Writing and publishing case reports is a great way to get your name on PubMed while you continue working on longitudinal projects which may take more time to get published. Case-reports may not be earth-shattering, but are well worth the time if done intelligently. Furthermore, these can open doors with mentors that may allow you access to bigger projects.

All you need is a good case with 2-3 solid teaching points, a faculty mentor to guide you and identifying the right journal. Some journals (including the big ones, like NEJM) have clinical images which only require 200 words of text or so. It is not always the most esoteric case/ zebra that can be published. Good teaching points or classic images perhaps matter more.

There has been a mushrooming of several ‘predatory journals’ which may accept about anything for a fee. Please be wary of these journals. This article is great for identifying both predatory and reputable journals. In general, you should not have to pay to get your case reports accepted, and should try to go for a PubMed-indexed journal to increase your visibility and likelihood of being read.

UTSW residents in particular have had great success publishing with BMJ case reports (http://casereports.bmj.com/). They accept both clinical images as well as case reports, are fast reviewers, and are published on a weekly basis. UTSW has a “fellowship” with them, allowing for free publication (institutional ID is 200874- they will ask this during submission). They have their own template and formatting requirements explained on their website and require their own consent form (they will not accept an article without consent on their form).

BMJ consent form: https://authors.bmj.com/policies/patient-consent-and-confidentiality/

Each subspecialty has their own journals as well. Other journals where are residents have published images/ case reports include:

  • JAMA – clinical challenge/ diagnostic test interpretation
  • JAMA Internal Medicine – teachable moments
  • NEJM – clinical image
  • Journal of General Internal Medicine
  • ACG case reports (gastroenterology)
  • American Journal of Hematology
  • British Journal of Hematology
  • Melanoma Research
  • Current Urology
  • Head & Neck (ENT Cancers or other disease of head and neck)
  • American Journal of Transplantation (well-respeected transplant journal)
  • Blood (rarely)
  • Journal of Clinical Oncology (diagnosis in oncology section)

Furthermore, you should be looking for opportunities to present your cases at conferences. Our annual Seldin Research Symposium is a great opportunity to showcase interesting cases seen over the past year and to network with faculty. The regional and national SGIM meetings are also good places to present your cases on a big stage. These meetings are known for high acceptance rates for cases that are put together well. Lastly, Texas and National ACP has several meetings every year where clinical vignettes are almost universally accepted.

 

Conferences

CUH Rotations (except MICU):
Morning Report – M-Thur 9AM
Noon Conference – M-Fri 12PM
Virtual Grand Rounds – Fri 8AM

PHHS Rotations (except MICU)
Morning Report – M-Thur 9AM
Noon Conference – M-Fri 12PM
Virtual Grand Rounds – Fri 8AM

VA Rotations (except CPICU):
Morning Report – M-Thur 9AM
Noon Conference – M-Fri 12PM
Virtual Grand Rounds – Fri 8AM

Virtual Morning Report and Noon Conference: Zoom Link

Chief Schedule

CHIEF RESIDENTS

PMH:

  • Hannah Blanchard
  • Michael Kimbrell

CUH:

  • Jonathan Meledez Torres
  • Kyle O'Malley

VA:

  • Caroline Abe
  • Angela Duvalyan

Chief Roles and Duties: Who to Contact