Due editorial diligence

The BCMJ occasionally receives letters from members who are upset with something they have read in the Journal, noting an incorrect fact, an inaccurate statistic, or some other (usually) legitimate complaint. The authors of these letters invariably ask how and why we published the piece without doing our due editorial diligence. The vast majority of these complaints, it turns out, are directed at material that the BCMJ Editorial Board has no editorial control over.

The BCMJ is an association journal that sells print space to the WCB and the College’s Medical Library Service and, as a service to the association, prints the reports of several important BCMA committees that were previously printed in the now-defunct BCMA News. Other than for normal copy editing and proofreading, the members of the Editorial Board and the BCMJ editorial staff do not control this content.

I am not sure how, either philosophically or practically, this situation could be changed without completely eliminating these unreviewed pieces from the Journal. By doing this I think we would be doing a disservice to the members by removing often important information from an inexpensive, extremely well-read communication vehicle. In addition, the BCMJ would be eliminating a revenue source, and I’m sure many members would be upset at having to pay more in membership dues to eliminate these rare problems.

The BCMJ has a scientific core that comes to print after full editorial review, and I hope we have always done our jobs before you receive the information. The Editorial Board also reviews letters to the editor, the Back Page and Premise features, and the Medical Student column.

On the other hand, read reports from BCMA committees, other agencies, the AIDS Update feature, editorials, and Pulsimeter items critically because the BCMJ Editorial Board has not reviewed them and cannot guarantee that any kind of critical review has been done by anyone other than the author. 

I am gratified that members feel strongly enough about what their journal is printing to write and complain. I encourage you to write to us about any aspect of this publication that you like or dislike. In fact, some of you will be asked directly for your opinion in an upcoming telephone survey on the BCMJ, and I hope you will take a few minutes to answer the questions so we can ensure the Journal continues to meet your needs.

—JAW