Original Articles: An original article describes the findings of research that you conducted or participated in. For this submission type you will compile and analyse data from an experiment or an audit of medical charts that you conducted. Then you will discuss the implications of these findings and their potential impact on your field of interest. Original articles should be no longer than 2300 words, not including the abstract (additional 200 words). Click here for the full guidelines for original articles.

Abstracts: An abstract describes the findings of research that you conducted or participated in, but in an abbreviated form. For this submission type you will compile and analyse data from an experiment or an audit of medical charts that you conducted. Then you will discuss the implications of these findings and their potential impact on your field of interest. Standalone abstracts should be no longer than 350 words. Click here for the full guidelines for standalone abstracts.

Standard Reviews: A standard review is an in-depth discussion on the topic of your choice. To create this article type you will decide on a topic of interest, and research the current state of the surrounding literature. Integrate, describe, and interpret your findings in the form of a structured essay. Standard reviews should be no longer than 2000 words, not including the abstract (additional 200 words). There are no restrictions on the topic, but keep in mind that the topic should be reasonably student friendly. Click here for the full guidelines for standard reviews.

Case Reports: A case report is a description of an interesting or unusual medical or surgical case that you have encountered. You will give the details of the case itself, then provide a discussion of previous similar or related cases in the literature and background information on the condition or presentation. Case reports should be no longer than 1500 words. Click here for the full guidelines for case reports.

Perspectives: A perspective is your chance to offer commentary on a topic of your choosing. Pick a topic that is applicable to medicine and the RCSI community, decide on your argument (or thesis statement), then do research to support your claim. Click here for the full guidelines for perspectives.

Narrative medicine: form of storytelling in medicine.  It is an outlet for those in the healthcare field to reflect on patient experiences, and the dynamics of the patient-physician relationship. These are articles that reflect on a patient encounter that has impacted your perspective on the patient experience, on healthcare delivery, or on the student-patient relationship. Click here for the full guidelines for narrative reviews.

Travel Briefs: A travel brief is a summary of a recent medically related travel experience. This can include an elective you did abroad, an overseas research experience, or volunteer work. Click here for the full guidelines for elective reviews.

Research News: The research news section covers recent developments in any medical field. Choose a development that is of interest to you, and discuss its implications for clinical practice. Click here for the full guidelines for research news.

Careers: For a careers in medicine piece you will present an interesting insight into careers related to the medical field. Click here for the full guidelines for careers.

Ethics Challenge: In each issue of the RCSIsmj we publish a new Ethics Challenge. You are invited to read the details of this year’s case and submit a critical essay on the topic. You should identify the ethical issues at hand, take a position on these issues, and provide evidenced arguments for your position. Please see the ethics challenge page of the most recent RCSIsmj for the case and for the full guidelines for submissions.

If you are not sure which category your work falls under, please don’t hesitate to contact us at editorsmj@rcsi.ie.