The Column Setup of International Famous Medical Journals and the Enlightenment to Chinese Medical Journals

Abstract

Objective: This paper aims at exploring the column setup and content characteristics of the four famous medical journals including BMJ(British Medical Journal), JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association), NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine), and TheLancet. Methods: The column setup and content were analyzed by looking through the four medical journals one by one. The total issueswere 101 including 26 issues of BMJ, 24 of JAMA, 26 of NEJM and 25 of The Lancet. Findings: Every issue of the four journals consistsof a dozen columns: fixed and non-fixed columns. Various kinds of papers were published based on various topics. These topics focused onobservations, viewpoints, correspondence and humanity. Conclusions: The setup of columns is flexible and rich in content and highlights thecharacteristics and principles of publication.