Author Guidelines

General Submission Rules

Anyone can submit an original article, personal narrative, or artwork to be considered for publication in Bridging Perspectives, if you own the copyright for the work or have been authorized by the copyright owner/owners to submit the work. Submission of a manuscript does not guarantee publication. A decision can be rendered within 4 weeks of submission.

Submitted work cannot have been previously published, cannot be currently under review at another journal, and will not be submitted to another journal until the editorial decision is complete. 

Manuscript Types

Bridging Perspectives welcomes a range of submission types including but not limited to original research, quality improvement initiatives, reviews, opinion pieces, personal narratives, and artistic submissions.

Manuscript Preparation

Original Research

• General format: Double space all copy, including legends, footnotes, tables, and references. Use Times New Roman font in size 12. One-inch margins on all sides. Enumerate all pages of the manuscript, beginning with the Title Page as page 1, and follow in sequence to the abstract and manuscript.

• Title Page: Title page should include: (a) complete manuscript title; (b) authors' full names, highest academic degrees (i.e., MD, PhD, etc.) and affiliations; (c) name and contact information  for corresponding author, including address, telephone number, and E-mail address; (d) all sources of support (eg: government funding, individual trusts, pharmaceutical and industry support) (e) conflicts of interest (if there are no conflicts, state “The authors have no conflicts of interest.”), (f) three to five keywords for indexing and (g) citation for this paper.

• IRB: Include a statement affirming IRB approval or exemption.

• Abstract: Provide a concise summary (limit of 250 words) of the study with the following headings: Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Do not cite references in the abstract. Limit the use of abbreviations and acronyms. 

• Main Text: Structure the manuscript with the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Limitations, and Conclusion. 

• Abbreviations: Write out the full term for each abbreviation at its first use unless it is a standard unit of measure. Abbreviations are allowed if used three times or more in the text. For a list of standard abbreviations, consult the American Medical Association Manual of Style, 9th edition, or other standard sources. 

• References: Reference style should follow that of the AMA Manual of Style, current edition (http://www.amamanualofstyle.com). Ensure all citations are accurate and complete. All references cited in the text must be both listed and cited by the reference number (footnotes are not accepted).

Tables and Figures

• • Figures: Cite figures consecutively in your manuscript. All figures should be embedded within the text. Include legends for all figures. Figures should be uploaded in the highest resolution

  • Tables: Create tables using the table creation and editing tools in your word processing software (e.g., Microsoft Word, WordPerfect). Number tables sequentially in the order they are cited in the text. Each table should include a descriptive title, appropriate column headers, and explanatory legends, including definitions of any abbreviations not already defined in the manuscript. Tables should be self-explanatory, supplementing rather than duplicating the content in the text. Embed tables within the manuscript body. Authors are encouraged to submit non-essential tables as supplemental digital content. 

  • Supplemental Digital Content: Submit as a separate file

  • Word Limit: 3000 (not including abstract, references, tables or figures)

Quality Improvement Initiatives

• Must adhere to SQUIRE-2 guidelines.

• General format: Double space all copy, including legends, footnotes, tables, and references. Use Times New Roman font in size 12. One-inch margins on all sides. Enumerate all pages of the manuscript, beginning with the Title Page as page 1, and follow in sequence to the abstract and manuscript.

• Title page: Title page should include: (a) complete manuscript title; (b) authors' full names, highest academic degrees (i.e., MD, PhD, etc.);, and affiliations; (c) name and contact information for corresponding author, including address, telephone number, and e-mail address; (d) all sources of support (eg: government funding, individual trusts, pharmaceutical and industry support) (e) conflicts of interest (if there are no conflicts, state, “The authors have no conflicts of interest.”), and (f) three to five keywords for indexing, and (g) citation for this paper.

• IRB: A statement affirming IRB approval or exemption should be included.

• Abstract: Provide a concise summary (limit of 250 words) of the study with the following headings: Introduction (describe the problem being addressed), Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Do not cite references in the abstract. Limit the use of abbreviations and acronyms.

• Main Body:

  • • Introduction: a statement of the purpose of the work, the problem that motivated the work, and a summary of published work about the problem.

    • Methods: Include PDSA cycles.

    • Results: The results should be concise. Avoid redundant tables and figures but include relevant flow charts.

    • Discussion: Interpret results and summary.

• References: Reference style should follow that of the AMA Manual of Style, current edition (http://www.amamanualofstyle.com). Ensure all citations are accurate and complete. All references cited in the text must be both listed and cited by the reference number (footnotes are not accepted).

• Tables and Figures

  • Figures: Cite figures consecutively in your manuscript. All figures should be embedded within the text. Include legends for all figures. Figures should be uploaded in the highest resolution

  • Tables: Create tables using the table creation and editing tools in your word processing software (e.g., Microsoft Word, WordPerfect). Number tables sequentially in the order they are cited in the text. Each table should include a descriptive title, appropriate column headers, and explanatory legends, including definitions of any abbreviations not already defined in the manuscript. Tables should be self-explanatory, supplementing rather than duplicating the content in the text. Embed tables within the manuscript body. Authors are encouraged to submit non-essential tables as supplemental digital content. 

    1. • Supplemental Digital Content: Submit as a separate file

       • Word limit: 3000 (not including abstract, references, tables or figures)

Commentary/Opinion/Personal narratives 

• Commentary and opinion pieces provide authors with the opportunity to offer critical analysis, thought leadership, or informed perspectives on issues related to engagement in the physician/healthcare workforce. These pieces may utilize traditional or artistic formats to explore emerging challenges, propose solutions, discuss policy implications, or reflect on personal or professional experiences that contribute to the broader discourse.

• General format: Double space all copy. Use Times New Roman font in size 12. One-inch margins on all sides. Enumerate all pages of the manuscript, beginning with the Title Page as page 1

• Title page: Title page should include: (a) complete manuscript title; (b) authors' full names, highest academic degrees (i.e., MD, PhD, etc.);, and affiliations; (c) name and contact information  for corresponding author, including address, telephone number, and E-mail address; (d) all sources of support (eg: government funding, individual trusts, pharmaceutical and industry support) (e) conflicts of interest (if there are no conflicts, state, “The authors have no conflicts of interest.”), (f) three to five keywords for indexing, and (g) citation for this paper.

• Abstract is not required. Tables and figures may be included if they enhance the discussion or provide supporting evidence. Submissions should be concise, well-argued, and grounded in relevant evidence and/or experience.

• Word limit: 1000 words (not including references, tables or figures).

Artistic Submissions

• Bridging Perspectives accepts author inspired and author generated submissions of art in any medium (written or visual) that can be captured in writing or still image. Themes can vary but should be grounded in the practice of medicine.

• General format: Use Times New Roman font in size 12. One-inch margins on all sides. Enumerate all pages of the manuscript, beginning with the Title Page as page 1.

• Title page: Title page should include: (a) complete manuscript title; (b) authors' full names, highest academic degrees (i.e., MD, PhD, etc.), and affiliations; (c) name and contact information for corresponding author, including address, telephone number, and e-mail address; (d) all sources of support (e.g. government funding, individual trusts, pharmaceutical and industry support); (e) conflicts of interest (if there are no conflicts, state, “The authors have no conflicts of interest.”); (f) three to five keywords for indexing, and (g) citation for this paper.

• Abstract is not required

• Privacy: No protected health information/identifiable patient information can appear in the work. If the artistic work was inspired by real events with details changed for privacy, please include the following statement: “Identifying details have been changed or omitted to maintain confidentiality while preserving the integrity of the events described.”

• Written Submissions: 

• Prose maximum word count: 1600 words (excluding title)

  • • Poetry maximum word count: 44 lines (excluding title and lines between stanzas), 55 characters (with spaces) per line

    • Submission format: .doc, .docx

• Visual Submissions:

  • • Minimum dimension: 3 x 5 inches

    • Maximum dimension: 8 x 10 inches

    • Minimum quality: 300 DPI/PPI, Color Mode: RGB (for online distribution)

    • Image format: TIFF (.tif), PNG (.png), or JPG (.jpg) preferred

    • Image series: Submissions of a series is allowed, although publication of the complete set cannot be guaranteed.

    • Visual work can be supplemented by a paragraph of 250 words or less, written by the artist about the piece.

• Other formats: Currently, Bridging Perspectives is not accepting music or video artistic work.

Reporting guidelines

Authors are encouraged to follow relevant reporting guidelines from the EQUATOR Network (https://www.equator-network.org/) when preparing their manuscripts. These guidelines help ensure high-quality, transparent reporting and include key elements that reviewers and editors expect. Adhering to the appropriate guideline for your study type may also facilitate the review process.

Submission and Review Process

• Online Submission: Submit manuscripts through our online submission system. Email address bridgingperspectiveswip@gmail.com

• Peer Review: All submissions undergo a peer review process. Decisions regarding editing, revision, acceptance, or rejection of any manuscript are made by the editors based on review from the editorial board and guest reviewers from the Women in PEM subcommittee of the AAP Section of Emergency Medicine

• Revisions: Authors may be asked to revise their manuscripts based on reviewer feedback.

• Open access: Published content is free to any viewer and should be appropriately referenced. 

• Copyright: Authors of articles retain their copyright to published material.

• Publication Fees: Free

Other Considerations

• Inclusive Language: Authors are encouraged to use inclusive language. Please refer to the AMA Manual of Style Section 11.12: Inclusive Language for guidance and recommendations (https://academic.oup.com/amamanualofstyle/book/27941/chapter/207567296?login=false)     

• Equity in Authorship: Promote equitable authorship practices.

• Data Sharing and Transparency

• Data Availability: Encourage authors to share their data and provide a data availability statement.

• Transparency: Authors should be transparent about their methodology and any limitations of their study.

Contact Information

• For any queries, please contact our editorial office at journal@womeninpem.org