Journal profile · Nursing-Leadership and Management
BMJ Leader
ISSN 2398-631X · BMJ Publishing Group
BMJ Leader: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.4 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 187 days to acceptance (118 articles, last 24 months); 105 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
BMJ Leader is published by BMJ Publishing Group and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Innovations in Medical Education, Healthcare Quality and Management and Diversity and Career in Medicine, together about 25.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are General Health Professions. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
BMJ Leader is an international, peer-reviewed, online-only journal focusing on leadership in health and care. Our overarching purpose is to improve the results and experience delivered by health and care systems for their patients, populations and workforces. To deliver on this purpose, we help to build better leaders – people who are rounded, resilient and equipped with effective leadership skills and knowledge. Just as importantly, we nurture a community of leaders by improving connectivity and encouraging debate. BMJ Leader showcases original research and reviews, interpretations of the evidence base, and reflections and debate by practitioners on the key themes of leadership. It is the place to find and contribute evidence, reflection and discussion on the many disciplines that drive leadership in health and care.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Nursing-Leadership and Management
Editor-in-chief James MountfordPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Innovations in Medical EducationMedicine11.2%
- Healthcare Quality and ManagementHealth Professions7.6%
- Diversity and Career in MedicineSocial Sciences6.6%
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions6.5%
- Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnoutHealth Professions6.4%
- Healthcare Systems and ChallengesHealth Professions4.5%
- Nursing education and managementNursing4.4%
- Interprofessional Education and CollaborationHealth Professions4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.46LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.75LetPub ·
- h-index
- 28OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 91OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.65OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 31.87%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 67LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 730 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 81 | 31 | 3 |
| 2025 | 105 | 34 | 135 |
| 2024 | 83 | 45 | 307 |
| 2023 | 112 | 63 | 593 |
| 2022 | 63 | 26 | 247 |
| 2021 | 86 | 27 | 724 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
187 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 133 days – 297 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 63 days (118 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 338 days
- Sample
- 118 articles with submission and acceptance dates (265 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted3
- commentariesBMJ Leader accepts submissions of a range of article types, including research papers, commentaries and reviews.Length not stated
- research papersBMJ Leader accepts submissions of a range of article types, including research papers, commentaries and reviews.Length not stated
- reviewsBMJ Leader accepts submissions of a range of article types, including research papers, commentaries and reviews.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Open access
- Publication ethics
Publication ethics Model summary
BMJ Leader adheres to the highest possible industry standards concerning publication ethics.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
Editorial policies and open access Model summary
Information is also provided on editorial policiesand open access.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- BMJ Publishing Group
- ISSN
- 2398-631X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about BMJ Leader
What CAS zone is BMJ Leader in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, BMJ Leader is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Health Care Sciences & Services. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of BMJ Leader?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.4; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.3, h-index 28.
How long does peer review take at BMJ Leader?
Based on the dates recorded on 118 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 187 days (interquartile range 133–297 days). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index BMJ Leader?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, BMJ Leader is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is BMJ Leader open access, and what is the APC?
BMJ Leader is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .