Western Journal of Emergency Medicine (WestJEM) and Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine (CPC-EM) Peer Review Policy for Interested Section Editors

All interested section editors must meet the requirements for WestJEM and CPC-EM:

• Board certified in emergency medicine.
• Full-time faculty at a university or academic institution.
• Have a track record of original research publications in his or her clinical interest area.
• A letter of interest and most recent CV must be emailed to Dr. Mark Langdorf, MD, MHPE at editor@westjem.org.
• The section editor is expected to review 2 to 5 manuscripts per month.
• The section editor will have approximately two weeks from the time assigned to the time the synthesis of the review is submitted to the Decision Editor for a decision. If unable to complete the review,  the section editor must notify the Editorial Director at editor@westjem.org.
• Section editors must agree to a two year commitment with the option to extend.

Requirements for Interested Resident Section Editors

• Have at least two original research publications in his or her area of interest.
• Be actively involved in current research projects.
• Have at least one full academic year remaining in emergency medicine residency (or PEM, IM/EM, or IM/EM/CC) or EM-related fellowship.
• A letter of interest and most recent CV must be emailed to Mark Langdorf, MD, MHPE at editor@westjem.org.
• The Section Editor is expected to review 2 to 5 manuscripts per month.
• The Section Editor will have two weeks from the time they receive at least 2 completed peer-reviews to write a brief synthesis of the reviews and submit to the Decision Editor. If unable to complete the review, the Section Editor must notify the Editorial Director at editor@westjem.org
• Actively recruit submissions of resident and fellow research, case reports and images to both WestJEM and CPC-EM.
• Promote the journal at any conferences attended, including attending research fora and speaking with authors and presenters.
• Share and disseminate WestJEM’s social media posts, and encourage other residents and fellows to do the same.
• Attend bi-annual Editorial Board meetings at SAEM and ACEP annual meetings.
• Participate remotely by Zoom or phone with monthly Senior Editor meetings.
• Encourage submissions to WestJEM sponsored research competitions at ACOEP and AAEM annual meetings.
• Be a judge at one of WestJEM’s sponsored research competitions.

All interested section editors acknowledge:

• The authors remain confidential and blinded during the review process.
• The section editor may not disclose any details of the review until after an official decision has been made.
• Reviewer comments and critiques are not published with the manuscript.

Peer Review Policy:

WestJEM and CPC-EM adhere to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publications.1 All manuscripts submitted to the WestJEM and CPC-EM undergo a rigorous double-blind peer review process, whereas the authors and reviewers are blinded from each other’s names or affiliations. Editors are not to disclose the confidentiality of reviewers or authors. Details of the review are not revealed to the authors until review is complete and an official decision on the manuscript is made. Editors, editorial staff and reviewers are not to discuss publicly any authors’ works until publication. Manuscripts sent for review are privileged information and are the sole property of the authors’ until publication, at which time the manuscript is under the creative common license. For more information, click here.

All section editors assign at least 3-5 reviewers to whom the identities of the authors remain anonymous.
The Editor-in-Chief or Associate Editors will register the final decision. The reviewer’s identity will remain confidential throughout the peer review process.

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1. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication. October 2007. Available at http://www.icmje.org/index.html. Accessed December 17, 2009.