STYLE AND FORMAT 

File formatManuscripts files can be in the following format *.doc or *.docx and should not be locked or protected.
FontTimes New Roman font, 12-point font size, single spaced, left justified
LanguageManuscripts must be submitted in English.
Headings Limited to two headings with heading levels clearly indicated in the text. Please use the following hierarchy:

Heading Level 1 (bold)

Heading Level 2 (italic)

LayoutNo indentation for new paragraphs, rather leave a blank line.
SectionsSeparate each section of your manuscript with a page break.

See Length and Structure section (below) for sections required.

Page and Line numbersInclude page numbers and line numbers.

Manuscript must include new line numbers after every page.

FootnotesFootnotes are not permitted, whether for explanations or referencing.
AbbreviationDefine abbreviations upon first appearance in the text.

Do not use non-standard abbreviations unless they appear at least three times in the text.

Abbreviate Professor to Prof. and Doctor to Dr.

UnitsSI units are to be used. Leave a space between the value and the unit, for example: 4 m.

The exception for using SI units is for blood pressure, where mmHg should be used (again with a space between the value and the units, for example: 120/80 mmHg).

The exception for leaving a space is with temperature, for example: 37ºC.

Reporting StatisticsNo space between operators and symbols, for example: -3.59±12.32; p<0.05.

Include statistical results where appropriate to support the text. Statistical tests should be appropriate for the data types, interpretation, and conclusions drawn.

DrugsWhen referring to drugs, use only generic names of products.
Software/ProductsWhen referring to software/products, please ensure company and location follow product name, for example “…the use of the EndoCPB endovascular bypass system (Heartport Inc, Redwood City, CA, USA).”
QuotationUse double quotations.

Use single quotes for quotes within a quote.

NumbersSpell up to nine, then numerals from 10 onwards, except when the numbers are part of ratios, mathematical expressions, decimal numbers or a series of related quantities, numbers, or pages.
A sentence should never begin with a numeral. In numbers of five digits or more, a space (not a comma) is to be used to separate each group of three digits.
Reference StyleAMSJ conforms to the modified Vancouver style of referencing, outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Please refer to References section (below) for further details.

 

LENGTH AND STRUCTURE  

Note: each section of your manuscript should be separated by a page break.

 Original Research,
Systematic Review, and Meta-Analysis		Review ArticleCase ReportFeature ArticleLetterBook Review
Word Limit2500-30002500-300015002000750750
1. Title Page✔✔✔✔✔✔
2. Abstract✔✔✔✔  
3. Introduction✔✔✔✔  
4. Materials and Methods✔✔    
5. Body (free format) ✔✔Case✔✔✔
6. Results✔     
7. Discussion and Conclusion✔✔✔✔  
8. Acknowledgements✔✔✔✔  
9. References✔✔✔✔If appropriate
10. Tables, Figures and Illustrations✔✔✔✔✔✔

 

 

PARTS OF A SUBMISSION 

Title Page

  • Type of the article (for example: original research)
  • Title of the article
  • For all authors:
    • Full name
    • Degree name
    • Length of degree and current year of degree
    • University
    • Position and Affiliation (or “Student”)
    • Mini-biography (100 words)
  • Corresponding author details: postal address, e-mail, telephone and fax numbers (if available).
  • Source of submission
  • 160 character summary of article
  • Keywords (maximum of five)
  • Number of tables
  • Number of figures
  • Word count (excluding title page, abstract, references, figures and tables)

Abstract (300 words)

Background
  • Why is the research topic important and relevant for the medical community?
  • How does it address a gap in current knowledge?
Aim
  • State the study objectives and/or research question
Methods
  • Describe methods of study in sufficient detail such that it could be duplicated
  • For example: the study population, study setting, study design, intervention, how data was collected, which variables were collected, and how data was analysed
Results
  • Describe the characteristics of participants
  • State the key findings, using statistics where appropriate (e.g. standard deviation, confidence intervals, p values)
Conclusion
  • Summarise the key implications of the research findings
Learning points
  • Provide three learning points that are specific, concise, applicable to clinical practice, and relevant for medical students
  • These do NOT count towards the word count of the abstract

Acknowledgements 

Where relevant, authors should provide acknowledgement of contributions that do not justify authorship (for example, technical help, writing and editorial assistance financial, and material support; refer to the Editorial Policies and ICMJE recommendations for further details) with the description of the contribution. This should follow at the end of the body text of the article in the submission document.

Conflicts of Interest

  • List any conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, that a listed author may have
  • If there are none, state ‘The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.’

Funding

  • List grants or other sources of funding for this work (if any)

Author Contribution

  • List the individual contributions of each author (e.g. study design, data collection, writing of manuscript, etc)
  • All authors must meet the criteria of authorship as per ICMJE recommendations

Ethics Approval

  • State whether ethics (or for case studies, patient consent) was approved, including the ethics body and project/reference number

Tables, Figures and Illustrations 

  • No photographs of patient that include identifiable features will be published
  • Do not include any tables, figures, or images in the main text file of your manuscript. Please include all tables, figures, and images in another separate document. Include these in the order they are referred to in the manuscript, with one table, figure, or image per page with its appropriate caption and number. Diagrams and illustrations created in Microsoft Word should be grouped to form a single object. Tables should be editable.
  • Captions must contain sufficient information to render their associated item intelligible without reference to the text of a submission.
  • Additionally, please also include as attachments in your submission email the individual files of each of your images and figures (not tables), without their captions. This includes any diagrams or figures created using Microsoft Word, which should subsequently be converted to a vector or bitmap format and attached as described.

Tables 

  • Ensure each table number corresponds with its in-text reference; ensure the title is above the table and labeled correctly
  • Refer to the table or figure like so “Numerous factors have been identified (Table 1).”
  • The table number and title should be in bold and italicised, while the whole table title/caption should be italicised, and the first word of the caption should be capitalised, for example “Table 1. Factors contributing to burnt toast.”

Figures 

  • Figures should be constructed as simply as possible, directly relevant to the submission, and aesthetically sound. Vector images are the preferred image format of the AMSJ and should be provided where possible. Alternatively, bitmap images should be at least 800 x 800 pixels, with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi, in jpeg or png formats. Different formats may be sought at a later stage if the submission proceeds to publication.
  • Figures must be completely original, unless permission has been sought for their use from the original source. If such permission has been granted, please attach a copy of the relevant correspondence as a separate file.

References 

It is the responsibility of authors to ascertain the accuracy and completeness of the references, and to ensure that their manuscript contains no instances of plagiarism. In addition, the style of the references must follow the modified Vancouver style, outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Please refer to the ICMJE sample references.

Please note that if the reference style does not follow this style as described below, your article will be returned to you before further consideration.

Citing in the text 

  • Do not include citations in abstracts.
  • References are numbered in the order of appearance in the text.
  • For figures or tables (or their legends), references should be numbered according to the cited numbers in the text.
  • Reference numbers are in square brackets immediately before punctuation without any spacing.
    • For example: Johnson and Jackson have argued “oranges are tastier than apples [1].”
  • For references after names, the same numbered references in square brackets are used.
    • For example: Smith [10] showed…
  • Cite multiple references like so:
    • More than 1 reference: [2,8,10]
    • Adjacent numbers with commas: [1,2]
    • Ranges like so: [2-5]
    • Combination like so: [2,5,7-9]

Reference List 

  • References are numbered consecutively in the order of appearance in the text.
  • Surname AB, Surname CD. Article title. Journal abbreviation. Year;Vol:Start-End page.
    • Authors
      • 6 or less authors: list all
      • 7 or more authors: list first 6, add “et al.”
      • For example: Rose ME, Huerbin MB, Melick J, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Regulation of interstitial excitatory amino acid concentrations after cortical contusion injury. Brain Res. 2002;935(1-2):40-6.
    • Article title
      • Only capitalise first word (as well as any proper nouns and acronyms).
      • The first word of a subtitle is lower case unless it is a proper noun or acronyms, for example: “Pulmonary hypertension: identification and treatment.”
      • No italics/bold/underlining
      • Include the full stop after the article title.
    • Journal title/abbreviation
    • Year
      • Except the journal article, for the other forms of media (such as Internet access), month and day are to be included – see “Electronic citations” under examples section for further details.
      • For example: 1996 Dec 1;12(5):124-33.
      • Note that month is abbreviated into first 3 letters.
      • Note that semicolon between Year and Volume, and colon between volume and page numbers. There is no spacing.
    • Volume number
      • Also include issue number if available.
    • Page number
      • Do not repeat digits common to the start and end pages.
      • Include a full stop after the page number(s).
      • For example: 425-42.
    • DOI
      • Include doi preceded by “doi:” with no spacing.
      • For example: Martínez-Galdámez M, Gil A, Caniego JL, Gonzalez E, Barcena E, Perez S, et al. Preliminary experience with the Pipeline Flex Embolization Device: technical note. J Neurointerv Surg. 2015;7:748–51. doi:10.1136/neurintsurg-2014-011385

Examples 

  • Journal article
    • Surname AB, Surname CD. Article title. Journal abbreviation. Year;Vol:Start-End page.
    • [1] Martínez-Galdámez M, Gil A, Caniego JL, Gonzalez E, Barcena E, Perez S, et al. Preliminary experience with the Pipeline Flex Embolization Device: technical note. J Neurointerv Surg. 2015;7:748–51. doi:10.1136/neurintsurg-2014-011385
  • Journal article – before appeared in print
    • [2] Rizzoni D, De Ciuceis C, Porteri E, Agabiti-Rosei C, Agabiti-Rosei E. Use of antihypertensive drugs in neoplastic patients. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev Published Online First: 2017 Mar 30. doi:10.1007/s40292-017-0198-z
  • Book
    • Surname AB, Surname CD. Title of book. Edition of book if later than 1st ed. Place of Publication: Publisher Name; Year of Publication.
    • [3] Tjandra JJ, Clunie GJ, Kaye AH, Smith JA, editors. Textbook of surgery. 3rd ed. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing Ltd; 2006.
  • Chapter in book
    • [4] Adnan A, Adlam D. Coronary artery disease and acute coronary syndrome. In: England T, Nasim A, editors. ABC of arterial and venous disease. 3rd ed. West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons Ltd; 2014.
  • Conference Paper
    • Surname AB, Surname CD. Title of paper. In: Editor(s) Surname AB, Surname CD, editor(s). Title of conference; Date of conference; Place of conference. Place of publication: Publisher’s name; Year of publication. p. Page numbers.
    • [5] Bengtsson S, Solheim BG. Enforcement of data protection, privacy and security in medical informatics. In: Lun KC. Degoulet P. Piemme TE, Reinhoff O, editors. MEDINFO 92. Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Medical Informatics. 1992 Sep 6‐10; Geneva, Switzerland. Amsterdam: North Holland; 1992. p. 1561‐5
  • Electronic citations (for example news articles, websites, etc.)
Updated May 2017, V8I2