BMJ Case Reports - Writing and publishing a Case Report - a practical guide for junior doctors

Sep 13, 2026

BMJ Case Reports outlines how medical students and junior doctors can produce and publish high-quality clinical or global health case reports. It explains the journal’s mission, peer review process, available formats, and the purpose of case reports as a learning resource. The guidance covers manuscript preparation with required BMJ consent, writing in clear English, recommended section headings for full and global health formats, and expectations for evidence, balanced tone, and presentation of learning points for readers.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

Writing and publishing a Case Report

Journal overview and publication principles

Templates and submission requirements

Required headings for clinical and global health reports

Review process, writing quality, and acceptance criteria

What to include in submission and editorial features

BMJ Case Reports Writing and publishing a Case Report How many junior doctors have published original laboratory-based research from their student days, an audit or clinical study from their ﬁrst two years on the ward or have national and international presentations under their belt at the time they apply for training programmes? Publication is increasingly perceived essential to postgraduate learning and an important addition to the junior doctor’s training portfolio. BMJ Case Reports assists medical students and junior doctors worldwide in what is often their ﬁrst publication. BMJ Case Reports, launched in November 2008, was developed purely for the publication of case reports–there are more than 15,000 case reports currently available from authors in more than 70 countries. We have clinical case reports, images and videos. It isan online-only journal, has all the tradition of the BMJ, is peer reviewed, referenced and boasts an archive available–at the click ofa mouse–of cases listed by specialty from anaesthesia to urology. All material, including pictures, is free to subscribers (Fellows) to use for further clinical teaching. We have an editorial board and a huge range of reviewers who peer review not just the science and the medicine of the article, but seethe process of writing and rewriting the manuscript through with the authors to the ﬁnal production of what is, for many, their ﬁrst publication. In 2013 we launched our Global Health Case Reports. This means that, in addition to our traditional (clinical) case reports, we have a second format that analyses the global health problems patients face in detail and looks atthe causes of the causes of disease– the social determinants of health. We base our decision to publish manuscripts on three principles: First, healthcare workers including medical students and junior doctors must ﬁnd the cases a valuable learning resource, both relevant and engaging. Second, there is more to learn from common cases that present in an unusual way, present a diagnostic, ethical or management challenge or where there are pitfalls to learn from, than from rare or exotic cases that most of us are unlikely everto haveto manage. Third, our global health case reports describe patients from some of the most vulnerable communities in the world. Authors of these case reports are describing patients they look after in their routine clinical practice, and they are telling their story because the global health problems they encounter must be addressed. Use the Word templates at casereports.bmj.com and start writing up a clinical case that you think demonstrates valuable clinical or ethical lessons for an audience of medical students or junior doctors. Take any clinical pictures you need to illustrate your case (download our consent form to use in addition to the consent forms you use locally–we do not accept manuscripts without a completed BMJ consent form) and then write your clinical case report in our template under the following headings: • Summary • Background • Case presentation • Investigations • Diﬀerential diagnosis • Treatment • Outcome and follow-up • Discussion • Learning points/take home messages Alternatively, download our global health case report template and write about the social, cultural, political and ﬁnancial determinants of health that aﬀect your patient and the disparities in access to quality health care. Write under the following headings • Summary • Background • Case presentation • Global health problem list • Global health problem analysis • Take home messages The templates give you the ﬁrst draft of the report which you should show to a senior colleague at work or in university. When you are satisﬁed that you have a manuscript ready for our reviewers to read, go ahead and submit. Although it is rareto have a paper accepted without some revision, the entire process of review before a paper is accepted is as short aswe ca

FAQs

Who is BMJ Case Reports for and what does it offer authors?

It supports medical students and junior doctors worldwide and is designed for authors’ often first publication. It provides access to clinical case reports, images and videos, plus free reuse of materials for Fellows.

What templates and consent requirements must be followed when writing a clinical case report?

Use the Word templates at casereports.bmj.com. Download and complete the BMJ consent form and do not submit manuscripts without it, including when using clinical pictures.

What section headings are required for a clinical case report versus a global health case report?

Full clinical cases use headings such as Summary, Background, Case presentation, Investigations, Differential diagnosis, Treatment, Outcome and follow-up, Discussion, and Learning points. Global health cases use a global health problem list and analysis, plus Summary, Background, Case presentation, and Take home messages.

Sep 13, 2026

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