WestJEM solicits contributions for publication through www.westjem.org including, original research, review articles, editorial opinions, letters to the editor, case reports, visual diagnosis, and other topics.

Submission Guidelines:

1. Peer Review Blinding
• Remove all reference to the site of the work and authors in the body of the text. These should only appear on the Cover letter, which is uploaded separately from the article text, and when registering the information on the website.
• For IRB approval, state approval by "local institutional review (or human subjects) committee."
2. Overall Design
• Use font size 12, Times New Roman.
• Double-space submissions, one side only.
• Bold major headings of the paper.
3. Margins and Alignment
• Use 1-inch page margins on all sides.
• The body of the paper should be left-aligned.
• Paragraphs should be separated by an extra line space, not indented.
4. Headings
• Headings should be entitled: ABSTRACT, INTRODUCTION, MATERIALS AND METHODS, RESULTS, DISCUSSION, LIMITATIONS, CONCLUSION, REFERENCES.
• Headings should not have a colon attached to them.
5. Footnotes
• Place footnotes at the end of sentences only.
• Footnotes should be placed after the period, like this.¹
• Use the superscript function (Ctrl +) to place a footnote.
• There should be no spaces between multiple footnotes attached to the same sentence, and commas and hyphens should separate them, like this.^2,3,4,5-7
6. Text Conventions
• Place one space after punctuation.
• The first time an abbreviation is presented, spell it out and put the abbreviation in parenthesis.
• If an abbreviation is presented in the abstract, spell it out again the first time it is used in the body of the article.
• When using the terms i.e., or e.g., punctuate these with periods and place a comma after them. Do not italicize them; do not italicize et. al. and other commonly used Latin terms.
• Decimals between zero and one should be presented as 0.23, 0.05, etc., not .23 or .05.
• The signs =, >, and < should not have spaces around them: p<0.05, not p < 0.05.
• Place a comma between a month and a year, as in September, 1975.
7. Pharmaceutical, Device, and Unit Conventions
• Use generic drug names primarily, and trade names for clarification in parentheses, if necessary. Use standard metric units. Give laboratory reference ranges in parentheses only for unusual tests or variable reference ranges.
• Identify devices with their manufacturer, model if applicable, and headquarters city.
• Identify statistical packages used with their version number and headquarters city.
8. Figures
• Submit graphics separately from the body of the article. Do not embed images in a Word document.
• Images MUST be submitted separately in an image document (jpeg, png, gif, tif, bmp, etc.) and in high-resolution (minimum 300dpi). If they are not, your manuscript may not get published. Articles will only be published that are of publishable quality.
• Place the title captions at the end of the word document.
• Title captions follow this format:
Figure 2. Effect of amiodarone on blood pressure.

• Do not repeat information contained in tables in the body of the text.
• Use Arabic (not Roman) numerals for designating figures.
9. Tables
• Place tables at the end of the word document.
• Number and title all tables.
• Place table captions above tables.
• Center information on the first line of the table cell.
• Use Arabic (not Roman) numerals for designating tables.
10. References
• Adherence to strict reference format is extremely important to prevent delays in publication of your manuscript.
• Number references consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Do not list alphabetically.
• References cited only in tables or figure legends should be numbered in accordance with a sequence established by the first mention in the text of the particular table or figure.
• Base reference format on the following structure:

Journal Article: Langdorf MI, Rudkin SE, Dellota K, Fox JC, Munden S. Decision rule and utility of routine urine toxicology screening of trauma patients. Eur J Emerg Med. 2002; 9:115-21.


• Note that title words are not capitalized except for the first, and proper nouns. List page numbers omitting redundant numerals which already have been listed in the page number beginning the citation. Journal names are italicized, and may be abbreviated. Periods separate all sections of the citation, except for between year and volume number (;), and volume number and pages (colon). Issue numbers are not listed.
Book: Joseph R, Fox JC, Sierzenski PR. Emergency ultrasound: principles and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby; 2006.
Book Chapter: Mengert TJ, Eisenberg MS. Prehospital and emergency medicine thrombolytic therapy. In: Tintinalli JE, Ruiz E, Krome RL, eds. Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. 4th ed. New York NY: McGraw-Hill; 1996:337-343.
Courses, lectures (unpublished): Sokolove PE. Needlesticks and high-risk exposure. Course lecture presented at: American College of Emergency Physicians, Scientific Assembly, October 12, 1998; San Diego, CA.
Internet: Kazzi Z, Langdorf, MI. Replantation. eMedicine Web site. Available at: http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic502.htm. Accessed September 18, 2007.


Author Submission Process via the website:

1. Log-in to WestJEM
From the WestJEM website (www.westjem.org), click the “Submit Article” link and log in with an email address and password. (If you do not have an account you will need to create one. To do so you can click on “Create s FREE account,” next to “New User? on the My Account page. This ensures that we have an accurate email address to contact the author about the submission.)
2. Article Submission Instructions
The Article Submission Instructions appear first. These instructions outline what information is required for submission and any other guidelines that need to be called out at the start. Click “Continue”

Submission Agreement The Article Submission Agreement appears next. Authors must click “Accept” to continue with the submission process.

3. Entering Co-authors
The next step allows the author to enter co-authors. Enter the author names as follows:
• Enter the co-author's email address and click “Add Author.” If you do not have the email address for any co-author click “Add Author” without writing in the email. If you do not enter an email address, the co-author will never be notified about the status of the article; nor will the co-author be able to log into the “My Account” page to view the status of his or her submitted article or to revise it.
• On the next screen, enter the coauthor’s name and affiliation. Click “Add to list of authors.” Repeat those steps for each co-author of the article.
• A popup menu next to an author’s name can be used to reorder the authors.
• To delete authors click the check box in the ‘delete’ column. To edit an author’s name or affiliation, click the “Edit” link next to the name. Click “Update authors” to submit those changes.
4. Accuracy of Co-authors
When the list of authors is accurate and complete, click “Continue”. Note that it is extremely important to verify that the names and affiliations are entered accurately and exactly as they should appear on the published article and the website.
5. Upload Article
The next screen prompts the author to upload the article itself and all related information.

TITLE: Enter the title of the article exactly as you would like it to appear (including the correct capitalization).
KEYWORDS: Enter 3-5 keywords separated by commas.
SUBJECT CATEGORY: Please enter the running title of up to 30 characters.
Cover Page Footnote: Authors are prompted to enter their acknowledgments as they would appear in the journal article and on the web. Please also keep the acknowledgements in the body of the article.
ABSTRACT: The abstract for the article should be entered here and also included as part of the article. Therefore, we should receive it twice. Abstracts must be 300 words or less. The abstract should be structured with the following sections as applicable: Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion. You may enter abstracts by pasting or typing them into the text box provided, or you may click the Browse button to upload a text file that solely includes the abstract. You should also click the appropriate option to describe the layout of your abstract so that it is formatted correctly on screen.
WORD PROCESSING DOCUMENT: Upload the article in Microsoft Word format only.

• The uploaded article must be anonymous. Do not include the Title, Author, or Institutions (as this was entered previously). Only include the text of the article and the abstract at the top.
• For any images or figures included in the article, the author must upload the images in “supplemental content,” which will be on the left hand margin under “manage submission” in your account once you have submitted the article. Images and figures must be uploaded as image documents (jpeg, tif, bmp, etc) in high resolution (minimum 300 dpi.). We cannot proceed with publication unless images are in high resolution as indicated.
• Supplemental content can be added after you have submitted the document.
• Images or figures embedded in a word processing document will not be accepted.
COVER LETTER: Authors should include a cover letter for the Editor-in-Chief that includes all contact information. The cover letter is accessible to editors only. The cover letter should include:

1. The title of the article
2. A short synopsis of the academic merit of the article.
3. Running title (30 character limit).
4. The authors’ full names and academic degrees (first name, middle initial, surname). No fellowship designations are needed. Please specify the contribution of the authors.
5. Corresponding author with full contact information, including email and phone.
6. Affiliations, including: name of department, institution, city, state or country in which the work was completed.
7. Acknowledgements of any grant support; and name, date and location of previous presentation of the work.
When all done, click “Submit.”
6. Confirmation
The submission is confirmed, and the author is given the option of previewing what was submitted, making corrections, and uploading associated files which can supplement the published article (e.g. data sets or sound clips).
7. Log Out
When the author is finished, he or she clicks the Log out option and the submission is complete. As soon as the article is submitted, the editors are notified, and then the editorial process begins. The author also manages all interactions with a publication through his or her view of the My Account page, including checking the article’s status, reading reviews, and submitting revisions. The article, abstract, keywords, and author information may be revised at any point by the author via their My Account page. Authors simply click the title of the article on the My Account page to get access to the revise submission link.
8. Next Step
Author should wait for reviews and requests for any revisions. If the Author is requested to submit revisions, the Author has two to four weeks to submit them.

If there are any questions or concerns, please contact:
Dr. Shahram Lotfipour
Managing Associate Editor

(714) 456-5239