Policies and Procedures

The following are the official policies and procedures of the journal Academic Emergency Medicine.

Operational Guidelines

Journal Operational Guidelines

These principles will apply to the journal, Academic Emergency Medicine, herein referred to as the Journal; as governed by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, herein referred to as the Society. The Editorial Office will be housed at the SAEM headquarters.

Mission

The Society is the primary sponsor of the Journal, Academic Emergency Medicine. The mission of the Journal is to promote the advancement of emergency medicine research, education, and clinical practice. The Journal will be published at regular intervals as determined by the Board of Directors. The Journal will serve as the official forum for publishing position statements of the Society.

Vision Statement

The vision of the Journal is to highlight original investigations that promise to help shape the future of the specialty, offer a forum for topical issues in academic emergency medicine, and provide stimulating material of relevance to the practice of emergency medicine and of importance to those educating emergency physicians.

Goals

The goals of the Journal shall be to:

• Publish the highest quality original research representing advancements in the knowledge base of the specialty of emergency medicine.
• Provide a forum for critical evaluations of innovations and controversies that affect clinical practice, education and research.
• Emphasize and further define the role of emergency medicine in the health care system.
• Provide information that enhances the research and education skills of the academic emergency physician.
• Provide a forum for discussion of societal, economic and political issues that affect academic emergency physicians.
• Provide information about international developments in emergency medicine.
• Stimulate creative and provocative presentation of information and ideas relating to emergency medicine.
• Provide a forum for discussion of developments in organized medicine that affect academic emergency medicine.
• Reflect the diversity of academic emergency medicine.

Ownership and Control

The Society shall own the Journal and its title, to include all trademark rights and copyrights. The Society through its appointed Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board will have exclusive control of the editorial policy and the editorial content of the Journal.

Editor-In-Chief

Appointment: The Editor-in-Chief of the Journal will be appointed and overseen directly by the Board of Directors of SAEM.

Responsibilities: The charge of the Editor-in-Chief shall include:

1. Establishment of an Editorial Board and its governance by the principles of authority, delegation of responsibility and allocation of funding. Senior Associate Editor(s) and Associate Editors shall be chosen by the Editor-in-Chief to assist the Editor-in-Chief, and to serve in leadership roles should it become necessary. Any funding associated with these positions shall be approved by the Board of Directors prior to appointment.
2. Establishment of an effective system of manuscript recruitment and constructive editorial review.
3. Establishment of the scope of the Journal's content that is consistent with the mission of SAEM.
4. Provision to the Publisher of accepted manuscripts in accordance with the established production schedule and scope of the Journal.
5. Establishment, with the Publisher, of matters of style, article format, instructions to authors, journal design, layout and advertising.
6. Advisement of the SAEM Board of Directors and Publisher of potential medicolegal and ethical concerns regarding the Journal. Ultimate authority in these matters rests with the Board of Directors.
7. Provision of quarterly reports and an annual report of the Journal including an accounting of the editorial expenses to the Board of Directors as well as an annual report on the progress of the Journal for the membership.

Editorial Independence

The Society and the Journal will maintain high standards of academic freedom and objectivity. In order to promote an editorial process that is free of external influences and bias, the relationship between the Society's Board of Directors and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal will be as follows:

1. The Editor-in-Chief shall have final authority on all decisions regarding editorial practices, editorial decisions,and the content of the Journal.
2. The Society, through its Board of Directors, may provide advisory comments on editorial practices, editorial decisions, or content of the Journal, but such comments are not binding.
3. The Editor-in-Chief may be relieved of his or her duties, based on documented behavior or actions incompatible with the mission of the Journal. Such an action requires a minimum of two thirds (2/3) of the Society's Board of Directors to vote for removal of the Editor-in-Chief, during each of two votes of the Society's Board of Directors, taken at least 30 days apart. If the Editor-in-Chief or Senior Associate Editors of the Journal are members of the Society's Board of Directors, they will not participate in these votes. During the 30 day interval between votes, the Editor-in-Chief shall have the opportunity to respond, in writing, to the concerns of the Board of Directors.

Compensation

The Society will remunerate the Editor-in-Chief a negotiated amount to be paid on a quarterly basis.

Performance Review and Terms of Office

Performance review of the Editor-in-Chief will be the responsibility of the Society's Board of Directors and will be conducted on an annual basis, with a written summary of the review provided to the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief's term of office shall be five years with the option of one additional five-year term if mutually agreed to by the Society's Board of Directors and the Editor-in-Chief. Commitment to renew for a second term should be given at least one year prior to the end of the first term.

Termination

This agreement may be terminated by the Editor-in-Chief with not less than six months notice. This agreement may be terminated by a vote of the Society's Board of Directors as specified above. In the event the Editor-in-Chief is unable due to illness, disability or other cause to perform the responsibilities of the position, the Society shall designate a Senior Associate Editor to serve as Acting Editor-in-Chief. The Society shall negotiate compensation for the Acting Editor, which shall be deducted from all sums otherwise payable to the Editor-in-Chief under this agreement.

Noncompete Agreement

The Editor-in-Chief agrees not to serve as Editor-in-Chief or Editor of any emergency medicine journal while serving said position for the Journal.

Operations

Financial and business affairs will be managed at the Society headquarters. The Society will provide all the personnel, equipment, and supplies necessary to conduct the editorial processes of the Journal.

Associate Editors and Members of the Editorial Board

Associate Editors and members of the Editorial Board should be active members of the Society. Associate Editors and Editorial Board members will be responsible for reviewing and editing material submitted for publication in the Journal and may be assigned to special projects relating to the Journal at the request of the Editor-in-Chief.

Financial Support

An appropriate proportion of membership dues, as determined by the Society's Board of Directors, shall be designated for the support of the journal. The Society's total degree of financial support for the journal will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Any excess revenues resulting from journal publication may be utilized for support of the Society as deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors and the publishing contract will be periodically reviewed. The Board reserves the right to withdraw sponsorship of the publication if the goals of the Society are no longer being met and/or financial constraints exist.

Article Submission

Articles may be submitted for publication from Society members or nonmembers. All articles submitted should be consistent with the Instructions for Authors as published in the Journal. The Journal provides blinded peer-review of original investigations and most concept materials. Submitted manuscripts will not be returned.

Advertisement

Space is available for advertisements in the Journal that relate to academic emergency medicine. The goals of providing advertising space will be to cover the cost of publishing the Journal and to provide useful information to the membership. The Society and the Editor-in-Chief reserve the right to refuse for publication any advertisement they deem unacceptable to the Society's mission. Advertisements may include fellowship or faculty job opportunities that relate to academic emergency medicine. Space is also available for advertisements of regional meetings. Advertising rates shall be established by the Society's Board of Directors, in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief.

Approved, as revised, by the SAEM Board of Directors, October 2000 and October 2001.

Editorial Board Member Leave of Absence

The following policy governs leaves of absences for sitting Editorial Board members: Requests for a leave of absence must be initiated in writing prior to initiation of leave. Ideally, 30 days prior to the requested date for the initiation of leave is desirable. However, in unusual circumstances this time may be waived. The request must include the exact dates of the leave and the reason for the leave request. Leaves may be requested for personal or medical emergency, administrative reasons (i.e. temporary increase in workload), or educational/sabbatical reasons. Leave requests may be from one to two months discussed with the Editor-in-Chief and in most circumstances the Editorial Board members should consider stepping down from the Editorial Board. Requests for leave will be reviewed by the Editor and/or Senior Associate Editor. Approval or disapproval of leave requests will be made within 7 days. The decision of the Editor will be in writing, and will be final. The Associate Editor's term in office will not be extended due to leave of absence. The beginning and finishing dates of the associate editor's three-year term shall remain unchanged, and time on leave shall count toward completion of the three-year term.

This policy was posted on September 10, 2001.

Prepublication Release of Journal Information

Background

An essential element of scientific discovery is dissemination of research findings in an ethically and scientifically appropriate manner. The overriding consideration is the best interests of society. Because of this obligation, dissemination of the results of research data is generally not appropriate until it has undergone objective, formal review. Scientific reviewers must critically and expertly evaluate the work and render opinions regarding the accuracy of findings based upon study design and execution. Such review is essential to maintain the integrity and objectivity of scientific work. Research findings, then, should generally not be disseminated until such review has been completed. Subsequent accessibility to all members of the scientific community, through publication, is an additional safeguard. The readers of the scientific work are obligated to critically evaluate the design and content of the full publication in order to make their own objective determinations of the findings. While the public's interest is best served by such careful scrutiny of scientific work, there are times when the findings are of compelling and immediate interest, warranting immediate release. Further, the interests of the public are served not by limited access to scientific information, but by a free exchange of ideas and information. An excessively restrictive policy regarding dissemination of research findings is not warranted. To balance these interests, in general, there will be no prepublication release of manuscript information until formal publication, with the following exceptions: Prepublication release of journal information is allowed in abstract form at a scientific meeting. Press coverage of scientific information that is released in abstract form is not encouraged. When, in the interests of public health, immediate release of information is warranted, the decision to allow dissemination of information can be authorized by the Editor-in-Chief. Deference will be granted to public health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control or National Institutes of Health, when they determine that a release of information is warranted. When regulatory or governmental agencies determine the release of information is warranted, the findings will be made available. Expedited review of findings will be available, at the Editor-in-Chief's discretion, when urgent release of findings is not warranted but timeliness of publication is important. In certain circumstances, at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief or the Senior Associate Editor, manuscripts labeled draft may be circulated for educational purposes. This circumstance requires formal approval by the Editor-in-Chief or Senior Associate Editor.

This policy was posted on September 10, 2001.

Manuscript Decision Appeals

General

Authors may request an appeal of publication decisions rendered by an AEM Decision Editor or the Editor-in-Chief. This policy defines the process, once the AEM Editorial office receives the appeal.

Qualifying Appeals

Appeals will be considered only if they assert that (1) an error of fact or substantial misunderstanding occurred and/or (2) a disqualifying conflict of interest exists on the part of the Decision Editor or Editor-in-Chief.

Appeals Process

All appeals must: (1) be made in writing to the Editor-in-Chief; (2) clearly state the basis for the appeal and provide substantiating information; and (3) be received by the AEM office within 30 days of the date on the letter of rejection.

The editorial staff will forward the appeal to the Editor-in-Chief or the Senior Associate Editor within 5 business days. If unavailable, the Editor-in-Chief or Senior Associate Editor may delegate this to another member of the Editorial Board not involved with initial decision.

The Editor-in-Chief, the Senior Associate Editor, or their designee will receive the initial and revised (if applicable) manuscripts, all referee reports, and all correspondences relating to the manuscript.

The Editor-in-Chief, the Senior Associate Editor, or their designee will choose a disposition within 10 business days of receiving the above materials. The decision may be: (1) to reaffirm the initial decision and take no further action; (2) to overturn the initial decision and accept the manuscript or write a specific revise/reconsider letter; or (3) to decide that additional information is required. If the latter decision is made, then the manuscript will be sent, with no other background material, to at least two referees not associated with the previous review, following usual manuscript review operations/timelines.

The Editor-in-Chief, the Senior Associate Editor, or their designee will consider all referee comments at this point to choose final disposition. This decision is final and the author will be notified in writing per usual mechanisms.

This policy was posted on September 10, 2001.