Instruction for Authors

About the Journal

Pioneer Medical Journal (PMJ) is the scientific publication of Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria. The Journal provides a platform for the publication and dissemination of high-quality scientific research relevant to medicine, health sciences, clinical practice, medical education, public health, and healthcare delivery, particularly in Nigeria, Africa, and other resource-constrained settings.

The journal welcomes original research and scholarly contributions that advance knowledge, improve patient care, inform health policy, or contribute to medical education and practice.

Scope and Article Types

The Journal considers manuscripts in all areas of medicine and health sciences, including clinical and laboratory medicine, surgery, nursing, public health, medical education, biomedical sciences, health systems, and related disciplines.

Article types include:

· Original Research Articles

· Review Articles

· Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses

· Case Reports and Case Series

· Short Reports/Research Letters

· Clinical Images

· Commentaries and Opinions

· Letters to the Editor

· Editorials

· Conference and Meeting Reports

Editorials and invited commentaries may be commissioned by the Editorial Board.

Submission and Originality

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically through the Journal's designated submission system or as directed by the Editorial Office. Submission implies that:

1. The manuscript is original and has not been published previously.

2. It is not under consideration by another journal.

3. All authors have approved the submitted version.

4. All authors meet the Journal's authorship criteria.

5. The corresponding author is authorized to communicate with the Journal on behalf of all authors.

The journal publishes in June and December

Editorial and Peer-Review Process

A manuscript will be reviewed for possible publication with the understanding that it is being submitted to Pioneer Medical Journal alone at that point in time and has not been published anywhere, simultaneously submitted, or already accepted for publication elsewhere. During submission, the contributor is requested to provide names of two or three qualified reviewers who have had experience in the subject of the submitted manuscript, but this is not mandatory.

All manuscripts undergo an initial editorial assessment for scope, originality, scientific quality, ethical compliance, and suitability for the Journal. Manuscripts that do not meet minimum standards may be rejected without external review.

Manuscripts considered suitable will undergo peer review by qualified independent reviewers. The Editorial Board retains responsibility for the final publication decision. Authors may be asked to revise manuscripts and provide a point-by-point response to reviewers' comments.

Acceptance is based on scientific merit, methodological rigor, originality, relevance, clarity, and compliance with publication ethics.

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be written in clear, concise English and prepared according to current International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations and applicable reporting guidelines.

A typical original research manuscript should contain:

Title Page: Title, authors' names (First name Middle names and Surnames, in this order), institutional affiliations, corresponding author's details, word count, funding, acknowledgements, conflicts of interest, and relevant declarations.

Main Manuscript: Abstract, keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References, Tables, and Figure Legends.

The main manuscript should be appropriately anonymized for the blinded peer review process.

Abstract and Keywords

Original research articles should have a structured abstract containing Background/Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusion, as appropriate. Abstracts should be limited to 250 words, accurately reflect the manuscript and should not contain unsupported conclusions.

Three to six relevant keywords should be provided using established medical terminology where possible.

Ethics and Research Integrity

Research involving human participants must have appropriate approval from a recognized Research Ethics Committee/Institutional Review Board, where applicable. The Methods section must start with statement on ethics approval status and reference number where available.

Informed consent should be obtained when required. Patient confidentiality must be strictly protected, and identifying information should not be published without appropriate consent.

Animal research must comply with applicable national and institutional standards for the humane care and use of animals.

Clinical trials should be prospectively registered in an appropriate publicly accessible clinical trial registry.

Authorship

Authorship should be based on substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data; drafting or critically revising the manuscript; and final approval of the version to be published.

Individuals who contribute only funding, administrative support, general supervision, or data collection without meeting authorship criteria should be appropriately acknowledged rather than listed as authors.

Each author should accept responsibility for the integrity of the work. A contributorship statement may be required.

Changes to authorship after submission require written agreement from all affected authors and approval by the Editor.

Conflicts of Interest and Funding

All authors must disclose any financial, professional, personal, or other relationships that could influence, or appear to influence, the work.

All sources of financial, material, technical, or institutional support must be disclosed.

Artificial Intelligence

Authors who use generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation, image generation, data analysis, or other aspects of research must disclose their use and describe the purpose and extent of such use.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of the entire manuscript.

Reporting Guidelines

Authors should use appropriate reporting guidelines for their study design, including:

· CONSORT – randomized controlled trials

· STROBE – observational studies

· PRISMA – systematic reviews and meta-analyses

· CARE – case reports

· STARD – diagnostic accuracy studies

· SQUIRE – quality improvement studies

· AGREE – clinical practice guidelines

Authors should provide sufficient methodological detail to permit evaluation and, where appropriate, replication of the research.

Statistics

Statistical methods must be clearly described and appropriate to the study design. Results should be reported with relevant measures of uncertainty, such as confidence intervals, where appropriate. Exact P values should be provided where applicable, together with the statistical software used.

Tables and figures should complement, rather than duplicate, information presented in the text.

References

References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they first appear in the manuscript. The Journal generally follows the Vancouver/NLM referencing style.

Authors should verify the accuracy and completeness of references and preferentially cite original research and authoritative sources. References should not be excessive or irrelevant.

Tables and Figures

Tables should be numbered consecutively, have concise titles, and be self-explanatory. Abbreviations should be defined in footnotes.

Figures and images should be of sufficient quality for publication and numbered according to their order of citation. Figure legends should provide adequate explanation.

Permission must be obtained for previously published copyrighted material. Written consent is required for identifiable patient photographs or other material that could reveal patient identity.

Patient Privacy

Authors must protect patient confidentiality. Names, hospital numbers, initials, and other identifying information should not appear in manuscripts, tables, figures, or images unless scientifically essential and accompanied by appropriate consent for publication.

Publication Ethics

Pioneer Medical Journal is committed to maintaining high standards of scientific and publication integrity. Authors are expected to comply with accepted principles relating to plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, authorship disputes, conflicts of interest, informed consent, and research ethics.

The Journal reserves the right to investigate suspected breaches of publication ethics and to take appropriate action.

Copyright and Permissions

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material, including previously published tables, figures, photographs, or substantial text.

Publication, copyright, licensing, and open-access arrangements will be communicated to authors during the submission and acceptance process.

Revised Manuscripts and Proofs

Authors submitting revised manuscripts should address reviewers' comments systematically and provide a clear response to each point raised.

Accepted manuscripts will undergo editorial and language review. Authors should carefully check proofs and return corrections within the period specified by the Editorial Office.

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board reserve the right to make editorial decisions necessary to maintain the scientific quality, integrity, and standards of Pioneer Medical Journal.

Open Access Policy

The Pioneer Medical Journal (PMJ) is a fully open-access, peer-reviewed journal. All published articles are made freely and immediately accessible online without subscription or access charges.

PMJ permits readers to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, and link to full text of published articles, subject to terms of the applicable Creative Commons license.

Authors retain copyright of their work and grant PMJ the right of first publication. Unless otherwise stated, articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits reuse, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction provided the original work is appropriately attributed.

Article Processing Charges (APC) and Publication Charges

Pioneer Medical Journal (PMJ) is an open-access journal. An Article Processing Charge (APC) of ₦80,000 (Eighty thousand Naira) or 80 USD is payable for manuscripts accepted for publication.

There are no submission fees or charges for peer review. Payment is requested only after a manuscript has received a final editorial decision of acceptance.

Payment of the APC does not influence editorial decisions, peer-review outcomes or acceptance of a manuscript. The charge supports editorial processing, peer review administration, copyediting, typesetting, online publication, digital preservation and dissemination of published articles.