About BJS

Purpose of BJS Foundation

The Foundation owns and promotes globally recognised surgical journals, BJS and BJS Open. Through its strategic partnerships and collaborations with other international surgical organisations, the Foundation has established a unique position in surgical publishing.

The Foundation established the Academy to provide quality open access materials to support surgeons throughout their careers and advance the science of surgery.

This content ranges from videos, podcasts and seminars, to written materials for both surgical trainees and experienced surgeons. Although the majority of this is designed to have global appeal, bespoke materials are also available to cater to different health care systems. Surgical organisations who have established a strategic partnership with the Foundation can also benefit from this content.

For those who wish to explore surgical research in more detail, the Institute provides an opportunity to enrol in online academic courses. These have been developed by the Foundation in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh.

Much of the Foundation’s charitable activity and future strategy will be delivered within the following three areas, each with its own purpose:

BJS Journals – to share and disseminate quality scientific research with the publisher and remain the leading surgical journal in Europe.
BJS Academy – to offer an accessible hub to meet, learn, be mentored, discuss, listen to and understand the education and accreditation opportunities available through the Foundation. It will enhance journal content and add value to members and partners.
BJS Institute – to provide privileged access (discount) to postgraduate accredited educational opportunities to complement BJS Academy and journal content.

History and purpose

As surgical science has evolved, the BJS Foundation has continued to advance and improve surgical education through its globally recognised journals and, more recently, the BJS Academy and Institute.

History

1913

The British Journal of Surgery was established in 1913. For the first 100 years of its existence, the journal focused exclusively on publishing scientific articles relating to surgery.

1996

In 1996, the editor of The Lancet described surgical research as a comic opera, highlighting poor scientific quality and over-reliance on observational studies as evidence. By this time, BJS had an international readership, and this criticism convinced the Academy Council of Management that educational materials were necessary to improve the quality of surgical studies.

2001

This resulted in the publication of ‘A surgeon’s guide to writing and publishing’ in 2001. This book was followed by a series of workshops aimed at trainee surgeons on ‘How to write a clinical paper’.

2010

By 2010, courses on this subject along with ‘How to review a clinical paper’ and ‘How to get your work published’ were being delivered by BJS’s Editorial team across Europe, as well as in Asia and Australasia.

2016

This paved the way for the Foundation’s decision to launch a second online journal dedicated to open access articles.

2017

BJS Open came into existence.

2021

In recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that surgeons can benefit from a variety of online educational materials alongside traditional scientific surgical papers. Equipped with this knowledge and 20 years of experience delivering educational courses, the Foundation made a commitment to finance the Academy.