EDITOR'S PAGE

FRANCES NEAGLEY, CNMT, FSNMTS

This is my first issue as editor of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology. Since I accepted the appointment to this post from the Publications Committee last summer, I have been learning the process of putting together a peer-reviewed scientific journal from outgoing editor Beth Harkness. Susan Alexander, SNM's associate director of publications and the person who oversees publication of both SNM journals, and others on the Communications Department staff have done their best to help me understand all the things that need to be done each month, while encouraging me to expand on my ideas for the future of the journal.

One of my first duties as editor was to develop a staff of associate and consulting editors. You will find their names on the left side of the table of contents page. Some of them remain from Beth's years, while others have been chosen to address some of the goals that I have set for the JNMT. Along with an emphasis on general nuclear medicine and continuing education, I was especially eager to recruit physicians, scientists, and technologists specializing in PET, nuclear cardiology, instrumentation, physics, radiopharmacy, and professional development. Another of the perks of being a new editor is being able to change the cover of the journal. The only change I have made so far is to the color, which you have probably already noticed. I don't have any plans at this time to make any other cover changes.

Another change I am planning is the addition of a commentary article. For the next few issues I will be inviting various people, mostly technologists, to contribute their opinions on an important topic of current interest to our profession. I am also inviting all members of the nuclear medicine community to submit commentary articles. I hope to use this new feature as a forum for discussion of many of the urgent questions facing our profession. Contact me at fneagley{at}pacbel.net if you have a topic on which you would like to submit a commentary.

After it was announced that I had been chosen as the new editor of the JNMT, many people congratulated me and offered their support. I was extremely touched and reassured by this and have reached out to a number of these people, especially the technologists, to encourage them to become more involved with the journal. There are over 3,000 names in the pool for reviewers of submitted manuscripts, but less than 2% of them are identified as technologists. One of my goals is to increase that percentage. This is a technologist journal; not only should more technologists be submitting manuscripts, we also need to have many more technologists involved in the peer review process.

Prior to assuming the position of editor of JNMT, I was employed in a one-person nuclear medicine department without any ancillary staff. It would have been difficult for me to take on this endeavor, or any other active role in the Technologist Section, and maintain that professional obligation. I decided to take an early retirement to devote myself fully to JNMT and SNMTS. I am committed to being available to members and to the SNM staff. I plan to be at all the mid-winter and annual SNM meetings, attending not only the committee meetings and scientific sessions but also spending time in the publications booths, where I can meet you and listen to your concerns. I see myself as your representative, and I want you to feel that you can approach me about anything you would like to see, or not see, in JNMT.

Before you turn the page and delve into the March 2007 issue of JNMT, I wanted to mention an article from the September 2006 issue. Ann Steves authored a memorial tribute to Barbara Horton, the first executive director of the Nuclear Medicine Technologists Certification Board. Barbara's husband, Robert E. Horton, has asked me to thank the nuclear medicine community for the their kind words and the many gracious remembrances that they shared with him after her passing.