How to Acknowledge Medical Editing Support

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Do I need to acknowledge my medical editor?

The short answer: Yes. If the medical editor does not qualify for authorship (read how the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [ICMJE] defines authorship), you should recognize her contributions to your publication in the Acknowledgments section. The ICMJE gives examples of contributions such as writing assistance, technical editing, language editing, and proofreading.

My professional organization, the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), has a position statement on the contributions of medical writers to scientific publications that also encourages acknowledgment. It reads

The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) recognizes the valuable contributions of medical communicators to the publication team. Medical communicators who contribute substantially to the writing or editing of a manuscript should be acknowledged with their permission and with disclosure of any pertinent professional or financial relationships. 

In January 2017, AMWA, the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA), and the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) released a Joint Position Statement on the Role of Professional Medical Writers. That statement also instructs authors who collaborate with a professional medical writer to acknowledge "the provision of medical writing support" and "the funding sources for the provision of medical writing support.” 

In a 2020 article in the EMWA Journal Medical Writing, Hesp and Scandlyn further propose "personally acknowledging any professional medical writer who makes a substantial contribution to the outline or full first draft of a publication or who provides a substantial intellectual contribution to publication development."

The instructions for authors of the journal to which you are submitting your manuscript may also mention who should be acknowledged, usually in conjunction with a discussion of authorship. For example, the JAMA Instructions for Authors reads, “All other persons who have made substantial contributions to the work reported in the manuscript (eg, data collection, analysis, and writing or editing assistance) but who do not fulfill the authorship criteria should be named with their specific contributions in an Acknowledgment in the manuscript.

How do I acknowledge my medical editor?

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When I return an edited file, along with tips on how to deal with track changes, I write

My professional organization, the American Medical Writers Association, encourages authors to acknowledge the contributions of professional medical writers and editors. Kindly consider acknowledging me for language editing or medical editing.

The joint AMWA/EMWA/ISMPP statement provides the following template: 

The authors thank [name and qualifications] of [company, city, country] for providing medical writing support/editorial support  [specify and/or expand as appropriate].

Acknowledging your medical editor is not just good publishing practice. An acknowledgment is welcome feedback for the editor's diligent work and will surely be appreciated.