Avicenna Journal of Medicine: 5-year milestones.

Birth to 5 years of age is the toddler phase in humans. Such period is vibrant with excitement and steady growth. When a medical journal turns 5 years old, this resembles maturity and is a source of immense delight. Conception of the journal 5 years ago stemmed from the need for a medical journal of the Syrian American Medical Society and the Syrian medical community as a whole. Several goals were in mind: A tool to facilitate publishing and accessing studies and literature by international, Arab, and Syrian researchers and academicians; a portal to publish research articles on a wide scope of medical sciences; and a platform to promote the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of comprehensive healthcare including preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitative measures of human health.

As the Avicenna Journal of Medicine thrives into its 6th year, the editorial board would like to share with the readers the progress that has been made since it was first launched in July of 2011. With much optimism and exceptional team-work, the journal was able to successfully achieve its 5 years milestone. This achievement is the collective contribution of our valued authors, expert peer-reviewers, and dedicated editors who put their time and efforts toward the sustainable growth of the journal. In addition, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the leadership of the Syrian American Medical Society and its members for sponsoring this academic endeavor.

The editorial board currently consists of 16 members from different countries and wide range medical specialties supported by an expanding list of peer-reviewers of more than 300 experts. The total number of authors registered in the journal approaches 850 from around the globe [Figure 1].

Figure 1

A map showing the geographic distribution of registered authors in the Avicenna Journal of Medicine

During the past 5 years, a total of 18 issues were published containing 113 articles, covering different aspects of basic and clinical research, and spanning a range of medical specialties. These included 36 original studies, 42 case reports, 16 review articles, and 19 editorials and brief reports [Figure 2].

Figure 2

Bar chart display of the number of each type of manuscripts published in the journal at the end of 2015

These articles were carefully reviewed and accepted out of a total of 980 manuscripts submitted to the journal with an average acceptance rate of 11%. Accepted articles were meticulously scrutinized and peer-reviewed by expert referees and editors in strict compliance with publication ethics. The increasing trend of daily journal access, [Figure 3] monthly articles downloads [Figure 4] over the years and the rate of citations of articles per year reflect the scientific value and impact of the journal. PubMed indexing of the journal at the end of 2012 was a pivotal milestone that put the journal among its peers in the National Library of Medicine database.

Figure 3

Journal website access per day for each issue published since 2011

Figure 4

Monthly articles download shows increasing trend since 2011

In keeping with the vision set forth by the editorial board, the journal maintains an open-access policy without any submission or publication fees as well as a free worldwide online access to the journal contents. This policy facilitated a wide pool of readership as well as authorship from different continents of the globe [Figure 5].

Figure 5

Bar chart of the number of published manuscripts per first authors’ countries

While the journal seeks to enhance biomedical research in the Arab world, a particular focus is to promote research and editorial skills among Syrian researchers. A total of 11 publications appeared in the journal from different Syrian academic and health institutions. In addition, Syrian researchers practicing in other countries authored numerous valuable publications. Furthermore, the journal was officially endorsed by the Al-Baath University in Syria in 2013 as a peer-reviewed scientific journal for the purposes of academic promotion. Reflecting the ongoing changes in the region, the journal published landmark studies highlighting refugees and war medicines.[1234567]

Unfortunately, the impact of the current conflict in Syria on the academic process has evidently hindered research performance and output. As several studies indicated the need for increasing research productivity by Syrian institutions,[89] we hope that the Avicenna Journal of Medicine plays a central role in achieving this goal. The trust our authors and readers put in the journal's leadership constantly urges us to work on all possible fronts to bring the journal further to their expectations to be among the leading journals in the world and continue to revive our fading legacy.