Manuscripts submitted for publication will be reviewed with the understanding that they are original, have not been previously published elsewhere, have not been submitted elsewhere, and are not being considered by other journals. Nearly all of our articles are solicited by the Editor and the Board. While we accept unsolicited manuscripts for review, only a small portion of these are accepted (with the exception of Case Reports, which are all unsolicited).

Submit all manuscripts to the Editor via e-mail at Carol.Nathan@QHC.com.

Content

Manuscripts should be directed to practicing clinicians and should focus on a condition or problem found exclusively, predominantly, or frequently in women. We prefer that articles begin with a brief, 100-word clinical scenario that gives an example of a patient with the condition being discussed. Delineate the problem clearly, describe the symptoms, and provide specific information on differential diagnosis and therapy. The resolution to the scenario can be included at the end of the article.

Readers are particularly interested in recommended management procedures and new developments, especially clinical guidelines. Describe research in terms of its applicability to clinical medicine. Emphasis should be on practical information. Authors are asked to include diagnosis and/or treatment algorithms, figures, photos, and tables to further enhance and complement the article. Provide descriptive headers and legends or captions for each table and figure. If any elements have been adapted or reproduced from a copyrighted source, this must be acknowledged by the author, who will obtain and provide The Female Patient with written permission for usage (in print and online) prior to publication. Include a signed statement of informed consent to publish (in print and online) any photographs in which one or more individuals may be identified.

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Disclosure

All authors must disclose any financial affiliation with any commercial organization that has direct financial interest in the subject discussed in the manuscript. A disclosure form will be e-mailed to authors whose work has been accepted for publication.

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Article Preparation

• Word limit: Please keep submissions to the required length. Accepted manuscripts that exceed the word limit will be edited prior to publication to conform to the article lengths described below, without exception.
  
• Feature article length: 2,000 words; word count includes references and text in tables, figures, and boxes. Limit of 20 references in features.
  
  
• Department article length: 1,000 to 1,500 words; word count includes references and text in tables, figures, and boxes. Limit of 12 references in departments.
  
  
• Reference rules: References should conform to AMA style and have been published within the last
  5 years. Do not cite textbooks. Do not use special formatting such as automatic citation insertion, endnotes, footnotes, etc. Just type references as regular text. Do not number references; instead, put the lead author name in parentheses after the sentence where it belongs. Then list the references at the end of the article in alphabetical order by lead author name. We will number them during the edit process.
  
  
• Supplementary materials: Slides, photographs, drawings, radiographs, sonograms, and scans are helpful, as are tables, graphs, flowcharts, and clinical algorithms. Cite these materials in the text and add captions where appropriate. We prefer that these materials be original whenever possible. If permission to reprint is needed, indicate that and obtain it before submitting the article.

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Double-Blinded Peer-Review Process

When a manuscript is submitted, it will be blind peer-reviewed by Editorial Advisory Board members or board-approved reviewers, who return evaluations within 6 weeks. A consensus of accept, decline, or revise will then be determined. Authors of manuscripts requiring revision will be provided detailed critiques from the reviewers, and will be expected to submit the revised manuscript within 15 days. Once all concerns are met satisfactorily, the manuscript may be accepted for publication. The average length of time between acceptance and publication is 4 to 6 months. Upon acceptance, the manuscript will be
edited for length, clarity, and conformity with journal style, and will be returned to the author for review and approval. Page proofs will be sent to authors for final review and approval.

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