Decoding the Journal of Graduate Medical Education: Impact, Metrics, and Research Landscape

The Journal of Graduate Medical Education (JGME) stands as a pivotal platform for disseminating scholarship and fostering critical inquiry within the graduate medical education (GME) community. Published by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the journal features original research, educational innovations, review articles, and commentaries pertinent to the education and training of residents and fellows, as well as the teaching environment. This article delves into the journal's impact, key metrics, research areas, and other essential aspects.

Journal Overview

The Journal of Graduate Medical Education (J. grad. med. educ.), with the ISO 4 standard abbreviation J. grad. med., is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. It is classified as a journal, not a conference proceeding, trade journal, or book series. The ACGME provides financial and administrative support for JGME; however, the journal’s Editorial Board independently reviews and selects articles for publication. JGME does not charge authors for manuscript submission or publication. Before submitting a manuscript, authors are advised to carefully read the Instructions for Authors and review the Manuscript Submission Checklist.

The journal's scope encompasses technologies, fields, and categories related to Education and Medicine (miscellaneous), both of which fall into the Q1 category. The Journal of Graduate Medical Education is assigned the International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSN): 19498349 and 19498357. The journal's coverage history spans from 2015 to 2024.

Key Metrics and Ranking

Understanding a journal's impact necessitates examining various metrics. These metrics offer insights into its influence, reach, and overall standing within its field.

Impact Factor

The Impact Factor (IF), also denoted as Journal Impact Score (JIS), of an academic journal is a measure of the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published in that journal. The impact IF 2024 of Journal of Graduate Medical Education is 2.58. The highest and the lowest impact IF or impact score of this journal are 2.58 (2024) and 0.00 (2015), respectively, in the last 10 years. Moreover, its average IS is 1.16 in the previous 10 years.

SCImago Journal Rank (SJR)

According to SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), this journal is ranked 1.136. SCImago Journal Rank is an indicator, which measures the scientific influence of journals. It considers the number of citations received by a journal and the importance of the journals from where these citations come. SJR acts as an alternative to the Journal Impact Factor (or an average number of citations received in the last 2 years). The Journal of graduate medical education has an SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) of 1.136, according to the latest data. In the past 10 years, this journal has recorded a range of SJR, with the highest being 1.136 in 2024 and the lowest being in 2015.

H-Index

The h-index is a way of measuring the productivity and citation impact of the publications. Journal of graduate medical education has an h-index of 45. The latest h-index of the Journal of graduate medical education is 45.

Ranking

Over the course of the last 10 years, this journal has experienced varying rankings, reaching its highest position of 3917 in 2024 and its lowest position of 32937 in 2015. The best quartile for the Journal of graduate medical education is Q1 (2024).

Other Ways of Evaluating Journals

There are many ways of evaluating what the top Education journals are including Impact Factor, SJR, SNIP, CiteScore, Citation Percentage, H Index, Self-Citation Percentage, Acceptance Rates, and Number of Submissions.

Research Focus and Key Topics

The Journal of Graduate Medical Education primarily focuses on Medical education, MEDLINE, Graduate medical education, Family medicine and Accreditation. Medical education addresses concerns intertwined with Quality management, Specialty, Curriculum and Competence (human resources). MEDLINE explores topics helpful for research in Nursing, Intervention (counseling) and Internal medicine. Graduate medical education incorporates concerns from Health care and Patient safety. Family medicine encompasses Alternative medicine and Obstetrics and gynaecology. The Accreditation study is a key component of Milestone (project management).

Read also: Engaging Science Education

Most Cited Papers

The most cited papers published in the journal include:

Using Effect Size-or Why the P Value Is Not Enough. (1915 citations)
Analyzing and Interpreting Data From Likert-Type Scales (768 citations)
Nuts and Bolts of Entrustable Professional Activities (465 citations)

The journal papers primarily focus on research topics in Medical education, MEDLINE, Graduate medical education, Family medicine and Accreditation. While Medical education is the focus of the published articles, it also provides insights into the studies of Quality (business), Curriculum, Educational measurement and Competence (human resources). The most cited articles explore research in MEDLINE alongside concepts in Nursing and other areas of study in Patient safety and Perception.

Recent Research

The main research concerns discussed in Journal of Graduate Medical Education are Medical education, MEDLINE, Graduate medical education, Family medicine and Accreditation. The Medical education works featured in it incorporate elements from Inclusion (education) and Curriculum. Studies on Inclusion (education) discussed in the journal link to the field of Equity (finance).

The studies on MEDLINE discussed can also contribute to research in the domains of Residency training, Process (engineering), Knowledge management and Library science. Most of the Family medicine studies addressed also intersect with Obstetrics and gynaecology. Discussions in it are anchored in the subject of Accreditation and the similar topic of Milestone (project management).

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

Read also: Planning Education Research

The Carbon Footprint of Residency Interview Travel. (6 citations)
Navigating Academic Law in Competency Decisions. (3 citations)
Better Decision-Making: Shared Mental Models and the Clinical Competency Committee (3 citations)

Publication Trends

Analyzing publication trends, including the productivity of top authors and affiliations, provides valuable insights into the journal's dynamics.

Top Authors

The top authors publishing in Journal of Graduate Medical Education (based on the number of publications) are:

Gail M. Sullivan (51 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition
Ingrid Philibert (40 papers) absent at the last edition
Deborah Simpson (39 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition
Lalena M. Yarris (31 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 4 less than at the previous edition
Thomas J. Nasca (30 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition

The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top Affiliations

The top affiliations publishing in Journal of Graduate Medical Education (based on the number of publications) are:

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (48 papers) published 23 papers at the last edition, 20 more than at the previous edition
University of Pennsylvania (29 papers) published 14 papers at the last edition, 13 more than at the previous edition
Harvard University (26 papers) published 9 papers at the last edition, 7 more than at the previous edition
Duke University (26 papers) published 10 papers at the last edition, 9 more than at the previous edition
Yale University (24 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition

The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication Chance Based on Affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers). Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 3.45% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 46.43% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 17.26% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 13.10% of all publications and 23.21% were from other institutions.

Additional Insights

Returning Authors and Institutions

The Returning Authors Index illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year. The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

Experience to Innovation Index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25)
Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100)
Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625)
Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500)
Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500)

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

JGME's Podcast

JGME’s podcast, Hot Topics in MedEd, features conversations with JGME Editorial Board members and authors around current research and trends in GME. It also provides expert advice for getting published.

Pursuing a Career in Medical Research

If you are interested in Medical Education, MEDLINE, or any other topic mentioned in the journal, you might be considering a research or practitioner career in the field. Here are a few steps you can follow:

Educational Background: Make sure you have the appropriate educational background. An undergraduate degree in a related field is generally required. Some fields may require a master's degree. For example, Intervention (counseling) researchers usually have degrees in psychology or counseling. Depending on the field, you may also need a doctoral degree or other advanced qualifications.
Practical Experience: Get some practical experience in the field. This can be through internships, job placements, or collaborative research projects. Such experience will give you a hands-on understanding of the research methodologies and industry trends.
Mentorship and Networking: Find mentors in the field and network with them regularly. They can provide you with invaluable advice and increase your chances of finding good research opportunities. Attending seminars and conferences, such as those presented in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, can be a great way to meet these individuals.
Licensure and Certification: You might be required to obtain certain licenses or certifications to be able to practically apply your knowledge. For instance, if you are researching Intervention (counseling) and wish to apply your knowledge as a counselor, you will need the appropriate licensure. The process varies by location: for instance, if you are in Connecticut, you can learn more about the process by visiting this page on Getting counseling license in Connecticut.

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