How, where, and why to get published

Publishing can be an important tool for early career physicians to establish credibility, solidify an area of expertise, and lay the groundwork for future promotions. However, getting started can feel daunting for a younger physician who also may be launching a practice and taking on new management responsibilities.

“You have to focus your time and efforts on projects with the highest potential benefit,” said Ankita Sagar, MD, MPH, FACP, an internal medicine physician at Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health and Chair-elect of ACP's Council of Early Career Physicians. “Academic publishing in peer-reviewed journals may carry a greater weight for physicians looking to pursue academic positions, while physicians looking to pursue administrative, advocacy, or operational leadership may find benefit in publishing in areas and media specific for health care leadership.”

The first step is deciding on a career path and a content niche within that path, said Christina Wee, MD, MPH, FACP, Senior Deputy Editor of Annals of Internal Medicine. From there, figure out the best way to disseminate your expertise, based on your career goals and target audience. Peer-reviewed journals are the gold standard for publishing original research and can also be a great way to establish yourself as a curator of knowledge or a thought leader by authoring reviews or opinion pieces, Dr. Wee said. Popular online publications, on the other hand, may help reach a wider audience outside of academia.

“Publishing is important in academic promotion, but even more importantly it's really a means of disseminating our expertise for the greater good,” said Dr. Wee. “Whether it's a clinical expert offering guidance to other clinicians; an educator with tools or tips; or a researcher moving the science forward, the goal of publishing is to advance knowledge and improve overall health and quality of life for everyone.”

Getting started

Finding a mentor is one of the most important first steps on the road to publishing, said Ricardo Correa, MD, EdD, FACP, an endocrinologist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix and Chair of ACP's Council of Early Career Physicians.

“Connect with people who are doing work that interests you and ask if you can work together,” he said. “A good mentor offers helpful critiques of your work and will add you as a coauthor on any papers published as a result of joint research.”

If you're publishing with a team, it's important to establish a hierarchy of authorship, he said. Typically, the lead researcher appears first and the senior researcher last on a paper's list of authors, while others are listed according to their level of contribution to the project.

Defining everyone's roles ahead of time is essential to avoiding hurt feelings and resentments down the road, said Dr. Correa. Keep in mind that the sequence of authorship often has direct career implications, as many academic institutions consider first, second, or third authorship in their criteria for promotions.

Dr. Wee advised initially connecting with mentors whose careers you admire, rather than focusing too narrowly on one career track or one way of publishing.

“I was in medical school when I met Christine Laine [MD, MPH, FACP, current Editor in Chief of Annals], who was my fourth-year medical preceptor,” she said. “I was all set to be an academic physician and did not think being a researcher was possible without subspecializing within internal medicine. Christine introduced me to the concept of doing research within general internal medicine.”

Consider getting a sponsor as well as a mentor, said Dr. Wee. Whereas a mentor guides you on career decisions or projects on a regular, ongoing basis, a sponsor is typically a senior colleague with many connections within medicine or in your field, such as a department chair, a senior researcher, or a content expert who may not have the bandwidth to be a mentor to you but is someone who promotes you in ways that open up opportunities and advance your career.

“Try to get into their sphere so that they're aware, for example, that you're interested in writing on a particular topic or interested in getting engaged in research in a particular field,” Dr. Wee said. “Colleagues at the senior level are often bombarded with requests that they can't accommodate and might welcome you as a coauthor on a paper or editorial or recommend you for projects they don't have time to take on.”

Coauthoring with a sponsor can lead to getting published in a more prestigious journal than would be possible on your own, she said. To connect with a sponsor, she recommends signing up for mentoring programs or one-on-one coaching sessions that are sometimes offered by academic medical centers or at professional society meetings. (For more on mentors and sponsors, see “Early Career Physicians Are Mentors, Mentees” in the October 2023 ACP Internist.)

Focusing your efforts

Physicians conducting original research at academic medical centers should devote most of their time and effort to getting published in peer-reviewed journals, said Dr. Correa. The first two years as a faculty physician are particularly critical to career advancement and eventually obtaining tenure.

There can be considerable pressure to publish, depending on the institution, said Dr. Sagar. However, be aware that specific standards for promotion can vary.

“Every institution has a handbook and many have workshops that clearly outline what's required at what level,” she said. “Early on, find out what kind of publication credits you need to advance and focus your efforts accordingly.”

One way to start building your reputation in the research community is by having a poster or abstract accepted for presentation at a scientific meeting, such as ACP's annual Internal Medicine Meeting, which offers competitions specifically for early career physicians, said Tracey Henry, MD, MPH, MS, FACP, associate professor at Emory University in Atlanta.

If accepted, the poster or abstract can be listed on your CV, she said. And the meeting itself is a great opportunity to get feedback and network with others interested in your area of research, which will help in eventually developing a full manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.

If you're not engaged in original research, look into other ways of contributing to peer-reviewed journals, noted Dr. Correa. For example, physicians with specific expertise or experience may offer to write reviews, commentaries, or critiques of others' work.

In addition, many peer-reviewed journals publish articles by nonresearch clinicians, noted Dr. Wee. For example, Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases, an open-access journal co-published by ACP and the American Heart Association, considers submissions of clinical case studies that discuss challenging or unique clinical situations. In addition, Annals of Internal Medicine has several article format types beyond original research articles where physicians not engaged in research can contribute.

Dr. Henry recommended taking a stepwise approach to scholarly publishing, starting with more manageable projects that can be reused and repurposed. Look for possibilities to build upon lectures, workshops, articles, or book chapters on topics that you're passionate about.

As a case in point, Dr. Henry turned a mentorship program at Emory into a research paper that was eventually accepted by a peer-reviewed journal. During the mentorship program, she conducted surveys before and after every event and workshop in order to assess the impact on learners and note any statistically significant findings.

Research doesn't have to fit the standard scientific mold to pique the interest of journal editors, added Dr. Henry. Work focused on advocacy or health equity, for example, can yield valuable lessons that may be of interest to physician readers.

For example, Dr. Henry noted that an antiracism curriculum she created at Emory led to an influx of questions about her process and implementation. Perceiving a gap in the literature, she wrote up her methods as a scholarly paper, which was eventually accepted by Annals of Family Medicine.

“These programs aren't typical examples of bench research or looking at data per se,” she said. “But everything you do has lessons to be learned that might be valuable to others and therefore worthy of publishing.”

For physicians in clinical practice only, or those on administrative career tracks, contributing to non-peer-reviewed publications may be preferred as a way to educate readers, build your reputation, and establish expertise, said Dr. Sagar.

Clinicians play an important role in dispelling myths and correcting misinformation when medical topics are in the news, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said. Writing a letter to the editor, perspective, or opinion piece for a major news publication reaches a wide audience and establishes you as an expert on a particular topic.

Medical blogs—for both professional and general audiences—have become increasingly popular in recent years, she added. Some of the most influential include MedPage Today's opinion section, Johns Hopkins Medicine's CLOSLER essay collections, and Doximity, a medical blog and networking platform.

Options tailored to younger physicians include Annals Fresh Look, which publishes thoughts and reflections on content from Annals of Internal Medicine by residents, fellows, and early career physicians. The blog also features posts from medical students and educators on topics related to early career education and training. Although Annals Fresh Look is not peer-reviewed, it can be a great addition to your CV as an online publication, said Dr. Henry.

When considering when and where to publish, take some time up-front to ensure that the projects you choose fit into your overall career goals, said Dr. Wee.

“Time is your most valuable asset in early career,” she said. “It pays to think carefully about how you want to spend your time outside of your regular job.”