Prof. Zafar Ullah Chaudhry
The College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan
(CPSP), the prime institute of Asia, was founded in
1962. This year the CPSP is celebrating its Golden
Jubilee. The objectives with which CPSP was founded included postgraduate teaching, training, conduct of examinations and award of degrees and diplomas in medical specialties. Another aim was to provide a forum for promotion and dissemination of research in the field of basic and clinical medical sciences.
1 CPSP was the trend setter in this field in Pakistan. Regular workshops, seminars and conferences were held where faculty members and postgraduate trainees were trained and facilitated in writing of research proposals and scientific papers. Through the Journal of CPSP (JCPSP), a portal was provided to disseminate their research work to the world.
JCPSP was started in 1991 and this year we are publishing its 22 nd volume. The Journal has obtained unique position in the field of medical journalism especially from the developing world. The editorial board has strived hard to maintain standards and also provided guidelines to national journals in improving their ranking in the world. CPSP was the venue and the co-host of the 5th Eastern Mediterranean Medical
Journals Conference (EMMJ5), which was held at
Karachi - Pakistan in December 2010.
2 This shows the commitment of the College and the Journal towards improving overall status of medical journals in Eastern
Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization.
The editors of JCPSP also take keen interest in the activities of Pakistan Association of Medical Editors
(PAME). The General Secretary of PAME is one of the editors of JCPSP.
JCPSP was the first medical journal of Pakistan, related to clinical sciences, which was awarded with an Impact
Factor (IF) by the Thomson Reuters -ISI (Institute for
Scientific Information), Philadelphia, USA. It is a matter of great pride and honour not only for JCPSP but also for the Country. In the year 2011, JCPSP also received
5-year Impact Factor of 0.7, which is one of the highest among the contemporary journals of Pakistan and many from the region.
3 JCPSP strives to improve on this in
Correspondence: Prof. Zafar Ullah Chaudhry, President, CPSP/
Chief Editor, JCPSP, College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan,
7th Central Street, Phase II, DHA, Karachi.
E-mail: publications@cpsp.edu.pk
future. For this, the Journal encourages authors to move towards randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which are rated high in terms of research grading system. RCTs must be registered at least with a National
Body through which research is being conducted. The
RCTs must follow the Consolidated Standards of
Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement; this is a requirement of the International Committee of Medical
Journals Editors (ICMJE), which the JCPSP follows.
Many journals are moving forward in this direction and have made it a mandatory requirement but still the compliance is lacking.
4-6 Systematic reviews also help achieve a high IF.
To be at par with international medical journals of repute,
JCPSP has decided to gradually switch over to online submission of articles and online review process with article tracking system. A user- friendly software is being developed. Many national authors and reviewers are not comfortable with online submission and review process although this has many advantages. The paperless working environment is globally acclaimed as the best.
It saves both the cost and the time. It helps to improve communication between authors, reviewers and editorial board members thus preventing unnecessary delays in processing of articles. JCPSP shall slowly adopt this process with the help of Information
Technology Department of CPSP. The contributors are the main asset of the JCPSP as are the Fellows and
Members of the College. The editorial effort is to process the eligible manuscripts as efficiently as possible, so that the local research becomes globally visible. This has been rewarded by the award of the IF and JCPSP reiterates the contributors to switch from simple observational studies, case series and crosssectional studies to RCTs and systematic reviews to improve upon the IF. This would in turn enhance the value of their published work.
1.
College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan [Internet]. [cited
2011 Dec 8] Available from: http://www.cpsp.edu.pk
2.
EMMJ5 Conference Proceedings [Internet]. [cited 2011 Dec 8].
Available from: http://www.pame.org.pk/EMMJ-5_Proceedings/ index.html
3.
Web of knowledge: journal citation reports [Internet]. [cited 2011
Dec 8] Available from: http://wokinfo.com/products_tools/ analytical/jcr//
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Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2012, Vol. 22 (1): 1-2

From the Chief Editor’s Desk
4.
Moher D, Schulz KF, Altman DG. The CONSORT statement: revised recommendations for improving the quality of reports of parallel-group randomized trials.
Lancet
2001; 357:
1191-4.
5.
Tharyan P, Premkumar TS, Mathew V, Barnabas JP, Manuerlrai.
Editorial policy and the reporting of randomized controlled trials: a survey of instructions for authors and assessment of trial reports in Indian medical journals (2004-05).
Natl Med J India
2008;
21:62-8.
6.
Lockshin MD, Katz PP, Yelin EH. Clinical trial registration and publication of randomized controlled trials.
J Am Med Assoc
2010;
303:517-8.
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Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2012, Vol. 22 (1): 1-2