Get your Journal of Graduate Medical Education paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 17 August, 2026
Submitting to Journal of Graduate Medical Education goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Graduate Medical Education guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Journal of Graduate Medical Education. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Journal of Graduate Medical Education journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Journal of Graduate Medical Education guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Journal of Graduate Medical Education guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through Editorial Manager.
| Element | J Graduate Med Educ requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Structured abstract required for research articles (Original Research, Educational Innovation, Review, Brief Report) following Background, Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusions (BOMRC) format. Word limit: ≤250 words (including headings). By article type: - Original Research (Quantitative): Background (relevance to GME, evidence gap), Objective (study purpose/question), Methods (setting, participants, design, intervention, outcomes, analysis), Results (specific main findings, both favorable and unfavorable), Conclusions (summary with implications for GME practice, relevance, generalizability) - Original Research (Qualitative): Same BOMRC structure with Methods including setting, participants, qualitative methods; Results with number of participants and recruitment - Educational Innovation: Background (relevance, prior knowledge, gap in practice), Objective (goal of innovation), Methods (innovation intervention, implementation, setting, participants, design, outcomes, analysis), Results (outcomes including feasibility - costs, time, materials, training - and acceptance by stakeholders), Conclusions (summary with implications, what was most/least effective with given resources) - Brief Report: Background (relevance, gap), Objective (study purpose), Methods (brief: setting, participants, design, intervention, outcomes, analysis), Results (specific findings, favorable and unfavorable), Conclusions (summary of main findings relating to GME, usually 1 sentence) - Review: Same BOMRC structure - Quality Improvement/Patient Safety submissions: Background (quality problem description, relevance, gap to achieve desired outcome), Objective (aim of QI project), Methods (key context, number of iterative steps, evaluation process), Results (key findings, intended and unintended outcomes, balancing measures, fidelity to intervention), Conclusions (summary with focus on potential for spread to other settings) - Perspectives, On Teaching, Letters to Editor: No abstract |
| Main text | By article type (word counts exclude title page, headings, acknowledgements, figures, tables, boxes, abstract, references, supplemental material): - Original Research Quantitative: Generally less than 2,500 words - Original Research Qualitative: Generally less than 3,500 words - Educational Innovation: Generally less than 2,000 words - Review: Generally less than 3,000 words - Brief Report: ≤1,200 words - Perspectives: ≤1,200 words - On Teaching: ≤1,200 words - Letters to the Editor: ≤500 words |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Not specified in the official author guidelines |
| References | AMA Manual of Style (https://www.amamanualofstyle.com/). References numbered consecutively in order cited in text, tables, or legends. Journal abbreviations follow MEDLINE format. Citations listed with up to 6 authors followed by 'et al' for references with more than 6 authors. References cited in text using superscripted numbers (1,2,3). Footnotes in tables/figures use superscripted letters (a,b,c) |
| Peer review | Single-blind: reviewers can remain anonymous unless they choose to sign their review |
| Submission | www.editorialmanager.com/jgme/default.aspx |
Read the Journal of Graduate Medical Education guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Journal of Graduate Medical Education in under a page.
Skim two or three recent J Graduate Med Educ papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Journal of Graduate Medical Education journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Journal of Graduate Medical Education guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.