The University of Buckingham Press (UBP) has announced the release of the first issue of the Journal of Medical Education Research (JMER) published in conjunction with the University of Buckingham Medical School.
In her editorial, editor-in-chief Dr. Bharathy Kumaravel outlines the thought-process behind JMAR, how to get involved, the niche it is looking to address and the focus on innovations in undergraduate medical education curriculum design and delivery, specifically prompted by COVID-19.
JMER is a peer-reviewed, open access journal which will be published annually. It encourages articles on innovative methods and preliminary research in undergraduate medical education. The journal is inviting contributions from medical educators, medical students, junior doctors and healthcare professionals. A unique team of editorial board members include: clinicians, biomedical scientists and medical students with a passion for innovation and a special focus on curriculum, assessments, professionalism and evaluation.
Medical education research is a relatively new domain and JMER hopes to address a niche that was hitherto unaddressed by a medical education journal. There are very few journals which encourage early medical education researchers to publish preliminary research findings.
The ‘Watch this space’ section encourages researchers to share novel ideas and preliminary findings from research in curriculum design and delivery, assessments or evaluation of teaching programmes. Experts are invited to share their perspective through the journal’s invited commentaries. The content will be of interest to medical educators, researchers and learners.
The first issue of JMER has focused on innovations in undergraduate medical education curriculum design and delivery, specifically prompted by COVID-19. The pandemic has disrupted the traditional structure of medical education, prompting the development of virtual learning environments and innovative methods of student assessments. But it has encouraged rapid dissemination of evaluations of novel methods and promoted an ‘evidence-based’ approach in medical education. It has had an impact on students’ learning and morale as they lost on the face-to-face interactions with peers, teachers, clinicians and patients. However, this also prompted many students to take self-initiative to volunteer in the clinical environment and the community to support the most vulnerable affected by the pandemic. Junior doctors trained in evidence-based medicine, volunteered to carry out rapid critical appraisals of emerging evidence regarding management of the new disease through journal clubs.
Click here to read the original press release.
