How to do a Letter to Editor - PowerPoint Presentation

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How to do a Letter to Editor

Laz

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What is a letter to editor?

A short communication regarding a topic that is of interest to the readership of the journal, usually in response to an original research article.

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Key points to check BEFORE finding an article

Does the journal accept letters to editor?

Are the letters to editor from that journal published on PubMed?

Are there any formatting regulations for letter to editor? (e.g. word count)

Is it a topic you can comment on? (e.g. medical education)

5. Is there a deadline for submission? (e.g. 30 days)

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Journals to consider

BMC Medical Education

Advances in Medical Education and Practice

Education for Primary Care

Any other journal provided the research concerns

medical students/education

or

student welfare

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General Format

Short 350-500 word article

Highlight points about the topic in question that were missed by the original article

Use 3-4 references – e.g. studies in a similar field (medical education, welfare etc.)

Use your own experiences to some extent (e.g. through our experience as 5

th

year medical students)

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Funding

Most places have a publication fee (~£750)

Imperial pays for it

If a letter gets accepted

 contact

open access imperial

They will ask for a manuscript of the letter and letter of support from a member of staff (e.g. personal tutor)

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Example

Personal

Expertise

Background Knowledge

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Example

Highlight Positives

Suggest

Negatives

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Example

More Evidence

Big Finish

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Examples

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30663533

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30724718

Video lectures versus live lectures: competing or complementary?

Digitalising

medical education: sacrificing skills for knowledge?

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How not to write a Letter to the Editor

Dan

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Your two main aims:

Year 4: Doing well on this ICA

Year 5: Getting a letter published to get your FPAS point

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My experiences with Letters to The Editor

Attempted 5 altogether

Group of 3

3 different journals

All unsuccessful

– over 10 hours wasted in the process

Will share with you some lessons I learnt along the way….

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Attempt 1

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Attempt 1

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Attempt 2

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Attempt 2

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Attempt 3

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Attempt 3

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Why did I receive rejections?

Bad quality letters

Needed to pay to publish the letter

Unclear steps to submit a letter

Time of Year

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How to write a letter

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Research

Identify a suitable journal and article

Check guidelines for letters on the journal website

Read some example letters they have already published

Potentially contact those from Imperial who have published in that journal

Consider:

Max number of words, authors and references

How recent the letter must be

Method for submission: cover letters, particular formatting, conflict of interest declaration

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General Structure

Intro – why you were drawn to the articleBody – appraising the study and offering ideas/arguments

Conclusion – how should this be addressed and where should future research focus

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Write

What have the authors missed?

Are any statements incorrect or not supported by evidence/references?

Critique the study design and methods – is their questionnaire or data collection tool validated for example?

Do their conclusions actually follow from the evidence?

What alternative theories could explain their results?

Have the already mentioned this in discussion?

What perspective do you offer – more for medical education journals

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Reference

Support your statements with evidence

3-4 references maximum for most letters

Systematic reviews are a good place to find lots of prior studies on that topic and see how their findings compare to previous research

Can use a research tool like Mendeley

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Revise

Proof read for spelling and grammar

Cut out any waffle and make more concise

Look at the points you are making and consider if they are relevant to the journal’s readers?

Are you finding fault for the sake of it? Points should be important, relevant and not already highlighted by the author

Have an interesting title

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For FPAS points – divide this between your group

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Any questions?

Feedback

https://

tinyurl.com

/

MedEDLetter