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JOM

Journal of the American Osteopathic Association set to relaunch with a new name and format

By AOA Staff

12.07.20

Statement attributable to AOA President Thomas L. Ely, DO, and AOA CEO Kevin M. Klauer, DO, EJD:

The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) is pleased to announce that the new year will bring an exciting transition for the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (JAOA), which has served the osteopathic profession through 119 years of continuous publication. Building on this proud history, the JAOA will transition in January 2021 to an online-only, open access publication and will be rebranded as Journal of Osteopathic Medicine (JOM).

Under the direction of Dr. Robert Orenstein (Editor-in-Chief Emeritus) and now Dr. Ross Zafonte (Editor-in-Chief), the JAOA has already transformed into an academic publication with a strong digital presence. We publish articles ahead of print in our Online First section; we routinely offer videos that accompany written articles; we encourage authors to share expanded data in online-only Appendices.

Open access publishing is not a passing trend—in many areas of the world, including in the US for studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, it is a mandate. The free sharing of science is of paramount importance in today’s world. It’s important not just for public awareness, but for our authors and our profession. When osteopathic medical research is publicly accessible, we advance the profession through dissemination of high-quality peer reviewed literature. This format will serve that end, improving the quality and future impact factor of the osteopathic profession’s peer reviewed journal.

While the November and December issues of the journal were the final compendiums sent through the postal mail, the JOM website will offer access not only to future issues, but to the entire JAOA digital archive dating back to 1950. Further, our efforts will now more accurately reflect our commitment to the propagation of high-quality research. Rather than funding the printing of journal issues, the AOA will fund article processing charges on behalf of its members—and hopefully on behalf of you. This change represents your membership dollars hard at work, funding research, not printing costs.

We invite and welcome the submission of your work to the JOM. Along with changes to how the journal is published, we’ve also updated many of our editorial service policies. We have implemented policies and procedures to issue first decisions quickly, publish your work in a timely fashion, and provide more rigorous peer review to help you fine-tune your research manuscripts.

Thank you for your loyal readership of the JAOA and for your continued support of and membership in the AOA. Together, we’re advancing the distinctive practice of osteopathic medicine.

Learn more

Read this week’s article in The DO to find answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the transition to a new Journal of Osteopathic Medicine (JOM).