POCUS Journal Editorial Policies

POCUS Journal is published biannually, with regular issues released in April and November. In addition to these regular issues, the journal may publish special issues or supplements on an ad hoc basis to address emerging topics or to highlight specific themes in point-of-care ultrasound.

Any changes to the regular publication schedule, including the release of special issues, will be communicated in advance to authors, reviewers, and readers through the journal’s website and editorial correspondence. The journal is committed to transparency and will ensure timely communication regarding publication timelines.

Content and Audience

POCUS Journal is an English-language, open-access, online publication serving a global audience of healthcare professionals, educators, and students in the health sciences. The journal focuses on the clinical and educational use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) across a broad range of medical specialties and practice settings.

Its content includes original research, review articles, case reports, educational resources, and expert commentary related to the application, advancement, and integration of POCUS in healthcare practice.

Authorship

Authorship of scholarly work carries significant professional, academic, and ethical responsibility. POCUS Journal adheres to the authorship criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). According to these criteria, authorship should be based on all of the following four requirements:

Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
Final approval of the version to be published; AND
Accountability for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals listed as authors must meet all four criteria. Likewise, anyone who meets these criteria should be listed as an author.

Contributors who do not meet all four authorship criteria, such as those providing technical assistance, general supervision, or writing assistance, should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section with their permission.

Any changes to authorship (including the addition, removal, or rearrangement of author names) after submission must be approved in writing by all authors and communicated to the editorial office with an explanation.

Author Contributions and CRediT Taxonomy

To promote transparency in authorship and accountability for published work, all manuscript submissions must include a detailed description of each author’s contributions using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) framework). Authors should identify their specific roles in the cover letter or on the title page at the time of submission.

The CRediT taxonomy includes, but is not limited to, the following roles: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data Curation, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project Administration, and Funding Acquisition. Detailed definitions of each role are available from the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) at https://credit.niso.org.

Example format:
JD: Writing – Review & Editing; CG: Investigation, Writing – Original Draft Author contribution statements will be published alongside accepted articles to ensure transparency.

Author Warranties and Obligations

By submitting a manuscript to POCUS Journal, authors confirm and warrant the following:

Originality and Prior Publication
The submitted work is original, has not been previously published in whole or in part (except as a preprint or abstract, if fully disclosed), and is not under consideration elsewhere. Authors must avoid redundant or duplicate publication, in accordance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) ICMJE Recommendations, 2023.
Legal and Ethical Right to Submit
Authors affirm that they are the sole creators of the work and have full legal authority to submit the manuscript for publication under the terms of the POCUS Journal Author Publication Agreement. Any contractual, institutional, or funding-related obligations that may affect licensing, copyright, or data ownership must be disclosed at the time of submission, as recommended by the ICMJE, 2023.
Accuracy and Integrity of Content
Authors warrant that all data, analyses, and conclusions are accurate and based on valid methods and evidence. Authors accept responsibility for the integrity of the work and agree to resolve any concerns related to accuracy or reliability, even after publication. This commitment aligns with the responsibilities outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) COPE Core Practices, 2017.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
For studies involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data, authors confirm that the research complies with applicable ethical standards and has received prior approval from appropriate ethics committees. Authors must adhere to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki World Medical Association, 2013, and comply with all relevant national and institutional regulations. Where applicable, statements of ethical approval and informed consent must be included in the manuscript.
Full Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest and Funding
Authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest, as well as all sources of financial or material support. Transparent reporting supports integrity in authorship and interpretation of research findings, in line with the recommendations of the ICMJE (2019 ICMJE COI Form.) and World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) (WAME Recommendations on COI)

Failure to comply with these obligations may result in withdrawal of the manuscript, retraction of the published article, or other editorial actions in line with POCUS Journal’s publication ethics policy.

Authors and Competing Interests

In accordance with best practices outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), POCUS Journal requires full disclosure of all potential competing interests.

All authors must complete and submit the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Form at the time of manuscript submission. This form is available at: https://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/

Authors are not expected to determine whether a relationship constitutes a conflict of interest. Instead, all financial and non-financial relationships or activities that could be perceived to influence the submitted work should be disclosed, including:

Financial relationships (e.g., grants, honoraria, consulting fees, stock ownership)
Institutional affiliations
Intellectual property interests
Personal or professional relationships with organizations or individuals connected to the subject matter

Disclosure forms are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or a designated Associate or Section Editor to determine whether a declared interest requires further editorial action. Peer reviewers do not have access to author disclosure forms to maintain impartiality during the review process.

All relevant author disclosures will be published with the final article to ensure transparency for readers.

For more information, see:

COPE Guidelines on Competing Interests

ICMJE Recommendations on Conflicts of Interest, 2023

WAME Conflict of Interest Policy

Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author serves as the primary liaison between the POCUS Journal editorial office and all co-authors throughout the submission, peer review, and publication process. This author is responsible for ensuring that:

All authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript before submission.
All listed authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria.
All communications from the journal (including requests for revision, ethical clarifications, or publishing agreements) are addressed promptly and accurately.
Any required permissions (e.g., for use of copyrighted materials or institutional approvals) are obtained and submitted as needed.
All co-authors are kept informed of editorial decisions and any changes throughout the review and publication process.

The journal will communicate only with the designated corresponding author, who acts on behalf of all co-authors. After publication, the corresponding author remains the primary point of contact for any questions related to the integrity or provenance of the work (ICMJE, 2023).

Author Fees

POCUS Journal does not currently charge any authors fees at any stage of the editorial process, including submission, peer review, or publication. However, the journal reserves the right to introduce reasonable fees for publication-related services in the future, if necessary.

Any future fee changes will be clearly communicated to authors before implementation. No fees will be applied retrospectively to manuscripts that are already under review or have been accepted for publication.

POCUS Journal recognizes that, in some cases, two or more authors may contribute equally to a manuscript and wish to be acknowledged as co–primary (or co–first) authors. In such instances, authors must submit a signed letter at the time of submission detailing:

That equal contribution is being claimed
The specific nature of each author’s contributions
Agreement from all co–primary authors regarding the designation

The letter must be signed by all co–primary authors and included with the manuscript submission. The editorial board reserves the right to review the justification and may request additional clarification. If approved, a footnote indicating equal contribution will appear on the published article.

Equal contribution statements promote transparency in authorship and are consistent with ethical standards recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, 2023) and Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, 2022).

Disputes over Authorship

If POCUS Journal becomes aware of a dispute concerning the authorship of a submitted or published work, all editorial processes will be suspended until the matter is resolved. This includes pausing peer review, revisions, or publication-related communications.

The journal follows the authorship dispute resolution guidance outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (COPE, 2022) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) (ICMJE, 2023).. It is the responsibility of the authors, not the journal, to resolve disputes, ideally with the assistance of their affiliated institutions or research ethics committees.

POCUS Journal reserves the right to reject any unpublished manuscript, including those that have been accepted but not yet published, if an authorship conflict cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the editorial board.

Requests to change authorship (additions, removals, or reordering) after publication will be considered only under exceptional circumstances. Such requests must include a formal corrigendum explaining the nature of the correction, along with signed statements from all listed authors, including any who are being added or removed.

ORCID

POCUS Journal encourages all authors to provide their ORCID iD (Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier) at the time of manuscript submission. An ORCID iD is a unique, persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from others with similar names and ensures accurate attribution of authorship across publications and databases.

Including an ORCID iD:

Enhances transparency and credibility in scholarly publishing
Supports automated linking of published work to an individual researcher’s profile
Facilitates compliance with funder and institutional mandates
Reduces the risk of author misidentification in indexing services

Authors who do not yet have an ORCID iD may register for free at: https://orcid.org (ORCID, 2023).

Competing Interests

The Journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and transparency in accordance with the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

A competing interest—also referred to as a conflict of interest—exists when a secondary interest (e.g., financial gain, personal relationship, or academic rivalry) could unduly influence professional judgment regarding the primary interest (e.g., the validity of research findings) (ICMJE, 2024). Competing interests may be financial or non-financial, and full transparency is essential for trust in the scientific record (COPE, 2023).

Authors

All submitting authors are required to disclose any actual or potential competing interests by completing the official ICMJE Disclosure Form at the time of submission (ICMJE Disclosure Form, 2024). Disclosures should include:

Financial relationships (e.g., grants, consultancies, stock ownership)
Personal or institutional affiliations
Intellectual property or patent interests
Any other factors that could be perceived as influencing the research

Disclosed competing interests will be listed in the published version of the manuscript. If none exist, the following statement will be included: “The authors declare no competing interests.”

Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and editorial board members are expected to recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have any competing interest, whether financial, personal, academic, or otherwise.

All editorial team members are required to:

Complete or update the ICMJE Disclosure Form annually and/or upon any significant change in relationships (ICMJE, 2024).
Report disclosures to the Editor-in-Chief, who will assess whether an interest is material and may impair editorial objectivity.

If the Editor-in-Chief has a competing interest, an appropriate editorial board member or an external expert will oversee the editorial process (COPE, 2023).

Peer Reviewers

All invited reviewers must disclose any potential competing interests before accepting a review assignment. These include, but are not limited to:

Current or recent collaboration with the authors
Personal relationships
Financial interests that could affect impartial judgment

Reviewers with relevant competing interests must decline to review the manuscript. Any disclosed interests are reviewed by the handling Section Editor, who may reassign the manuscript if necessary (COPE, 2017).

POCUS Journal maintains high standards of respect for author confidentiality. All manuscripts, peer review materials, and associated data are treated as confidential and peer reviewers are not permitted to uploaded, shared, or otherwise disclosed submitted material to third-party platforms, including generative artificial intelligence tools.

Editorial Conflict Resolution

The Journal reserves the right to involve outside peers or experts to resolve competing interests if members of the editorial board are unable to do so.

Funding

All sources of funding for the research reported in the manuscript must be disclosed at the time of submission. Authors should clearly state the full name of the funding agency and provide the grant number, if available. If no specific funding was received, this must be stated explicitly. Accurate and transparent disclosure of funding is essential to ensure accountability and to identify potential conflicts of interest, in accordance with the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, jointly issued by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, and WAME.

General Principles

Dissemination of scholarly work in the health sciences has been crucial to advances in understanding the human body. However, many past advances occurred at the expense of the privacy and dignity of people who were unable to provide their informed consent. All research involving human subjects must be performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (2013 revision) [WMA Declaration of Helsinki] and must be reviewed and approved by an independent local or institutional review board or ethics committee. If authors are uncertain whether their work qualifies as human subjects’ research, a determination should be obtained from the local review board. Authors should not make this determination independently. A useful resource is the NIH online tool “Am I Doing Human Subjects Research” available at https://grants.nih.gov/policy-and-compliance/policy-topics/human-subjects/hs-decision. The use of this tool is not a substitute for review board oversight.

Authors must be able to provide documentation of the review board’s determination upon request by the editors. The editorial staff reserves the right to make an independent assessment regarding the appropriateness of review board decisions.

Informed consent is required for all individuals participating in medical research. The study design and consent process must be prospectively approved by the review board or ethics committee. If the review board approves a consent process that deviates from established standards, authors must explain the reasons for the deviation and describe the steps taken to ensure informed consent to the greatest extent possible. A statement detailing the consent process must be included in the study methods.

Authors must disclose any review board or ethics committee concerns, conditions, or corrective actions at the time of submission.

Special Populations

Certain populations, such as children, prisoners, and other vulnerable groups, are more susceptible to undue influence or coercion during the informed consent process. This vulnerability may stem from power imbalances, limited comprehension of research goals, or restricted freedom to make autonomous decisions. Authors are required to explicitly outline the steps taken to ensure the fair treatment and protection of these populations in any research they conduct or report.

In accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, research involving vulnerable groups must adhere to the highest ethical standards. Such research should only be conducted when the potential benefits outweigh the risks, and adequate safeguards are implemented to mitigate those risks. and adequate safeguards should be in place to mitigate those risks. For individuals who may not fully understand the research, such as children or prisoner, additional measures, including the involvement of guardians or legally authorized representatives and careful review by ethics committees, are essential.

Moreover, authors must ensure compliance with COPE guidelines and other relevant ethical standards, emphasizing the following principles:

Informed Consent: Consent must be obtained in a manner appropriate to the participant’s capacity to understand. When participants cannot provide full consent, legally authorized representatives (e.g., parents, guardians) should provide consent on their behalf.
Protection from Coercion: Participation must be voluntary and free from undue influence. Researchers should take special care to prevent coercion, particularly with vulnerable populations.
Ethical Review: Research involving vulnerable populations must undergo independent review by an ethics committee or institutional review board (IRB) to ensure participant protection and appropriateness of the research.
Minimizing Harm and Maximizing Benefit: Risks should be minimized, and potential benefits must justify participation. Any risks should be clearly communicated and mitigated through appropriate safeguards.
Transparency in Reporting: Authors must disclose how informed consent was obtained, how undue influence was prevented, and the role of ethics committees or guardians in the process.
Privacy and Confidentiality: Researchers must ensure participants’ personal information is protected, taking extra measures to safeguard vulnerable populations from potential data-related risks.

Researchers should obtain approval from relevant ethical review boards and provide thorough documentation of the review process. Publications should explicitly describe the protections implemented to prevent exploitation or harm, efforts to ensure equitable participation, and measures taken to enhance participants’ understanding of the research.

In summary, research involving special populations must prioritize ethical standards that respect autonomy, protect participants from harm, and provide clear communication regarding risks and benefits. Adherence to the Declaration of Helsinki and COPE guidelines should be evident throughout the research process, from planning to reporting.

Registration of Clinical Trials

Prospective registration of clinical trials, defined as any research study that prospectively assigns human participants to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate health outcomes, is essential for ensuring transparency, accountability, and public access to research data. Registration promotes the reporting of both positive and negative results, helps prevent unnecessary duplication of research, and supports ethical oversight.

POCUS Journal requires that all clinical trials and other prospective interventional studies involving human participants be registered in a publicly accessible clinical trial registry before the enrollment of the first participant. Acceptable registries include ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN, the EU Clinical Trials Register, and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). Studies conducted in Canada may also be listed in Health Canada’s Clinical Trials Database, but this alone does not replace the requirement for registration in a WHO/ICMJE-compliant public registry.

Registration information, including the registry name and trial number, must be included with the manuscript submission. This policy is consistent with the ICMJE Recommendations and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

Peer Review

Which Content is Peer Reviewed?

Which Content is Peer Reviewed?

POCUS Journal is committed to a rigorous, fair, and transparent peer review process for scholarly works, particularly those of an investigational nature. Peer review is a cornerstone of academic publishing and ensures the integrity, credibility, and scientific merit of published work.

Externally Peer-Reviewed by at Least Two Independent Reviewers:

Case Series
Observational studies (prospective, retrospective)
Guidelines
Clinical Trials (randomized, other)
Curricula
Methods and Protocols
Unsolicited Position Statements

Externally Peer-Reviewed by at Least One Independent Reviewer:

Case Files
Case Reports
Brief Research Reports

Editorially Reviewed (Not Externally Peer Reviewed):

Letters
Solicited Editorials
Solicited Position Statements

Peer Review Details

Peer review at POCUS Journal is single-blind: peer reviewers remain anonymous to authors, while reviewers are not blinded to author identities.
Peer review reports are confidential and are not published.
The primary purpose of peer review is to assist the Editor in assessing the quality, validity, and scientific contribution of the submitted work.
Peer reviewers are not responsible for copyediting and should avoid commenting on stylistic elements except when issues of clarity, readability, or potentially misleading language may affect interpretation.
Peer Reviewers may recommend revisions, acceptance, or rejection, but final editorial decisions rest solely with the Editor.

Peer Review After Revisions

The editor handling the work will determine if additional peer review is required after revisions are submitted. Revisions that are clearly documented and adequately address the reviewers’ initial concerns typically do not require additional external review. However, substantial revisions, revisions that introduce new data or analyses, or revisions that do not fully resolve reviewer concerns may be sent back to the original reviewers, or to new reviewers, at the Editor’s discretion.

Submissions to the Journal by Members of the Editorial Staff

Manuscripts submitted to the journal including a member of the Editorial Staff as author represent a potential significant conflict of interest and therefore follow additional safeguards to ensure fairness, transparency, and editorial independence:

An uninvolved Section Editor or the Associate Editor will handle the submission.
All communication regarding the manuscript will be managed by a co-author who is not a member of the Editorial Staff.
The manuscript will undergo external peer review by a minimum of three independent reviewers.
The manuscript will be declined If any two external reviewers recommend rejection.

Peer Reviewer Conflict of Interest

Peer Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest prior to beginning review of a work. Peer Reviewers may not participate in review of a work where they have a conflict of interest. Conflict of interest includes but is not limited to:

Close association with an author
Competing research or publication activity
Financial or other material relationship with a relevant entity \
Personal animus or other unprofessional motives

Authors who believe a violation of the conflict of interest policy has occurred may notify the Editor in Chief or the Managing Editor in writing describing the nature of the violation or other concerns.

Allegations of Misconduct

Editorial Misconduct

Concerns regarding potential editorial misconduct should be directed to the Managing Editor or directly to the journal publisher. The journal publisher will follow established internal procedures to investigate all allegations promptly, fairly, and confidentially

Editorial misconduct can include, but is not limited to:

Improper processing or handling of a submission
Fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of peer reviews or peer review components
Misrepresentation of reviewer comments or editorial decisions
Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest
Undue influence on editorial decisions for personal, professional, or financial gain

The Journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of editorial integrity and will take appropriate corrective actions when misconduct is confirmed.

Author Misconduct

Concerns regarding potential misconduct may be directed to the Editor in Chief or the Managing Editor. Reports should be timely, substantiated, and directly relevant to the author’s conduct in relation to the journal. All allegations will be evaluated in accordance with the Journal’s ethical oversight procedures.

Examples of author misconduct include, but are not limited to:

Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism
Fabrication, falsification, or misrepresentation of data, methods, or findings
Prior publication or duplicate submission of the same work without disclosure
Authorship misrepresentation, including inappropriate authorship assignment or exclusion
Ethical violations involving human or animal research, including lack of required approvals or failure to follow recognized ethical standards

The Editor in Chief may direct another member of the editorial staff to pursue the investigation. All information regarding investigations of misconduct will be handled confidentially. The editorial staff will contact the author to investigate concerns. The editorial staff reserves the right to contact outside entities including those listed as affiliations for authors or other journal editors if such contact is necessary to resolve the concerns. Authors will be made aware of which other entities, if any, are contacted and what information will be shared.

Articles may be published with a correction or retraction notice as appropriate. The decisions of the editorial board subsequent to a completed investigation are final and not subject to appeal.

Process and Confidentiality

The Editor-in-Chief may delegate the investigation of alleged misconduct to another member of the editorial staff. All information related to such investigations will be handled confidentially and in accordance with the editorial responsibilities outlined by the ICMJE (ICMJE, 2025 http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/).

The Editorial Staff will contact the author(s) involved to obtain additional information, clarify concerns, or request supporting documentation as needed. The editorial staff reserves the right to contact external parties, including author-affiliated institutions, relevant oversight bodies, or editors of other journals, when necessary to resolve the matter

Authors will be informed of any external entities contacted, what information will be shared, and the purpose of such communications. The journal is committed to ensuring that all investigations are conducted fairly, thoroughly, and with respect for due process.

Outcomes and Editorial Actions

Following a thorough investigation of alleged misconduct, the Journal will take appropriate editorial actions. These actions are determined by the nature and severity of the findings and may include, but are not limited to:

Rejection of the manuscript
Publication of a correction, expression of concern, or retraction in accordance with ICMJE guidelines (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/)
Notification of relevant institutional bodies or regulatory authorities

All decisions will be made with the goal of maintaining the integrity of the scientific record, ensuring transparency, and upholding ethical standards in scholarly publishing.

Final Decisions

Decisions made by the Journal’s Editorial Board following an investigation are final and not subject to appeal. Authors, reviewers, or other parties involved in the investigation are expected to respect the Board’s determination. The Journal’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of the scientific record underpins this policy.

The research community benefits when authors make underlying data available for replication, secondary analysis, and verification.

Use of Third-Party Data: If a manuscript relies on data from a third-party source, that data must be properly cited in a manner that allows readers to identify and access it.
Data Availability Statement: All manuscripts involving data analysis must include a clear statement regarding the availability of the data to external researchers.
Editorial Requests for Data: The Editors reserve the right to request de-identified data in specific cases to verify analyses or address concerns about the integrity of the results.

The Journal encourages authors to deposit datasets in publicly accessible repositories whenever possible, consistent with ethical, legal, and privacy considerations.

Standards of Reporting

The Journal encourages authors to adhere to widely accepted reporting guidelines for the type of medical research or scholarly work they are submitting. Use of these guidelines promotes transparency, reproducibility, and clarity in scientific communication.

When authors utilize a reporting guideline, they should:

Clearly state the guideline used in the manuscript.
Provide a copy of the guideline, with appropriate references linking it to the manuscript, to be published as an appendix.

Citations

At the time of submission, authors warrant that all in-text citations are accurate and appropriately referenced. Citations must follow the format specified in the Author Instructions.

Any material that is not the original work of the authors, such as figures, illustrations, or quoted text, must have the necessary copyright permissions from the rights holder for reproduction in the Journal under the CC 4.0 license. Authors are responsible for securing these permissions prior to submission.

Images and Figures

All images and figures included in a manuscript must be accurate and must not mislead the reader.

Scales and Labels: Figures should include appropriate scales, labels, and legends to ensure clarity and reproducibility.
Data Verification: The Journal reserves the right to request underlying data needed to reproduce figures for purposes of publication, typesetting, or verification.
Image Integrity: Images must remain unmodified except for adjustments necessary to remove identifiers for anonymization. Minor global adjustments to brightness or contrast are permitted. Regional alterations, selective modifications, or the use of AI-based enhancements are strictly prohibited.
Contextual Representation: Close-up images should be accompanied by a more representative image to provide context for the reader.
Experimental Controls: Any images of experimental results must include unaltered representations of control samples.

Adherence to these standards ensures the integrity, transparency, and reproducibility of visual data published in the Journal.

POCUS Journal does not permit the use of AI tools for the generation, alteration, enhancement, or manipulation of images or figures. All images must be original and must accurately represent the data associated with the submitted work. Any modification that alters, obscures, enhances, removes, or introduces features in a way that could misrepresent the underlying data or affect scientific interpretation is considered a serious breach of research integrity and may constitute misconduct. The addition of clearly identified, non-data annotations, such as arrows, symbols, or labels intended solely to guide the reader’s attention, is permitted, provided that these annotations do not alter or obscure the original image content and are appropriately described in the figure legend.

Images of Persons

Images depicting identifiable individuals can only be de-identified to a limited extent. Explicit consent from the subject must be obtained for publication of their likeness, even when efforts are made to anonymize the image. Authors are responsible for retaining documented consent and may be asked to provide it to the Journal upon request.

Cultural Appropriateness

Cultural norms vary regarding the acceptability of certain types of images, including those depicting deceased individuals or unclothed persons, regardless of their scientific value. Authors should carefully consider cultural context and potential sensitivities when submitting images with their work.

The Journal reserves the right to request modifications, additional context, or to decline publication of images that may be culturally inappropriate, while maintaining the integrity of the scientific content.

Corrections, Expression of Concern and Retractions

Name Change

Authors may request a name change for a variety of personal or professional reasons. Simple name changes can be initiated by contacting the Managing Editor. The Managing Editor will confirm the request with the corresponding author to ensure accuracy.

Simple name changes will be implemented without issuing a corrigendum, and updated versions of the article will be provided to indexing agencies to ensure the author’s record is consistent across databases.

Expressions of Concern

Readers who have an academic concern or opinion regarding a published work are welcome to submit a letter to the Editor. Letters which contribute to the academic discourse around a topic will be published at the discretion of the Editor in Chief. Concerns related to ethical conduct, research integrity, or suspected academic misconduct should be submitted as an ethics complaint, following the procedures outlined in the Allegations of Misconduct section.

Corrections

Published authors requesting minor corrections to a published work, such as a name misspelling or typographical error, may contact the Managing Editor. The request will be reviewed by the Section Editor who will determine:

Whether the change can be made, and
Whether a corrigendum should be published alongside the correction.

Corrections will be published on the website, a new PDF version will be generated, and the corrected work will be forwarded to indexing agencies. Any correction may result in the assignment of a new DOI. External indexing services (e.g., PubMed) follow their own policies regarding reindexing and correction notices.

Retractions

Articles may be retracted if serious flaws are identified after publication that call the integrity of the work into question. Such concerns may include, but are not limited to, author misconduct, plagiarism, mishandling of data, or significant errors in data analysis.

Authors may notify the Editor-in-Chief of issues that may require retraction via a written request. Authors will be informed once the Editorial Board has reached a decision regarding the retraction. Retractions will be published in a timely manner on the journal website and the associated PDF and electronic indexes will be updated in turn.

Appeals and Complaints

Editorial decisions to accept or reject a work are final. However, if authors believe that a decision resulted from editorial misconduct, they should notify the Editor-in-Chief in writing, referencing the relevant submission number and requesting an appeal.

Desk rejections are final and not subject to appeal, and no explanation is required. If an author has evidence that a desk rejection was influenced by malice or ethical misconduct by the editor, they may notify the Editor-in-Chief or Managing Editor. This notification is considered an ethics complaint, not an appeal of the editorial decision.

Complaints related to the editorial process, including editorial decisions, conduct during peer review, or the handling of author complaints, may be directed to the Managing Editor or the Publisher. In all cases, the Publisher will follow internal procedures to investigate and resolve the complaint.

The Journal takes responsibility for its published content. Corrections, including retractions, will be made in a timely manner. Concerns regarding author, staff, or editor misconduct may also be referred to the relevant employers, funding agencies, or institutions as appropriate.

Copyright, Licenses, and Preprints

Website Copyright

The design, text, and graphical elements of this website that are not covered under the copyright terms of the Public Knowledge Project and Open Journal Systems are the copyright of Cinquill Medical Publishers. All rights are reserved.

General Copyright and License for Published Works

Works published in the POCUS Journal are published under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License (Deed – Attribution 4.0 International – Creative Commons).

Commercial use of work published in POCUS Journal requires additional permissions from the publisher. Commercial use includes, but is not limited to, publication in print or online for product promotion, advertising, or other commercial purposes. Authors who are employed by commercial entities may not post their work on employer websites without obtaining the necessary permissions for commercial use.

Authors Ownership of Copyright

Authors retain copyright to their submitted work. Upon acceptance for publication, authors complete an Author Publication Agreement, granting the Journal an exclusive and irrevocable right to publish the accepted manuscript under the Creative Commons license in effect at the time of publication. This agreement may include additional permissions that affect the authors’ ability to exercise certain copyright rights.

Published Version as Authoritative Version of the Work

Authors agree to make only the published version of the work available in university archives or via other modes of dissemination/distribution. Wherever possible, electronic references to the work should link to the published version on the Journal website.

Preprints

Authors may publish preprint versions of their manuscripts, however, any such versions must be clearly labeled as preprints. Authors should inform the editors of any preprint and provide a working link at the time of submission. Upon publication, the preprint should be updated to include a link to the final published version of the work.

AI Policy

The Editors of the POCUS Journal recognize that generative AI has provided many individuals with access to language resources, helping to reduce social and economic inequalities. The Editors distinguish between computer pattern matching for specific data tasks (here defined as machine learning) and content generation (Generative AI).

If Generative AI was used in conceptualization, data analysis, or other substantive aspects of a work, these uses must be clearly described in the Methods section. Authors are required to provide documentation of the prompts used and the AI-generated responses, which should be submitted to the Journal as an appendix.

The use of machine learning in the work should be described in the methods section of the work.

AI Use and Disclosure in Manuscript Preparation

Authors must disclose any use of Generative AI in manuscript preparation, specifying which sections of the manuscript were involved. For example: “ChatGPT (OpenAI) was used for rephrasing and language editing in the Abstract, Introduction, and Discussion sections of the manuscript.”

The editors recognize that these definitions may not fully resolve ambiguities around terms used to describe computer-based learning. When necessary, authors should contact the editors for guidance on how to document AI use appropriately.

Text and Data Mining

Contents of the Journal are available under a CC-BY-NC-ND license. Content may be aggregated only for purposes consistent with those license terms and any other use is prohibited. For the purposes of this license the use of data for LLM training is considered commercial use.

Harassment

The POCUS Journal maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward harassment of any kind, including but not limited to harassment based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or professional status. Authors, reviewers, editors, and staff are expected to conduct themselves with professionalism and respect in all interactions related to the Journal.

Reports of harassment or inappropriate behavior should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief or Managing Editor, who will follow the Journal’s procedures for investigation and resolution.

Designation of Territories

The POCUS Journal respects the conventions of authors on the use of territory names and takes no political position on territory names or designations.

Permanency of Articles

The POCUS Journal participates in the Public Knowledge Project Preservation Network https://pkp.sfu.ca/pkp-pn/. POCUS Journal is also indexed in PubMed. Should the journal cease operations all content will be available online through the PKP online archive or PubMed.

Business model

Cinquill Medical Publishing operates as a division of the CINQ Research Laboratory. The organization maintains control over advertising placement within both the Journal and its website. Editorial staff have no involvement in the solicitation, acceptance, or placement of advertisements.

The journal does not charge fees to readers for accessing articles, and editors continue to perform their duties on a volunteer basis, underscoring the commitment to a transparent, ethical, and volunteer-driven publication model.

Terms of Publication (Cinquill Medical Publishing)

At the time of acceptance for publication the corresponding author will complete a publication agreement on behalf of all the authors. The publication agreement is available here and is summarized below:

The author(s) are the owner of copyright for the work
The author(s) grant the Journal an irrevocable right to publish online the accepted version of the work under the license in effect at the time of publication.
As the owners of copyright the author(s) may use the work for any non-commercial purpose they wish provided that:
- The published version of the work is the only version distributed online
- Other use of the work appropriately references the published version of the work
The publisher reserves the right to license or otherwise authorise any commercial use of the work. Licensing the work for commercial use does not convey any obligation by the Journal to reimburse or reward the author(s) either financially or otherwise.
The Journal is currently an online-only publication. The Journal reserves the right to publish the work in print.
Any pre-print will be updated with a reference to the online published work.

Editorial Publishing Schedule