The BCMJ is committed to ensuring that all content published is of the highest quality and scrutinized under the highest ethical standards. Every person involved in the publication process—authors, reviewers, editors, and staff—is expected to uphold high ethical standards.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors

Authors must disclose if they have accepted any of the benefits listed on the BCMJ Author Form related to the content of their manuscript. Disclosure represents a commitment to transparency, helps reviewers determine whether the manuscript will be accepted for publication, and may be used for a note to accompany the text. 

Editorial Board and Peer Reviews

The BCMJ Editorial Board makes publication decisions following peer review. If an Editorial Board member has a real or perceived conflict of interest with a manuscript under review or its authors, that individual will recuse themselves from participating in the review. The remaining Board members will make the decision on the manuscript.

When a manuscript is authored or co-authored by a member of the Editorial Board, that individual will recuse themselves from reviewing the manuscript and participating in the publication decision. The Board member who is an author or co-author of a submitted paper will have access to the same information regarding the submitted paper as any author.

Ethical expectations of the Editorial Board, Staff, and External Reviewers

All parties involved in publishing the BCMJ are required to (a) disclose all real or perceived conflicts of interest, be they personal, professional, financial, or academic, and (b) maintain confidentiality of article content and authorship prior to publication. Editorial Board members and staff are expected to recuse themselves from discussions and decisions regarding any paper or letter if any of the following apply: are an author of a paper or letter being reviewed; have a financial or personal relationship with the author; if they will be personally or financially affected by its publication; or if there will be a reasonable perception of any of these. 

All content is confidential prior to publication. No person may discuss any paper, letter, essay, or other journal content with anyone outside of the Editorial Board or staff, regardless of its status (whether the discussion is pending or if it has been accepted, rejected, or sent for revision). Editorial Board members must complete a confidentiality agreement for members of Doctors of BC standing committees prior to joining the Board. 

Human and Animal Rights

Studies Involving Humans

For studies involving human subjects, the Methods section of the manuscript must include a description of the process for obtaining informed consent from participants. All studies involving human subjects must be conducted ethically, meet the legal requirements of the study country, and be approved by an ethics review board. Authors are accountable for obtaining ethics approval. The Editorial Board may request documentation of the formal review and recommendations of the ethics review board.

Studies Involving Animals

Authors must adhere to the ARRIVE guidelines to treat animals in a humane manner when they are used in research and to follow national or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals. Authors must make a statement to that effect when submitting their manuscript and provide evidence of the ethical/legal approval obtained from the ethics review committee at the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted, where such a committee exists, prior to the research being undertaken.

Informed Consent

If a manuscript is a case report or if an individual patient is described, written consent from the patient (or their legal guardian or substitute decision maker) must be obtained on the Patient Consent Form.

Scientific Misconduct

The BCMJ follows the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Should possible scientific misconduct or dishonesty in research submitted for review by the BCMJ be suspected or alleged, we reserve the right to forward any submitted manuscript to the sponsoring or funding institution or other appropriate authority for investigation. We recognize our responsibility to ensure that the question is appropriately pursued, but do not undertake the actual investigation or make determinations of misconduct. Contact the Editor-in-Chief at journal@doctorsofbc.ca to report suspected scientific misconduct.