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Call for papersMedical education

Call for Papers: Health communication in medical education (BMC Medical Education)

BMC Medical Education’s collection on health communication in medical education focuses on how health literacy and patient communication are taught within the curriculum. This guide sets out topic areas consistent with that scope, fit checks for manuscripts, possible paper ideas and practical points to confirm before submission.

Pubrica InsightsEditorial team, reviewed by a subject specialist
Deadline
11 March 2027
Last checked
10 November 2026
Reading time
5 min
Sources
1
Submit through the official call

Key dates

Manuscript deadline
11 March 2027
Details last checked
10 November 2026
Open the official call

About the journal

Journal
BMC Medical Education
Publisher
BMC, part of Springer Nature
Call type
Call for papers
Scope
Health literacy and patient communication in the curriculum.
Guest editors
Listed on the official collection page
Access and fees
Open access; an article processing charge normally applies on acceptance
Originality
Original work, not under review elsewhere; confirm on the official page

Topics consistent with the call

  • Curricula that teach health literacy concepts to medical and health professions students
  • Evaluations of communication skills training using simulated or standardised patients
  • Assessment methods for patient communication competence in undergraduate and postgraduate training
  • Teaching clear explanation of risk, diagnosis and treatment options to patients
  • Studies examining how learners adapt communication for patients with limited health literacy
  • Continuing education interventions that strengthen clinicians’ patient communication practice

Based on the published scope; the full list of themes is on the official call page.

Is your work a fit? Check before you write

  1. The manuscript concerns the education or training of healthcare professionals, not patient education alone.
  2. Health literacy or patient communication is the central subject, not a secondary outcome.
  3. The design, setting, learners and outcomes are described clearly enough for others to adapt the approach.
  4. Evaluation uses appropriate methods and, where relevant, follows a recognised reporting guideline.
  5. The work is complete, approved by all co-authors and ready to submit before the stated deadline.

Why This Call Is a Priority Now

Communication with patients underpins safe and effective care, and the ability to recognise and respond to limited health literacy is increasingly treated as a core professional skill rather than an optional extra. Medical schools and training programmes vary widely in how they teach and assess these abilities, and evidence on what works is spread across many settings. A themed collection gives authors a focused venue where curriculum designs, evaluations and assessment studies can be read alongside related work, helping educators compare approaches and build on one another’s findings.

Who Should Submit

Academic backgrounds

  • Medical education
  • Health communication
  • Public health and health literacy research
  • Nursing and allied health education
  • Clinical skills and simulation teaching

Institutions and sectors

  • Medical schools and universities
  • Teaching hospitals and postgraduate training bodies
  • Continuing professional development providers
  • Health literacy and patient advocacy organisations

Article types commonly published in BMC Medical Education

  • Curriculum development and evaluation studies
  • Educational intervention studies
  • Qualitative and mixed-methods studies
  • Survey and assessment studies

What the Editors Typically Value

  1. Rigorous evaluation of a communication curriculum, with outcomes beyond learner satisfaction.
  2. Validated or well-justified assessment tools for health literacy and communication skills.
  3. Studies from settings, professions or learner groups that are under-represented in the literature.
  4. Transferable insights that other programmes can apply when designing or revising their teaching.

Paper Ideas You Could Develop

Health literacy module evaluationA mixed-methods evaluation of a health literacy module for medical students, combining observed structured clinical examination scores with learner and tutor interviews.
Teach-back in residency trainingAn educational intervention study assessing whether structured teach-back training changes residents’ communication behaviour in simulated consultations.
Mapping communication teachingA survey of medical schools describing where and how patient communication and health literacy are taught and assessed across the curriculum.

Your Plan to the Deadline

A suggested schedule working back from 11 March 2027. Adjust it to the stage your work has reached.

  1. By 25 Jan 2027

    Open the official collection page and the BMC Medical Education submission guidelines; confirm the scope, article types and guest editors.

  2. By 8 Feb 2027

    Write a one-paragraph statement of your research question, design and the contribution your paper makes to the collection.

  3. By 18 Feb 2027

    Complete the analysis and agree the key findings, figures and tables with your co-authors.

  4. By 1 Mar 2027

    Draft the full manuscript to the BMC Medical Education article type and the relevant reporting guideline.

  5. By 6 Mar 2027

    Circulate the draft to co-authors and an independent reader; revise for clarity, accuracy and completeness.

  6. By 9 Mar 2027

    Complete final checks: formatting, references, declarations, data availability statement and cover letter.

  7. By 11 Mar 2027

    Submit through the journal’s online system, selecting the collection, after re-checking the official call page.

What you gain from publishing here

  • Publication in BMC Medical Education, reaching readers working on this topic.
  • A themed collection that groups your paper with related work.
  • Editorial and peer feedback that can strengthen the work, whatever the decision.
  • A peer-reviewed output for your CV, thesis or grant reporting.

What happens after you submit

  1. Submission: upload through the BMC Medical Education online system and select the collection.
  2. Editorial screening: the editors check fit with the collection; papers outside its scope may be returned without review.
  3. Peer review: suitable papers are sent to reviewers under the journal’s review model.
  4. Revision and decision: respond to each reviewer comment and keep a record of the changes.
  5. Production: accepted papers move to proofs and open access publication, with the article processing charge set out by the publisher.

What the Collection Is Looking For

The collection seeks educational research on how health literacy and patient communication are built into the training of healthcare professionals. Consistent with BMC Medical Education’s remit, suitable work is likely to include curriculum development and evaluation, intervention studies, assessment research and qualitative or mixed-methods studies across undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education. Manuscripts that describe their educational context clearly and report outcomes that other programmes can learn from are likely to fit best.

Read the call itselfThis guide summarises the call. Open the official collection page before you plan a submission, and record the date you checked it and the guest editors listed.Open the official call

Expert help

How Pubrica Can Help With This Submission

Pubrica’s subject specialists can review, write, edit, format and prepare your manuscript for this call, planned back from the deadline. You remain the author of your work.

Original research article writingManuscript writing from your data, structured to the journal’s article type and reporting guideline. Biostatistics and statistical programmingStatistical analysis plans, analysis, simulation code and statistical review of results. Manuscript editingLanguage and technical editing to prepare the manuscript for submission. Journal formattingFormatting of the manuscript, references, figures and tables to the journal’s guidelines. Cover letterA cover letter that explains how the manuscript fits the collection and the journal’s scope. Journal submissionPreparation of submission files and completion of the journal’s online submission system.
Go to the official call

FAQs

Questions Authors Ask

The published deadline is 11 March 2027. Collections can close early or be extended, so confirm the date on the official call page before you plan your submission.

The guest editors are listed on the official collection page. Check their research interests, as they help to judge whether your manuscript fits the collection.

It may fit if the work is framed around the education or training of health professionals, for example how learners are taught to use or develop such materials. Studies focused only on patient outcomes may suit other venues better. Authors should confirm accepted article types and scope on the official call page.

BMC journals publish articles open access, and an article processing charge normally applies on acceptance. Check the journal’s fees and funding page, and whether your institution has an agreement that covers the charge, before you submit.

Sources

  1. BMC Medical Education. (2026). Health communication in medical education [Collection call for papers]. BMC, part of Springer Nature. Retrieved 10 November 2026, from https://link.springer.com/collections/jbiagdjdhc

How to cite this page

Pubrica Insights. (2026). Call for Papers: Health communication in medical education (BMC Medical Education). Pubrica. https://pubrica.com/insights/calls-and-conferences/health-communication-in-medical-education/

  • Medical education
  • Health literacy
  • Patient communication
  • Curriculum
  • Communication skills

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