On Publication in Peer Reviewed Journals

Many doctors today are under the strict injunction to publish or perish [Schein, M., Farndon, J.R. and Fingerhut, A. (2000) “Why should a surgeon publish?”, Br. J. Surgery, 87, 3–5]. Many hours of work are expended on the production of manuscripts, only to have them rejected either outright or through the peer review process. This leads to some good studies never appearing in print. Reasons for rejections of manuscripts are discussed, as are the workings of the peer review process and prospective authors are given a guide to assist in the preparation of manuscripts.