Australian Midwifery News Publishing Policy Version1.5

Australian Midwifery News Publishing Policy Version1.5

Contents 1. Background... 3 2. Regular Features of Midwifery News... 3 2.1. General page structure... 3 2.2. Letter to the Editor... 4 2.3. Dates to remember... 4 2.4. Practice Matters... 4 2.5. ACM Programs (BFHI & MPR)... 5 2.6. Reviews... 5 2.7. Midwifery Practice... 5 2.7.1. Themes... 5 2.7.2. Clinical/Education... 6 2.7.3. Research... 6 2.7.4. Rural and Remote... 6 2.7.5. International... 6 2.7.6. Reflections... 6 2.7.7. Profile (Student, Graduate or Midwife)... 6 2.8. From the Branches... 6 3. Who can submit an article... 7 4. What type of article to submit... 7 5. What type of article not to submit... 7 6. Guidelines for authors... 7 6.1. Files to submit... 8 6.1.1. Author details... 8 6.1.1.1. Text files... 8 6.1.1.2. Word Count... 8 6.1.2. Tables... 9 6.1.3. Images... 9 6.1.3.1. Article and imaging guidance... 9 6.1.4. References... 10 6.2. Author responsibilities... 10 6.3. ACM responsibilities... 10 6.4. How to submit... 10 6.4.1. Copy deadlines... 10 7. What happens after submission?... 11 8. Article Reproduction... 11 Page 2 of 11

1. Background Australian Midwifery News (Midwifery News) is a quarterly magazine produced by the (ACM) for College members. Through the magazine, the ACM communicates with members and disseminates contemporary midwifery news, as well as celebrating both national and local achievements by members and fellow midwives. Midwifery News is published four times a year: March, June, September, and December. Each issue delivers regular features as well as a special focus section, which has a designated theme. Midwifery News is available as a digital magazine to all ACM members via the ACM website. 2. Regular Features of Midwifery News Magazine Business From the Editor Dates to remember Letter to the Editor College Business From the President From the Executive Officer From the Education & Professional Officers NMBA quarterly update Practice Matters ACM Programs BFHI MPR Review Book or product Midwifery Practice Clinical/Education Research Rural and Remote International Reflections Profile *Feature Section (may include some or all of the above from Midwifery Practice) From the Branches ACT NSW SA NT Tasmania Victoria WA QLD 2.1. General page structure Each page has: Section: Title Author details Text (in 2 columns) approximately 700 words per page Image of author (or related image supplied by author, or stock image) Advertising (optional, if no images provided). Page 3 of 11

2.2. Letter to the Editor Have your say about content or topics in Midwifery News by writing a Letter to the Editor. Letters must be 100 words or less, contain the Midwifery News issue details, the writer s full name and home address, and may be edited for clarity or space. Submission does not guarantee publication. Over 100 words and the letter may be abridged or pertinent sections highlighted. If the letter to the editor is written in response to a particular article in a previous magazine, especially where it is a negative response, the author of the article will be given the right of reply at the same time that the letter to the editor is printed. As such the letter to the editor that is received will be sent to the identified author for comment. If the identified author declines to comment the Editor may choose to reply on their behalf. There may be times when the editor receives a letter >100 words that is deemed important enough to publish in its entirety. Submit your letter by: Email: admin@midwives.org.au Facebook: (ACM) 2.3. Dates to remember If you are aware of any midwifery specific dates that could be listed events, conferences etc please advise ACM by email admin@midwives.org.au Please submit the following details: Month Date Event Name Location ACM Branch (if applicable) Note Events run by external industry will not be published. For advertising of these types of events, please refer to the e-bulletin information on our website: home>services>e-bulletins 2.4. Practice Matters If you would like to write about a topic that is related to midwifery practice please let us know. We will have at least one report specific to midwifery practice per issue. This area includes (but is not exclusive to) regulation, registration, auditing, CPD, supervision, professional indemnity insurance (PII), recency of practice, refresher, legal, insurance, work force issues. If you have a different topic, let us know and we can advise where it is best suited. Page 4 of 11

2.5. ACM Programs (BFHI & MPR) This section enables the ACM to report to members on the progress of these two programs. However it is also a great place for people who are involved in the programs as reviewers, assessors or participants to provide their experiences. 2.6. Reviews Midwifery News publishes reviews to provide information for midwives on books or other products that may enhance their midwifery practice when providing care and supporting women and their families during pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period. Please keep your review to 400-500 words. Make the review as succinct and as interesting as possible and focus on the areas of interest to you and the intended readership. Remember though to keep your review balanced, even though you may include your personal opinion. If you make positive or negative statements about aspects of the resource, please support these with an example. You may like to consider the following questions when you review the book: Who is this book/resource aimed at? Does it contribute to the body of knowledge about the subject in question? What are the book/resource s strengths and weaknesses? Is the topic relevant to the identified readership (ie midwives, women, fathers)? Will they enjoy it and/or find it useful? Is the content original or are there already similar titles available? If so, how does it compare to other relevant books/resources? Is it easy to read or navigate? Do you feel the recommended retail price is appropriate and/or justified? Please include: All of the relevant publication details for the resource you are reviewing. Your name, professional accreditation (where appropriate), email address, postal address and telephone number for correspondence. Once you have submitted your review, the book/resource is yours to keep or to give away as you please. 2.7. Midwifery Practice 2.7.1. Themes Each issue of the magazine will have a different theme/topic relevant to a specific area of midwifery practice. Only in December will there be no theme, instead it will be called the Omnium gatherum edition, where it will collate the midwifery submissions not related to a specific theme but of importance and relevance to midwifery. Note: If there is a specific theme for the magazine, submissions related to that theme will be selected for preference. Page 5 of 11

2.7.2. Clinical/Education Clinical and/or Education submissions should be no more than two pages in length. They should be related to an element of clinical practice for midwifery, providing advice on current standards or evidence based practice or education pathways for midwives. They may also be a discussion on the merits of the clinical practice and/or education pathways and options. 2.7.3. Research This area may include abstracts of international research, summaries of your own literature reviews or research results. Research submissions should be no more than two pages in length. If they are a summary of research undertaken it is suggested that you try to provide a succinct summation in one page. You can provide links to the original research as well. 2.7.4. Rural and Remote If not covered in Research, Clinical or Education, submissions to this area should be no more than two pages in length. They must be specific to work undertaken, initiatives or experiences in the rural and remote setting for midwifery practice. This does not have to be limited to Australia, it may be a rural or remote area in an international setting as well. 2.7.5. International This section is set aside for midwives to share their international experience or for international midwives to share knowledge that does not fit into the Research, Clinical or Education sections. Submissions should be no more than two pages in length. 2.7.6. Reflections This section is set aside for specific reflections from students, graduates, midwives or consumers around experiences of working in midwifery, with midwives or midwifery related areas specific to the theme as identified for that issue. Reflections should be a maximum of two pages with a preference for one page. 2.7.7. Profile (Student, Graduate or Midwife) This section is set aside to highlight specific members of the midwifery community be they students, graduates, registered midwives or ACM staff who have been identified as someone of interest. Profiles can be submitted from any areas of the midwifery community. Profiles should be no more than 1 page in length. Usually only 1 profile will be published per issue. Guidelines for questions to ask in a profile include: Can you describe your most memorable birth experience? What do you like the best about being a midwife or working in the maternity setting? What motivates or inspires you every day? Why did you decide to pursue a career in Midwifery or maternity care? How do you feel you have influenced midwifery in Australia/your local area? What do you see as the greatest current threat to midwifery practice in Australia? Where would you like to see midwifery in 5 years/10 years time? 2.8. From the Branches Branch reports are submitted by a nominated representative for each State and Territory. The Branch report must be no more than one page in length. If it is required to be longer, a submission must be made to the Editor stating the need for additional space. In cases where one or more of the Branches do not submit a report for an issue, space may be given to other Branches (with longer reports) or to other areas of the magazine such as the areas contained within Midwifery Practice. It is important to remember that the Branch reports may be published some weeks after being written; this is important to keep in mind when Page 6 of 11

writing about an upcoming event that may have already been completed by the time the magazine is distributed. 3. Who can submit an article Anyone can submit to Midwifery News as long as they meet the author guidelines as detailed below. You do not have to be an ACM member to make a submission, although priority may be given to members if more than one submission has been made for a particular area for a specific issue. Please be aware that submission does not guarantee publication. The Editorial Committee will advise authors of their submission status once all submissions received for each issue have been reviewed. 4. What type of article to submit Authors are invited to submit for any issue of the year within the feature areas described above. Articles that fall outside of these areas will be considered if relevant to midwifery and midwifery practice, and may even generate a new theme or regular section. Submissions should be topical and, where applicable, supported by current evidence. 5. What type of article not to submit Midwifery News will not publish submissions that: advertise a product or service are not relevant to midwifery or midwives are not evidence-based contain false or misleading information are in contradiction with ACM Constitution, policy and/or philosophy. 6. Guidelines for authors All submissions will be reviewed by the Editorial Committee. To assist the Editorial Committee, all authors are requested to make their submissions using the following guidelines. Submissions that do not meet these guidelines are likely to be returned for revision and resubmission or deemed unsuitable for publication. Page 7 of 11

6.1. Files to submit The following must be submitted as separate documents: Author details Text Tables Images References All images and tables should be clearly referenced (where appropriate). 6.1.1. Author details The submission should be accompanied by a cover sheet/email that contains the following information: Full Name (as you would like it published) Position/Qualifications (e.g. RM or student including year of study, or level if postgraduate) Place of employment or study Email Contact phone number Your postal address, if you would like a copy of the magazine sent to you after publication Consent for the editorial team to make minor changes to your article (minor = without coming back to you for approval) Acknowledgements Feature area of the magazine you are submitting to. 6.1.1.1. Text files Articles should be submitted in an editable document format. Microsoft Word is the preferred format. Articles submitted in scanned or non-editable formats are not acceptable and will be returned. Commented [RL1]: Include requirements for font and paragraph layout, header etc 6.1.1.2. Word Count The preferred article length is one-page with maximum of two pages (see section 2.1 for details). Larger submissions may be accepted but require justification (in writing) as to why the criteria should be relaxed and approval for such submissions be granted from the Editorial Committee. If accepted, larger submissions may be published in sections across 2 or more issues. Submissions that exceed the one-page or two-page limits by 15% or more will be returned to the author for editing and resubmission before being considered for publication. Where appropriate, larger research or clinical submissions may be referred to the ACM s peer reviewed journal Woman and Birth International www.womenandbirth.org. Page 8 of 11

6.1.2. Tables Every effort will be made to include tables in the publication; however they must be included in the overall word count allocation. It is also important that the tables are provided in an editable format, and not embedded into the file as an image. 6.1.3. Images Please do NOT embed images into the file that you are sending. Send them as separate files. This will ensure resolution and quality are maintained. Images submitted for publication must be a minimum of 1200x1800 pixels, and be provided in.jpg or.png format, and be: in focus adequately lit relevant to the article thoughtfully composed Photos should not be taken with webcams or the front facing camera on your smartphone (the small camera above the screen used for webchat (or video calls) or selfies ). These are not high enough resolution to use in print, and often overexpose the image. Photos taken with the rear camera of a smartphone are usually suitable, with proper attention to focus, lighting, and composition. Please send us the full sized image direct from your camera/smart phone. If your image is too large to send via email, please let us know as we can provide you an alternative means to submit. Please contact admin@midwives.org.au. If people can be identified in an image submitted for publication, it is the responsibility of the author to obtain the relevant permissions. Images that do not meet the minimum resolution requirements will be retuned to the sender advising of such. If no suitable replacement is provided, the submission will be printed without images. 6.1.3.1. Article and imaging guidance ACM supports the World Health Organization (WHO) International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes and the subsequent World Health Assembly resolutions. In addition, ACM strongly supports the WHO recommendations for mothers to breastfeed their babies exclusively for the first six months, and to continue breastfeeding for at least two years or for as long as mother and baby desire it. As such, content or images related to infant feeding that are misleading, unsupportive of breastfeeding, or that endorse the use of products within the scope of the International Code will not be accepted. Articles that contain wording or images that make breastfeeding seem difficult, or state or imply that there are special tools that are needed for breastfeeding will be declined or requested to have the wording or imaging removed or edited. Page 9 of 11

6.1.4. References Consistent referencing is important. The Author Harvard Date referencing style is preferred for all submissions. This style provides adequate information for the majority of readers to identify the primary author and the year of publication for ease of searching. Example: http://www.utas.edu.au/ data/assets/pdf_file/0004/95449/referencing_harvard.pdf Reference lists will not be printed with the article, but made available upon request (email admin@midwives.org.au). 6.2. Author responsibilities It is the responsibility of the author to ensure that: The submission meets the recommended guidelines The submission is within word count Any images submitted meet the required standards All correspondence regarding a submission is replied to in the timeframe required. 6.3. ACM responsibilities The ACM Editor/Editorial Committee is responsible for: Acknowledging all submissions by email within two weeks Reviewing all submissions for suitability Notifying the authors of the status of their submission, and which issue it will be published in (where applicable) Editing submissions and/or making recommendations for edits to be made by the author. 6.4. How to submit All articles should be submitted by email to admin@midwives.org.au by the copy deadlines. 6.4.1. Copy deadlines Edition 2014 2015 2016 March (Autumn) 1 st February 13 th January June (Winter) 5 th May 14 th April September (Spring) 4 th August 14 th July December (Summer) 1st October 5 th October Articles should be submitted prior to the due date if submitting for a specific issue. The earlier the article is submitted the more time available for the editorial committee to assess for suitability. Page 10 of 11

7. What happens after submission? The submission will be reviewed by the editorial committee and may either be: Accepted o The author will be advised which issue it will be published in. o The editor may make minor edits for correctness, such as grammar and punctuation, without seeking approval from the author. o The submission will then be then sent to the publisher for type-setting. o Prior to publication, the author may be sent by email a proof of the final copy for their approval within 24 hours. Only major errors will be corrected at this late stage. The author is responsible for checking proofs thoroughly. By approving the proof, any editorial changes are being accepted. Accepted with changes o The editorial committee will make changes which the author will be required to approve within a set timeframe. Not accepted in the current form o The submission will be returned to the author with advice on what is required before it may be reconsidered. Not accepted o Feedback will be provided to the author as to why their submission was deemed unsuitable for the magazine. 8. Article Reproduction The following guidelines apply to reproduction of articles from Australian Midwifery News (AMN) in other publications: a) the author has copyright of the article as it was when they submitted it to AMN b) AMN has copyright of the article as it was printed in AMN c) articles may only be reproduced 6 months or more following initial publication in AMN (for example articles from June 2013 (Volume 11, Issue 2) may be reproduced no sooner than December 2013) d) all reproduced articles must reference AMN as first source e.g. Sweet L. Clinical supervision. Australian Midwifery News, vol 14, Autumn 2014, p23. e) electronic reproductions must provide a link to www.midwives.org.au f) no more than one article from any AMN edition can be reproduced in another publication / website at a time (i.e. please choose which article you would like to reproduce, and just reproduce one that Volume/Issue) Commented [RL2]: Include ACM s right to reproduce in its own media, eg facebook, website etc Page 11 of 11