For years, the JFMS has been the key publication relied upon by veterinarians to deliver the latest cutting-edge scientific research, premier reviews, and clinical case studies to improve feline medicine and welfare. In January 2023, the JFMS will enter a new chapter in its long history and move to an open-access format, providing the entire global veterinary community with a free online resource that will advance the collective feline medical and scientific knowledge.
With this change, the JFMS will cease to print the monthly Journal as of January 2023. Instead, articles will be published online as soon as they have gone through the peer-review process and been accepted for publication. This affords the opportunity for swift dissemination of the latest scientific research to you and the global community and allows the JFMS to continue its mission of being the authority resource for feline medicine and welfare in a rapidly changing world. We are committed to maintaining the highest quality of published papers and, along with the ISFM, will continue to make the investment in producing Clinical Practice-style articles.
The AAFP understands that there might be many questions about this change. Please read below to learn more.
Open-access content is made freely available to everyone under the terms of a Creative Commons license. Open-access publication is usually subject to payment of an article processing charge (APC) paid by the author, institution, or funding body. All AAFP Members will receive discounts on APC rates. The JFMS will be a gold open-access journal.
Yes, all articles submitted to JFMS will still go through the same peer-review process and be the same quality that is published currently.
No! The benefit of articles being published open access is that they are available for free with unrestricted online access.
Scientific medical publishing has been experiencing a significant global shift over the last decade. More and more publishers are seeing significant declines in print subscriptions along with rising costs. Along with this many academic and government institutions are changing their buying models and insisting on free access to scientific publications. Many funding agencies are also restricting grant research awards to projects that publish their findings in open-access publications.
Over the past 18 months, authors, reviewers, Editorial Board members, and the AAFP and ISFM boards conducted surveys and analyzed data on JFMS and how to strategically advance the publication for the future. In order for JFMS to advance forward and continue to be the leading publication for feline scientific and medical research, the AAFP and ISFM had to make the decision to move to open access. We understand that this shift may be disappointing for some of our members, and we are pleased that we are still able to provide the high-quality JFMS articles that you are used to reading. Additionally, we are hopeful that you will find the same value you’ve come to expect from the JFMS reflected in our upcoming new programs.
We will be publishing JFMS Monthly – This new monthly bulletin will provide you with highlights of the latest published articles in the JFMS. It will include a short abstract summary of the most practical articles provided by Margie Scherk, DVM, DABVP (Feline), JFMS co-editor, which is delivered right to your inbox so you don’t have to go searching online each month. Additional supplemental content will be included such as video or podcast interviews with the authors which will allow you to take an even deeper dive into the content.
Additionally, we know many of our members value something they can hold that includes quality feline content. We are developing a new printed quarterly AAFP Member Magazine that will feature a wide array of diverse content. Current content plans include RACE-approved CE medical articles; feline educational features and clinical case studies; rotating medical content such as practical reviews, conversations with experts, and practical tips on different topics; “Technician Talk” articles; news from our members and AAFP news; and much more! We are excited to also announce that Jessica Quimby, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, and Kelly St. Denis, MSc, DVM, DABVP (Feline) have agreed to be our inaugural Chief Medical Editors! We will be launching a member contest in early February 2022, asking you to help us name this new publication, so please be on the lookout for more information! Each issue will also be available electronically.
We understand that you may have other questions regarding open-access publishing and the switch of JFMS to open access. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our team with your questions! We are here to help you understand this process!