Membership

WAME's membership activities are directed primarily toward editors of peer-reviewed biomedical journals and scholars who seriously study the discipline of scholarly medical publishing. WAME has established Bylaws and operates through a Board of Directors and six Committees (see WAME Executive Board and Committees): all unpaid volunteers. All members are encouraged to take an active interest in the , committees, and development activities of the association.

Membership is free. Individuals who meet the following criteria for membership may apply for membership:

Editors of peer-reviewed medical journals: Editors are defined as those responsible and accountable for selecting the scientific content of a peer-reviewed biomedical journal. A peer-reviewed biomedical journal is one that "regularly obtains advice on individual manuscripts from reviewers who are not part of the journal's editorial staff...the journal should have obtained external reviews for the majority of manuscripts it publishes, including all original research and review articles." [See the WAME definition of peer-reviewed biomedical journals.]

Scholars: Applicants who are not current journal editors but are actively involved in the scholarly study of medical editing may also apply. Scholars should submit a letter to explaining their scholarly pursuits with bibliography and related activities. Scholars must be directly involved in scholarly examination of scientific publishing and peer review.

Members are encouraged to apply to participate in the following committees by contacting the Committee Chair. Members are also eligible to run for elected positions, which are announced annually to the WAME Listserve

WAME Committees

The Education Committee, chaired by [link to [email protected]], developed a resource list for medical editors (see WAME Resources) and has several ongoing projects.

The Ethics and Policy Committee, chaired by [link to ], develops Policies for Medical Journal Editors, provides Ethics Consultations, and has developed a number of Publication Ethics Policies and Ethics Resources.

The Finance Committee, chaired by Tom Lang, manages WAME's budget.

The Membership Committee, chaired by Peush Sahni, evaluates member applications, responds to questions about membership, and promotes WAME to potential members. The list of current members is available to members only.

The Research Committee, chaired by Ana Marusic, is responsible for evaluating research with which WAME might be involved and promoting and developing research among its members.

The Web Committee, chaired by Rajeev Kumar, is responsible for maintaining the Web site and internet communications between WAME members.