EDITORIAL. From the new Editor: continuity and change

Abstract

Taking up the editorial reins at the senior journal in the medical education field is a considerable challenge. The skills and hard work of my predecessors in the post – Sir John Ellis, the founding editor, from 1966 to 1976, Henry Walton from 1976 to 1997, and Graham Buckley, who stays on until 1999 – have made the succession easier than it might have been. I owe them a great debt of thanks for the opportunity to take over a journal that is not just in good health but that also carries an excellent prognosis. But just like so many other aspects of our professional lives the world of publishing is changing. It is now essential, probably more than ever before, that we look beyond maintaining the health of Medical Education to actively promoting growth and further development. Will the new editor bring a change in policy? Will the journal be different? Will it be more difficult to publish my paper? Medical Education is not a primary source for reports of clinical matters so we can assume that the journal's readers fall into three broad groups – the medical teacher, the academic researcher and the general browser, although for most of us these roles are interchangeable. For the medical teacher, there is a need for up-to-date information and an opportunity to exchange ideas. We want to compare our experience with that of other teachers and everybody is interested in success stories, especially if they have sound evidence for their claims, and can be translated into practical application in our own work. For example, with so much curriculum reform taking place in medical schools across the world, critical reports of what others have done can be very helpful to deans and curriculum committees as they think about their own plans for improvement. At the other end of the continuous curriculum, continuing professional development after the completion of formal training is the longest phase of medical education and is largely underrepresented in the academic literature. Reports of successful policy or organizational structures, or of local education initiatives, will be welcome reading in postgraduate and education centres. In the world of the researcher (a world that should not be far removed from that of the teacher), there is a need to publish the results of our work and to read what others are doing. We want to publish quickly after constructive feedback from informed reviewers, and to engage in debate about new ideas and theories. Often the research we do is on a scale that requires a full paper to introduce the questions in which we are interested, to describe the setting and the methods used in the research, and to discuss the results and their implications. Sometimes we can report the work we do more briefly and quickly in order to keep our colleagues abreast of developments. As a general reader of the journal just browsing through the pages, we are all interested in papers and items that address our own area of expertise but we are also interested in well-written pieces that take a new perspective or raise challenging ideas. Review papers that bring together information from a range of sources not usually accessible to general readers are also interesting. The correspondence section can be stimulating and book reviews can help us decide about texts for the practice or departmental library – and occasionally, about holiday reading. From the next volume, starting in January 1999, the journal will be published monthly and the types of paper published will be different, particularly in terms of length and format. There will be a new Short Reports section and an increase in word length for major Research Reports. We will be placing an especial emphasis on review and discussion papers addressing matters of contemporary importance and relevance or describing new ideas or theories. The table of contents will be structured to reflect these new formats. Will it be more difficult to have your paper published in Medical Education? I hope not. We take our relationship with authors and contributors very seriously indeed and aim to provide the best service we can in terms of reviewing manuscripts, communicating with authors and the final production of papers. Above all we want to ensure that medical teachers and other interested individuals have the opportunity to publish their work and their ideas. Of course, if your paper adheres to the Guidelines for Authors, is well written with a clearly understood, important and relevant message, and is not too long, then it will be published. Not all papers submitted to the journal fall into this category however (this is true for almost all journals), and we continue to receive many more papers than we can accept even when the journal is published monthly. The editorial team and panel of reviewers will do their best to ensure that if a paper is rejected for publication then authors will receive advice about why and, where appropriate, guidance will be given about how the paper could be rewritten for subsequent reconsideration. For the next volume, the Guidelines for Authors have been extensively rewritten to give details of how to submit a paper in each category and to outline what happens to papers once they are received in the editorial office. We have made changes to the requirements for manuscripts, bringing them in line with other major journals. One particular change is to the style of referencing where we will require the use of the Vancouver system of numbering after punctuation within the text rather than the previously accepted Harvard system. This new system is very easy to use with modern word processors and saves space in the journal. Full details are available from the editorial office or can be read in the text of the Vancouver Agreement (1). The Vancouver Agreement was drawn up by a panel of editors from leading international medical journals and gives very helpful information about writing style. By 1991 over 400 journals were using the system. All of these changes will be introduced with the next volume of the journal in 1999 when, in addition, the journal will be published monthly. All editors appreciate the efforts of their panel of reviewers and are perpetually on the look out for new members. This editor is no exception. We are planning to introduce new and structured guidelines for the reviewers of papers submitted to Medical Education and will publish the detail of these guidelines in full in a subsequent issue of the journal. In addition, and again in line with other journals, we will be introducing `blind' reviewing procedures immediately in order to ensure that the reviewing process is seen to be as fair as possible. This issue of fairness in reviewing papers submitted for publication is a thorny one and we will be closely monitoring progress with the new system. In terms of policy there will be few changes. Medical Education is the journal of the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) and, as such, publishes reports of conferences and meetings held by the Association. Like ASME, the journal aims to encourage the exchange of information about medical education across all aspects of undergraduate education, postgraduate training and continuing professional development. As an academic journal, we seek to encourage the speedy publication of high-quality research papers and other scholarly work in the field of medical education. Medical Education also has an important international role and is the official journal of the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME). The journal will continue to carry important papers relating to the significant global influence that this body is exerting in medical education. In line with the principles of the WFME, we welcome papers on aspects of health care education, especially interprofessional education, as they relate to the education and training of doctors in any country of the world. As with other journals with similar circulation size we are planning to appoint a number of associate editors to assist the editor in the process of planning and developing the journal. Details of these appointments will be announced as they are made. The Editorial Board appointed in 1997 will continue its dual task of advising the Editor and the Board of Management on matters relating to the journal and on promoting the journal through fostering contributions. Medical Education Booklets will continue to be published and developed along the lines set out in volume 31 (2). The journal has a wide international readership and its readers are its greatest asset in terms of attracting high-quality papers. The editorial team is not remote and wants to hear from readers about their views on the journal. Medical Education is what we make it so please let us know what you think about the journal and – please – consider writing a contribution for the journal about your work.