Three recommended recognition for two years, seven for One year and
cases of two deferred Capacity building workshop for Journal Editors
Planned at KEMU on June 8th 2024
ISLAMABAD: The Journals Evaluation Committee of Pakistan Medical & Dental Council met here on May 17th under the chairmanship of Dr. Tahmina Asad. The meeting was attended by Prof. Maj. Gen. Muhammad Aslam, Prof. Saira Afzal, Prof. S.H. Waqar, Prof. Akhtar Sherin and Mr. Shaukat Ali Jawaid. Mr. Imdad from PM&DC and Madam Rukhsana Nisar from Journals Section at PM&DC campus.
PM&DC Journals Evaluation committee meeting in progress at
PM&DC office in Islamabad on May 17th 2024.
The meeting reviewed the evaluation reports of twelve journals. Out of these three were recommended recognition for two years, seven for one year and the cases of two journals were deferred. The recommendations will be sent to the PM&DC Council and once the minutes are approved the decision will be communicated to the respective journals.
The meeting also discussed the request for renewal and accreditation of twenty three journals. All new journals were given to three members for evaluation while those for renewal was allotted to two reviewers. In order to avoid any bias and ensure transparency members from other provinces were requested to evaluate the journals. The committee has time and again explained that their objective is to help, facilitate the journals and not to discourage and create hurdles.
However, it is essential that the journals follow proper peer review system, get each manuscript reviewed from at least two reviewers and keep its record for at least two years. The editors are also requested to ensure plagiarism check of every manuscript before it is published and make sure that the studies are approved by the Ethics Committee/Institutional Review Board of respective institutions. They should also follow ICMJE and COPE guidelines regarding authorship, handling scientific misconduct and discourage gift authorship which is very common. Observations on the journals received from committee members are always communicated to the journals so that they can improve their quality in the light of those observations.
Group Photograph of members of the PM&DC Journals Committee
which met at PM&DC offices at Islamabad on May 17th 2024.
Medical Universities, institutions and specialty organizations publishing journals are encouraged to have proper infrastructure, dedicated staff as human resource and proper office of the journal. PM&DC has also decided to organize a one day Training Workshop on “Accreditation, Transparency and Capacity Building of Medical Journals” at King Edward Medical University on June 8th from 9.00 AM to 1.00PM. The journals will get official invitation from the PM&DC. For further details those interested may contact Prof. Saira Afzal on her Cell Phone: 0334-4338525. It will provide an opportunity to the participants to ask any question related to the recognition process, ask for any clarification. The objective is to ensure transparency. All editors of biomedical journals should make sure to attend this session. Later similar workshops are also planned for Sindh province, KPK and in Rawalpindi-Islamabad.
