Author Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in contributing to Consultant.

Since 1961, Consultant has delivered clinical articles, case reports, research reviews, photo-based quizzes, and other clinician-authored content in a practical, visually engaging, and concise format. The mission of the now-digital publication is to provide practical, succinct educational and informational articles about key topics that primary care providers, specialists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners encounter in clinical practice.

There is no fee to submit or publish a manuscript with Consultant, nor are there fees associated with including figures/photographs.

Types of Manuscripts

Feature articles. Manuscripts should be approximately 3500 to 7000 words in length. The abstract should be approximately 100 to 200 words in length and should outline the main points of the manuscript. References should conform to the style set forth in the AMA Manual of Style and should appear as a list at the end of the manuscript with corresponding numeric annotations in text.

While photographs and other clinical images such as radiographs, electrocardiograms, and computed tomography images are not required for feature article submissions, their inclusion is strongly recommended, as is the inclusion of tables, figures, and/or other graphics. If including previously published material such as graphs, tables, photographs, or drawings in the submission, it is the author’s responsibility to contact the holder of the original copyright (eg, the publisher) for permission to reprint the material. The author is also responsible for costs associated with reprinting the image(s).

We encourage video clips (avi, mp4, or mov files) to accompany submissions whenever possible.

Case reports. At approximately 500 to 3500 words in length, case reports are succinct, image-based patient vignettes. They should have instructional value and highlight the key points of the condition (eg, an unusual finding or a noteworthy treatment).

Case reports should include:

  • The patient’s sex, age, and other relevant details
  • Pertinent facts in the patient’s history
  • The presenting signs and symptoms
  • The diagnostic tests performed and their findings
  • A discussion of the process of differential diagnosis
  • The potential approaches to management, along with a description of which treatment was chosen for the patient and why others were excluded
  • Prognosis and long-term follow-up
  • The outcome of the patient’s case

 

Commentaries. Columns include Doctor's Stories and Guest Commentary. These columns include self-reflection, blog-like articles written by health care professionals and highlight moments that personally impacted the writer. Articles are approximately 500 to 1000 words in length. Also accepted are Letters to the Editor and Comments and Consultations.  

Having trouble getting started? Visit our Writing Clinic for some ideas: https://consultant360.com/writing-clinic.

 

Submitting a Manuscript

All manuscripts should be submitted in a Microsoft Word document via email to submissions@consultant360.com.

All feature articles and case reports published in Consultant must be original. Although you may have written previously about the same subject, the manuscript submitted to Consultant should be substantially different. Manuscripts submitted at other publications will not be considered for publication in Consultant.

A complete submission includes:

  • Blinded manuscript
  • Title page
  • Completed author disclosure and copyright forms
  • Photographs, radiographic images, and other graphics
  • Patient or parent/guardian consent form (if applicable)

 

Blinded manuscript. Each submission undergoes double-blinded peer review. Do not include author’s names, affiliations, or contact information in the manuscript. Instead, include this information in a separate title page.

Title page. Include the mailing address, email address, and telephone number of the corresponding author, as well as the full names, credentials, and affiliations of each coauthor.

Author disclosure forms. Before a manuscript undergoes peer review, the editors must be sure that the authors have disclosed any potential financial or other conflicts of interest related to the manuscript’s contents. Each author must submit a completed disclosure form, and the lead author must submit a completed copyright transfer form, which can be submitted via email as a scanned PDF document.

Clinical images. Please submit clinical images and other graphics in separate JPG, TIFF, or PNG files of the highest resolution possible. All graphics should be numbered in sequence, and each should include legends (if necessary) and a caption.

If any materials included with the manuscript have originally been published elsewhere, please include written documentation that you have obtained permission from the copyright holder to republish or adapt these items.

Patient or parent/guardian consent form. If your submission includes photographs in which the patient might be identifiable, obtain written permission in a signed consent form from the patient (or, if the patient is a minor, the patient’s parent or guardian) and include a copy with your submission.

Peer review. All manuscript submissions undergo double-blinded peer review. All manuscripts are considered for publication with the understanding that they have been submitted to Consultant only and have not been published, submitted simultaneously, or accepted for publication elsewhere.

In general, the corresponding author will be notified of the peer-review panel’s decision to accept or reject the manuscript, or to request revision and resubmission, within 12 weeks of initial submission.

 

Publication of the Manuscript

Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, it will be added to the content schedule, and the corresponding author will be contacted. All manuscripts are edited in accordance with the AMA Manual of Style. The corresponding author will receive an edited manuscript that may or may not require further revision.

 

Contact Information

Consultant360
70 East Swedesford Rd., Suite 100
Malvern, PA 19355-1436
(800) 237-7285
submissions@consultant360.com
https://www.consultant360.com/about-us