    All manuscripts must be written in English. Manuscripts should be prepared as a Microsoft Word document using 12-point Calibri font for all text and double-space lines of text throughout. Use bold type and all-caps for main headings and bold types with sentence case for secondary headings. If emphasis is needed in the text use italics, not bold-face type. All pages should be numbered with the page number appearing at the center of the footer.

    Manuscripts should be submitted as Word or RTF files. They will be converted to PDF files for editorial and peer review and for final publication.

    { top }

    References

    References should use AMA style. All authors should be listed. Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the style used for MEDLINE. References should be listed in the order they appear in the text.

    { top }

    Generative Artificial Intelligence Guidelines

    The authors may use generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems for initial ideas, however, no portion of the output of these systems may be copied into the manuscript. Generative AI systems may not be listed as authors. The authors will need to confirm that their submission represents their own original work or that they have obtained the appropriate permissions to use others’ works.
    Authors should follow the following recommendations from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology.
    • Authors must disclose any use of AI-assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models, chatbots, or images creators) upon submission. If so, they must describe their use in the cover letter and in the submitted work.
    • Chatbots or other AI-assisted technologies may not be listed as authors because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work.
    • Authors should carefully review and edit the result because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased.
    • Authors should be able to assert that there is no plagiarism in their paper, including the text and images produced by AI.

      • { top }

      Submission Process

      • Submissions are accepted from Frist College of Medicine students and faculty and staff.
      • Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis as articles are published upon acceptance.
      • There is no submission or publication fee.
      • Manuscripts should be submitted via the online form provided. See the ‘Submit Article’ link in the left navigation menu. You must create a Digital Commons account in order to submit.