INSIDE WVSMA
Editor ’ s Letter
Sharing Scientific Scholarship
Linda S . Nield , MD
The advancement of science requires researchers to share their discoveries with others . A Publication in the journal of the West Virginia State Medical Association ( WVSMA ), the West Virginia Medical Journal ( WVMJ ) is one venue to disperse research findings and scholarship about unique case reports and literature reviews . Published articles must not only be discoverable but also retrievable by the public . Each issue of the WVMJ contains three scientific articles and each of those articles are assigned a digital object identifier ( DOI ), which serves as a link to retrieve the article online . Currently , the WVSMA employs Crossref to ensure that the DOIs are available online .
The WVSMA supplies metadata about each article to Crossref . More information about Crossref can be found on its website ( www . crossref . org /). Metadata includes information such as the title of the article , authors ’ names , and the volume , issue , and page numbers of the article . In order for an individual to retrieve an article from the WVMJ , they must know the article ’ s DOI . Members of the WVSMA can also freely access journal articles online via the WVSMA website . In order to make the articles more easily discoverable to the public , the WVS- MA Publications Committee has submitted an application to the National Library of Medicine ( NLM ) for potential indexing of the journal on PubMed . The WVMJ has been in existence since 1906 , and the NLM Catalogue indicates that the journal was indexed in PubMed from 1965-2017 . 1 According to the NLM ’ s MEDLINE Application Team , “ Prior to 2017 , NLM created MEDLINE citations for some journals through a scanning and optical character recognition process . Beginning with July 1 , 2017 , publication imprints and later , NLM began requiring journals to submit XML citation data . In addition , if a journal was included in MEDLINE without undergoing the current NLM Literature Section Technical Review Committee review process ( www . nlm . nih . gov / medline / medline _ journal _ selection . html ), the journal ’ s MEDLINE status was changed to ‘ not currently indexed in MEDLINE ’ and was required to submit a new application to be considered for MEDLINE ” ( MEDLINE Application Team , personal communication , April 5 , 2024 ).
is rigorous and competitive , and a decision should be rendered in eight months . If the journal is not accepted for indexing this year , the application can be re-submitted in two years . Heartfelt acknowledgement is mentioned here to all of our peer reviewers and editorial board members , Executive Director John Law , Manager Carrington Hatfield , Past President Dr . Lisa Costello , and the West Virginia Executive staff / Kensie Hamilton Fauber , along with special gratitude to Dr . Marty Weisse for his extensive contributions to the NLM application . As a reminder to authors , all submissions to the journal through the Scholastica portal must strictly adhere to the manuscript guidelines , and several policies about the publication process are available at the WVSMA ’ s website .
As with each issue of the journal , we are able to share the scientific scholarship of our authors , and this quarterly issue includes unique case reports involving the lungs , kidneys , and bowels . 2 , 3 , 4 In a future issue , the results of the NLM application will be shared when available .
REFERENCES
1 . National Library of Medicine Catalogue . The West Virginia Medical Journal . Available at : https :// www . ncbi . nlm . nih . gov / nlmcatalog ? cmd = historysearch & querykey = 1 . Accessed on April 5 , 2024 .
2 . Forchette L , Rajjoub S . Primary ciliary dyskinesia diagnosed in a 75-year-old . WVMJ . 2024 ; 120 ( 2 ): 14-15
3 . Radow M , Morehead RS . Hydralazine-induced vasculitis causing pulmonary-renal syndrome : two cases and a literature review . WVMJ . 2024 ; 120 ( 2 ): 16-19
4 . Tobin EC , Nolan N , Naumova N , Elmore M . Segmental absence of muscularis propria with repeated episodes of spontaneous bowel perforation . WVMJ . 2024 ; 120 ( 2 ): 20-22
Therefore , our Publications Committee submitted the new application in April 2024 , and will acquire the skills to submit XML citation data . The application process
6 • www . wvsma . org