KAMSA Journal Review

KAMSA Journal Review

By Ibrahim Musa

Yesterday around 7 pm I was in the resident rom in our department, together with a friend who came all the way from Sokoto State, the seat of the caliphate to pay me a visit, when my phone rang and the number that appeared on the screen was not known to me. When I answered a voice addressed me as ‘Sir’ and went ahead to introduced himself as Abdurrahman, a 500 level medical student in BUK. I must confess the term sir which he addressed me as, is an unusual one to me and that has made me a bit uneasy. I quickly asked whether there was any trouble, for which he responded that there was none. I was relieved for a while only to develop multiple ectopic beats when he finally broke the ice and requested that I should review the journal that we all gather here today to launch at this very auspicious moment. He might not be aware of my tense situation but at a point when the discussion ensued I felt I could do with some help of cardiac pacemaker to calm down my racing heart beats. My mind quickly remembered my teacher doctor Mijinyawa, a respected cardiologist who could come in handy to salvage my precarious situation if these symptoms persist. But if it fails, I may end up on the table of my mentor Dr Aminu Zakari for an autopsy to find out what could have caused these skipped beats. Thank to Almighty God, I am still alive and at last we met with Abdurahman in my department few minutes after the phone call and I tried first to find out from him what exactly is required of me as a journal reviewer.

Abdurrahman smartly made the role to appear easy despite my dogged attempt at dodging such huge responsibility. I even suggested that my respected teacher Dr Auwal Gajida, whose extraordinary oratory skills I always envy, should be more appropriate to fill in the gap, since he was billed to steer this program as Master of the Ceremony. However, I could not get any of my suggestions to be accepted because I was told POINTBLANK that the agenda had been printed with my name as the journal reviewer.

I don’t know why me? I am still yet to fathom why I should wear these big shoes on my lean feet. For the record, I don’t have any scientific publication to my credit either as an author or co-author. I probably had written one or two articles on socio-political issues in the national dailies and I had written in the two past editions of KAMSA Journal and BUMED Journal. That was all. And I asked myself do I fit into this role? The answer is NO! However, I have to do something even if it does not literally means reviewing the journal as implied by the organizers.

In the year 2004, I remember precisely that Dr Datti Ahmad (who was the second person from the old Kano State to qualify as medical doctor) was the chief launcher of the maiden edition of KAMSA journal. While commenting on the journal he said that it would be his pleasure to see that KAMSA journal follows the footpath of the journal of University of Ibadan Medical Students’ Association; which we were told was the only Medical Students’ Journal to have been quoted in the academic works worldwide at that period. After the success of the maiden edition, it’s then outgoing editor and now Dr Anas Ismail (a fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College Faculty of Radiology) personally requested of me when I was elected KAMSA president to make sure that the journal gets cataloged. We immediately applied to the office of national librarian and ensured that the 2^nd edition was published with an ISSN registration number. Since then, I noticed that the subsequent prints that followed did not only maintain the tradition but had improved on the quality both in content and design. For this I must congratulate all of us in the medical field because this by no means is a great achievement and not an easy feat to sustain. The association deserves all the accolades and standing ovations it receives on this giant stride.

The current edition that we are about to unveil now is also a masterpiece in keeping with the trend of advancement in technology and medical science. The quality of the paper is first rate and all pages are colored and glossy from the front to the back cover. The graphics and the lay out are superb. I have not so far lay my hands on any journal from this section of the country with anything better than what KAMSA journal presents this time around. One satisfying trend I observed is the fact that most of the articles were published by the students themselves rather than in the past when mainly it was their teachers that dotted the by line. The reverse is now the case and is something commendable. Most of the topics were aptly chosen and they deal with the contemporary relevant medical issues.

Dr Hadiza Shehu Galadanchi National Essay Writing Competition which is featured in this edition is a welcome development and the prized essay written by Ahmad Mohammad, a final year medical student was a delight to read. I hope this should be institutionalized and future request for entry should be well advertised in the national dailies to give the competition a wider spread, and that is if chance and means permit. This I believe can be achieved in collaboration with some NGOs interested in the field of maternal and child health. They can foot the bill of d advert and even make the rewards for the winners more mouthwatering. This current issue also featured a series of interviews with 2 renowned Consultants.  It is also rich in adverts, another plus to the editorial board.

However, there is still room for improvement. The referencing of the articles could have been better and I hope the next editorial board will note this and ensure that only articles that have standard references acceptable to scientific publications are allowed to go to press. There is also room for improvement in the organization of the articles, many a times something pop up on a page that it is not supposed to appear.  Some articles find their ways into the publication without acknowledging its source or where it was culled from. A lot of the pictures used in the journal are unnecessary and made the journal to look more like a news magazine rather than a scientific journal it aims to be. There are many questions on the management of medical emergencies that have featured in this edition which I think should have a section on its own rather than spread randomly on many pages. Answers to the questions should be provided to serve as continuing medical education for those that want to benefit and learn from it.

I will like to recommend that the editorial board should strive to get the KAMSA journal indexed. With little improvement the journal should be able to meet the criteria of the African Journals online (AJOL). The board with assistance from executive arm should try to open an interactive webpage for the journal to ease its access by the scientific community in the world over. The website should have functions where Editorial consultants can peer-reviewed an article online with an assistance of anti-piracy software, and authors can monitor the progress of their articles to see whether it has been accepted and when it goes to press.

Overall, the latest issue of KAMSA Journal is an intelligent mix, well garnished by its able Editor Abdurrahman and his team of able lieutenants. If it were a movie, KAMSA Journal has a blockbuster written all over it. I enjoin you to get a copy as soon as it is unveiled. Relish and devour it like steamy coffee. I have made up my mind to buy copies: one for myself and for my spouse. Buy one and buy for someone. It worth every single penny you spend on it.

Thank you! 

NB: I wrote this on 23/07/2011. It was not published as it was just meant to be read out to the audience on the occasion of launcing KAMSA Journal.