Update on Journal of Investigative Medicine—yes, we are on the right road!
============================================================================

* Richard McCallum

*   medicine
*   publishing

Since I became editor in late 2019, *JIM* has shown extraordinary growth across the board. I would like to take this opportunity to provide readers with a snapshot of *JIM*’s progress in 2020.

After a 3-year period of relatively little growth, submissions were up 78% in 2020 (figure 1), reaching an all-time high since transitioning to BMJ in 2016. Original research articles, reviews, and brief reports all increased by almost 70%. This growth is also reflected in an increase of published papers of approximately 40%, the result of the Editorial team’s continued focus on quality while also maintaining a stable acceptance rate of 30%.

![Figure 1](/https://d3hme472k3gd2d.cloudfront.net/content/jim/69/3/687/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure 1](/content/69/3/687/F1)

Figure 1 
Submissions and published papers, 2017–2020.

Over the past several years, *JIM* has benefited from a push for open access. 2020 was no exception, with *JIM* publishing 15% of its articles open access. This is not surprising given the effects of COVID-19 on making science and medicine more accessible and available.

As illustrated in figure 2, *JIM*’s usage has been on an upward trend since 2017. During 2020, a year when researchers were short on time as they and their teams were more focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, *JIM*’s users and page views continued to grow. Since 2017, the number of users has increased over 90% and page views have increased over 30% (figure 2). This speaks to an increasing dissemination of content published in *JIM* over the past several years. Indeed, it is notable that over 60% of our traffic is from outside of North America, a sign that *JIM* has become a truly international journal.

![Figure 2](/https://d3hme472k3gd2d.cloudfront.net/content/jim/69/3/687/F2.medium.gif)

[Figure 2](/content/69/3/687/F2)

Figure 2 
User and page views, 2017–2020.

Like most journals during the pandemic, *JIM* saw its fair share of COVID-focused submissions. Of those that it published, four articles contributed to over 10% of *JIM*’s 100,000+ downloads. Another of the top downloaded articles was “[Peer Mentoring for Professional and Personal Growth in Academic Medicine](https://jim.bmj.com/content/68/6/1128)” by Dr. Melanie Cree-Green and colleagues. This was the first of the new article type Faculty Development & Education which I have added with a focus on nurturing and guiding our AFMR members.

Part of the BMJ Talk Medicine portfolio of journals and uploaded monthly, the *JIM* podcast launched in January and garnered over 4000 listens in 2020. I have spoken to many of our nationally recognized colleagues about a vast range of topics over the past year, notably Colon Cancer, Hepatitis C, Atrial Fibrillation, Thyroid Disease, Systemic Sclerosis, and HIV Awareness.

On the social media side, Twitter followers continue to grow, and I will be working with our social media editor and the AFMR to expand our visibility through this medium. This will be a focus in this upcoming year.

I would like to especially thank our team: Chloe Tuck and Rachel Wright, our Editorial Production Assistants; Hannah Martin, *JIM*’s Production Editor, based in London, UK; Taylor Baumgartner, the AFMR’s Meeting Manager; Aurelie Alger, AFMR’s Supervising Director; Kathy Lyons, Publisher of *JIM*, and her associate Chris Feldsine, both based in BMJ’s Hoboken, New Jersey, office. A very special recognition for my Editorial Assistant at Texas Tech University in El Paso, Karina Espino.

The real infrastructure of *JIM* relies on the commitment of our Associate Editors supported by our hardworking and always responsive Editorial Board guided by input from our publications Committee chaired by Dr. Amir Zeki.

Yes, I am very happy to report that our GPS indicates that *JIM* is indeed on the right road and we plan to continue to meet the scientific and educational needs of our AFMR membership and all our readers.

## Footnotes

*   Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

*   Competing interests None declared.

*   Patient consent for publication Not required.

*   Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.