Towards a Global Appeal: JPMS to Revamp Title

Dear readers of JPMS, you may have already noticed that your Journal has a new name. This name-change decision was taken after several long discussions between the editorial board and with the consensus of the governing body. Starting from October 2013 issue release, Journal of Pakistan Medical Students (JPMS) is being renamed to Journal of Pioneering Medical Sciences (JPMS). We believe that the new name reflects the Journal’s developing mission and growing audience more appropriately. In 2011, when JPMS was launched, its current title was chosen to reflect its origin from Pakistan and that it was established by two Pakistani medical students [1]. Since then, we have seen JPMS grow continuously and rapidly. This growth is both in the readership of the JPMS as well as in the submissions. Our readers are from all over the world and we receive and publish articles from several countries. Our readers and contributors include students as well as well-established scientists. Our editorial board includes researchers from all over the world. This widening reach necessitated name that reflects the JPMS audience and the readers and contributors of this journal, hence you see this change in name. The older title of JPMS was unable to reflect the scope of the Journal in two ways. First, JPMS is in not a “student” journal. While we all are students, the label ‘student’ in common usage represents someone who is still learning in a recognized institution of learning. Thus the name portrayed that this journal was appropriate for students only. This is far from the truth. The majority of articles which we publish are authored by consultants and specialists in their respective fields. The manuscripts are peer reviewed by at least one senior editor and every article is edited by a faculty member of Johns Hopkins University to ensure that we maintain the highest possible publication standard. Secondly, our audience is not limited to researchers within Pakistan. In fact, the majority of submissions and consequently the articles which we publish are from our international contributors who have played a pivotal role in ensuring the success of JPMS. We have published articles from at least 20 countries to date. Our editorial team has a large number of international editors, a feat which we would like to expand further. Therefore, a title which reflects the global audience of the journal was needed. We believe that the title “Journal of Pioneering Medical Sciences” is a better reflection of JPMS audience, YOU and represents its global appeal to our international contributors. We take this opportunity to thank our contributors and the editorial team who have made this project a success. Finally, we welcome quality submissions from new contributors, encourage previous contributors to continue submissions, and welcome experienced researchers who believe in our dream to join the editorial team of JPMS.

1. Riaz H, Rehman A. Inception of journal of Pakistan medical students: from a dream to reality. J Pak Med Stud. 2011; 1 (1): 1-2