British Columbia Medical Journal is a general medical journal providing continuing medical education with a focus on evidence-based medicine. The BCMJ provides clinical and review articles written primarily by BC physicians, for BC physicians. It also contains editorials, BC medical news, book reviews, career opportunity and CME listings, physician profiles, and regular columns, such as those by the BC Centre for Disease Control and WorkSafeBC. Physicians debate medicine and medical politics in letters and longer essays. Established in 1959, the BC Medical Journal is distributed in print 10 times per year, and operates a free, full-text, web-enhanced version, bcmj.org, to provide current BC medical news and additional content to BC physicians wherever they are, whenever they want it. Owned by the BC Medical Association (BCMA), the BCMJ is overseen and peer reviewed by an eight-physician Editorial Board that operates at arms-length from the BCMA so that it can be an open forum for debate on any topic.

The BCMJ web site

The BCMJ web site was launched in November 2000. It initially contained the full text of only the clinical articles, but gradually online content was increased, and as of July/August 2007, the full text of the journal is online. The electronic BCMJ is accessible free of charge, but is protected by copyright and cannot be posted on other sites, though you are welcome to link to our site.

History of the British Columbia Medical Journal

First published in 1959, the BC Medical Journal is a general medical journal governed by an editorial board of physicians from numerous disciplines. It is the official publication of the British Columbia Medical Association.

In 2008 the journal entered its 50th year of publication. Throughout its half-century of existence, the journal has chronicled the evolution of the medical profession and documented amazing advances in medical science. Through editorial continuity over the years, the journal has maintained its scientific relevance, upheld a high standard of publishing excellence, and preserved an objective that existed at its inception: “…to strengthen the ideals of unity and organization among members of the profession.”

The history of the BCMJ stretches back much further than the half-century it has spent in its current incarnation. The roots of the journal originate with the publication of the Vancouver Medical Association Bulletin, which began publishing in October, 1924. In its 34 years of publication, the circulation of the Bulletin grew from approximately 700 to 2680, with subscribers in the UK, India, South America, and other countries, in addition to Canada and the US. 

In 1957, as advertising revenues dropped, the Bulletin ceased to be profitable for the VMA, and a committee was formed of representatives from the VMA, the BCMA, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC to discuss the future of the publication. The committee decided to re-name the publication the British Columbia Medical Journal, and an agreement was struck wherein the VMA would own the publication, the editor would receive a salary, and the BCMA would pay for space within its pages. 

The first issue of the BC Medical Journal was published in January 1959, and although the publication flourished, the original arrangement ultimately did not work out. Over the next few years advertising revenues continued to drop, and in January 1963 the BC Medical Association, anxious to have its own publication, took ownership of the journal.  

The ownership and management of the journal by the BC Medical Association brought about many changes to the image of the publication. January 1968 saw the journal change from a 6 1/2" x 9 1/2" format to the now-standard magazine size. In 1973 the journal adopted a new design, casting off the formal image of previous decades, and displaying a new look and logo. 

The journal’s current cover artist, Jerry Wong, came on board with the BCMJ in 1982. Jerry began his tenure with the publication with a bang, winning two awards for his direction of the photography of his first cover in March of that year.

The cover was the first of hundreds of creative designs that have graced the cover of the journal for the past 26 years, and while the BCMJ switched to a new logo and page design in 2001, the unique artistic tone and image of the publication has remained consistent over the past quarter-century.

Throughout all the changes brought about over the course of time, the journal has seen surprisingly little change in its editorial leadership. In 88 years of publication, from its inception in 1924 as the VMA Bulletin, the journal has had only six editors. The position has consistently attracted individuals who have displayed a remarkable level of commitment to the publication, and who, in some cases, maintained truly impressive tenures.

Founding editor Dr J.M. Pearson helmed the VMA Bulletin from 1924 to 1932, when Dr Jack MacDermot took over the position. Dr MacDermot, who would spend an astounding 34 years as editor, oversaw the transition from the Bulletin to the BC Medical Journal in 1959, and stayed with the journal for nine more years before handing over the reins to Dr Sid Hobbs in 1968. Dr Hobbs supervised publication for a decade, and was succeeded in 1978 by Dr A.F. Hardyment, who after eight years as editor was followed by Dr W.A. Dodd in 1986. Dr Dodd spent seven years in the position, after which Dr Jim Wilson took over the job in December of 1993. Dr Wilson retired in August 2008 with 14 years as editor under his belt, holding the second-longest editorial tenure in the history of the publication. Dr David Richardson is the current editor of the BCMJ.

Much as there has been little editorial change over the years, other aspects of the journal have also remained static despite (or perhaps thanks to) all the technological advances in the publishing industry in the past half century. When the first edition of the journal was published in 1959, the Editorial Board had seven members – the same as today. Although circulation has increased from 2680 to approximately 11 000, the number of BCMA staff dedicated to the production of the journal has increased by only one person, for a total of three full-time employees. And the cost of each issue to members, which fluctuates according to advertising revenues, has actually crept down over the past 20 years, from $2 per issue in 1985, to an average of $1.10 per issue in 2007.

It seems an old adage can be applied to the BCMJ’s story in its entirety: the more things change, the more things stay the same. A half-century of editorial and publishing excellence has firmly established the journal as a scientifically credible publication proven to be relevant to its readership. The British Columbia Medical Journal remains committed to the objectives stated so many years ago by the VMA Bulletin (1924): “to strive to strengthen the ideals of unity and organization within the BCMA membership” as well as to “build a good and useful medical journal” (1959).

If  you would like to write an article based on something you've read in the BC Medical Journal, please contact:   Sharon Shore BCMA Media Relations Manager, at 604 638-2832. She can provide the background and contact information you need for your story. She can also find an expert on health-related topics.

Notes to writers

The British Columbia Medical Journal is the flagship publication of the BC Medical Association (see Mission for more information).  It may be referred to, in order of our preference, as a journal or a magazine; it is not a newsletter.

Most of the BCMJ's content is provided free by BC physicians and a small proportion is written in-house; we do not pay any contributor. If you would like to contribute to the BCMJ, please see our Guidelines for Authors.

Please contact Kashmira Suraliwalla; permission to reprint a BCMJ article or to link to our site is granted in most cases, but you must contact us first.
 
BCMJ authors wishing to reprint or repurpose their article should consult the Transfer of Copyright for more information. If you are preparing an article for submission to the BCMJ, detail on getting permission for materials used in your paper are contained in our Guidelines for Authors.