This issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology is the first for me as editor. Over the last six months, I have learned a lot about the process of putting this journal together. I have received help and guidance from those who have preceded me; most importantly, from Susan Gilbert, who did a wonderful job as editor over last six years. I wish Susan the best in her retirement from this position. I would be remiss not to mention Dawn Murphy, who was the managing editor for the six years that Susan was editor. As managing editor, Dawn was responsible for shepherding the approved manuscript through the production process; she, too, has moved on to another position and I wish her the best. Last, but not least, former senior journals manager Stephanie Dean helped me with the new cover design, took me to the printers, and in many other ways supplied advice and support during the transition. Like Dawn, Stephanie has begun working for another association and is no longer with SNM. I extend my sincere thanks to all of these individuals for their contributions to this journal.
As of December, we have a new managing editor, Kira Mayrides, who has extensive experience as a technical writer and an editor. She is a welcome addition to the JNMT team. Kira and I are learning the ropes together, much like Dawn Murphy and Susan Gilbert did at the beginning of Susan’s tenure as editor. I am looking forward to working with her over the next three years.
There are a few things that a new editor learns very quickly upon settling into this role. First is that this is a tremendous amount of work; I have gained a new appreciation for the commitment that those before me have made to the field of nuclear medicine technology. The second lesson is that the editor is only a steward for JNMT—it is truly your journal. You, the members, provide the meat of the journal in the form of articles; as the editor, I manage what you provide and build the finished product. Without your scientific material, there is nothing to manage.
As the steward, I am trying to determine how to effectively encourage quality submissions to JNMT. Each year, the JNMT editor sends a letter to all individuals presenting papers at the annual meeting in the Technologists Section urging them to submit their meeting presentations as a paper for the journal. And yet, only a few technologists complete the cycle and publish their work. One has to wonder, why? It could be that technologists do not believe that they know how to write a scientific paper. In actuality, the talk is a paper presented in oral form; since many technologists write it out, the entire presentation can be seen as a paper ready for submission to JNMT. Each presentation should have an introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion; the addition of references and figures will complete the paper. As an editor, I am willing to work with any technologist who submits a paper to convert it into acceptable scientific form.
Although it will be March when you read this commentary, I am writing it in December. I have just submitted all of the articles for this issue; Christmas is approaching, and I am starting to work on the June issue. By the time you read this, I will be working on the September issue. Because of the publishing schedule, we are living in different universes, in which mine is three to six months ahead of yours. Some of you have just received letters from the Technologist Section of the Society of Nuclear Medicine informing you that the scientific abstract you submitted in January has been accepted for either an oral or a poster presentation. You are making plans for your trip to Toronto in June and starting to prepare your paper. You are looking at this as a wonderful opportunity to see what is new in nuclear medicine, attend continuing education courses, and meet other technologists and scientists in order to expand your professional network.
Although attending the annual meeting is truly a wonderful experience, the majority of technologists will not get the opportunity to do so. If you were asked to make a presentation at the meeting, it is because your topic was deemed to be of interest by a group of your peers; submitting it to JNMT as a scientific paper will allow non-attending members to experience the meeting in some way. Wouldn’t you like to provide them with that opportunity?
The emphasis of this journal is very different from that of other journals. JNMT is a unique forum for technologists to publish papers pertinent to the practice of clinical nuclear medicine. The categories that we use for the publication are diverse and include imaging, instrumentation, education, radiation safety, radiopharmacy, technical notes, and special contributions. For example, this issue has a “special contribution” that describes the implementation of a centralized nuclear medicine department. This paper is of particular interest to technologists as we are challenged with making our departments more efficient, both fiscally and with regard to patient management. My point is, JNMT can accept and publish a wide variety of topics related to clinical nuclear medicine. My goal is to provide a journal that publishes articles from which a technologist, or even physicians and basic scientists, can glean practical and useful information. I need your help to do it.
JNMT will only be as good as we make it. Because each of us needs to remain current with new developments in our field, we must also make a commitment to contribute the information we have obtained through the process of experimentation and evaluation of our results. I am looking forward to being part of that process. In my role as editor, I realize that many of you will need extra help in getting that first paper published. Please feel free to call me with any questions or comments you may have about publishing articles in JNMT. This is a group effort; as the leader of this group, I need the help of the membership to produce a quality journal. The major component is the submission of articles. I hope to see articles from many of you in the next year.
