Author Guidelines

Physicians, Researchers, and Educators are invited to contribute articles to upcoming issues of POCUS Journal. If you would like to publish in POCUS Journal, please read the below instructions for article preparation, and submit your article through the POCUS Journal submission portal. There are no costs associated with publication in POCUS Journal. If you have any questions, or would like to propose an article before submission, please contact the editors using our contact form or email us at submit@pocusjournal.com.

Please read the following guidelines prior to submission. Please see below for section-specific guidelines.

 Submissions should include:

1 single text file (.doc, .docx, .txt, or .pdf) includes:

  • Title
  • Author(s) and affiliation(s)
  • Corresponding author email address
  • Word count
  • 4-6 keywords
  • Abstract
  • Text of case or research article
  • Statement of ethics approval/consent
  • References
  • Figure captions
  • Video captions

Figures

  • High resolution figures must be submitted in .tiff format; resolution 300 ppi; colour or greyscale.
  • File names should match figure labels in the text file, e.g. “Figure_1.tiff”.
  • Please number figures sequentially in text in the order they appear.
  • Supplemental figures can be submitted as well. These will appear online only. Label supplemental Figures with a capital S before the number, e.g. “Figure S1” etc.
  • One file should be submitted per figure. I.e., if a figure contains multiple images – e.g. Figure 1A, B, C, D – it should be submitted as a single image file with each panel labeled  clearly and appropriately.
  • All images and videos MUST be de-identified and anonymous so that no confidential patient information is included. This includes removal of patient names, patient numbers, hospital or clinic name, date and time.

Videos (Supplemental online-only)

  • Videos should be submitted in one of the following formats: .mp4, .avi, .mov.
  • All images and videos MUST be de-identified and anonymous so that no confidential patient information is included. This includes removal of patient names, patient numbers, hospital or clinic name, date and time.
  • Video captions must be included in the manuscript document after figure captions.

References

References should be cited in numerical order according to the first mention in the text. In-text citations appear in square brackets at the end of the sentence before the period (e.g. [1]). All authors should be listed by last name followed by initials without periods. Journal titles should be abbreviated.

e.g. 1. Smith JJ, Brown AB. Article title. Journal Title year; volume(issue):page#-page#.

For website references, please include the author/organization, page title, publication date (if available), URL, and access date.

Submissions should be original and not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

By submitting these files you are providing consent to have this material published online for open access by POCUS Journal under a Creative Commons 4.0 licence, are confirming that you own the rights to both written and media content.

Please provide suggestions for two reviewers, including their names and email addressed. This can be included in the comments for the editor, or in an attached cover letter.

Editorials

Editorials are by invitation only, and are short communications relating to an in-issue article topic. They are not peer-reviewed, and are approved by members of the Editorial Board.

Book Review

Book Reviews are by invitation only, and are reviews of recently published books on the topic of POCUS. They are not peer-reviewed, and are approved by members of the Editorial Board.

Letters
Letters are ½ – 1-page communications (1000 words or fewer) that may include opinion pieces and short reports on POCUS-related topics such as policy, education, research, and clinical utility. Letters do not require abstracts, and may include a single accompanying featured image. Please include references where appropriate.

Innovations in POCUS Curriculum

Innovative POCUS educational and training curricula are not always able to be evaluated with rigorous outcomes.  We believe that the evolution of POCUS training across the spectrum from medical students to graduate medical trainees to the continuing medical education setting requires the sharing of ideas.  We hope that providing a forum to share POCUS curriculum that is not necessarily validated by educational research methods permits ongoing collaboration between educators as well as ongoing local support for curriculum development.

Submissions to Innovations in POCUS Curriculum are short communications that include descriptions of a novel POCUS curriculum. An unstructured abstract is optional (150 words), and submissions may include figures and/or tables. Please include references where appropriate. Submissions to Innovations in POCUS Curriculum will be peer-reviewed.

Length: 500-2500 words not including abstract and references.

Case Files

Case Files are short communications of a single cases that highlight the utility of point-of-care ultrasound. They should include a short abstract (max 150 words), a brief description of the case, how POCUS was used and what it added to the diagnosis.  You must have patient consent for the use of case images, and all patient information must be removed for anonymity.

Length: 250-1000 words not including abstract and references.

Case Reports

Case Reports are longer communications of a single case, or case series, that highlight the utility of point-of-care ultrasound. They should include a short abstract (max 150 words), a description of the case, how POCUS was used and what it added to the diagnosis.  You must have patient consent for the use of case images, and all patient information must be removed for anonymity.

Length: 1000-2500 words not including abstract and references.

Original Research

Authors are invited to submit Original Research articles on the topic of POCUS. Submitted manuscripts should include the following sections, in order: Abstract (max 250 words), Background, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, References, Figure captions, Tables.

Length: Maximum 4000 words (not including abstract and references). Longer articles may be considered by the editors.

Reviews

Authors may submit Review Articles on the topic of POCUS in research, clinic, and education without invitation. Please follow guidelines for Original Research articles. Authors should include an abstract and references, but all other subheadings are up to the discretion of the authors.

POCUS Protocol

Authors are invited to submit articles describing POCUS Protocols that are used clinically. Authors should include an abstract and references, but all other subheadings are up to the discretion of the authors.

Study Protocol

Authors are invited to submit articles describing POCUS Research Study Protocols for new or ongoing research projects. Please follow guidelines for Original Research articles. Authors should include an abstract and references, but all other subheadings are up to the discretion of the authors.

POCUS Arts and Humanities

Authors are invited to submit art, poetry, narrative pieces, and other non-scientific content related to POCUS. These submissions are not peer-reviewed, but will be considered by the editorial team. Abstracts are not required, but authors should include a description of the piece with their submission. 

If you have any questions, please contact support by emailing support@pocusjournal.com