Goals for Final Year of Editorship: A Look Forward

Frances Neagley, CNMT, FSNMTS Editor, JNMT

December is here and another year is just about over. In the midst of all the holiday and family-related things that happen this month, one might pause to look back at the year's accomplishments and unfinished tasks. I am going to take another direction and look forward.

I have just finished the fourth year of my editorship of the JNMT, and that means I have 1 year left. The search for the new editor is under way. All applications had to be in by November 1, 2010, and now the search committee is reviewing them and preparing to interview the best candidates. I have very little time left to realize my goals for the JNMT.

Some time ago, the JNMT made an arrangement with the JNM and the SNM committee on guidelines to publish practice guidelines and revisions in the JNMT. This has been a sporadic occurrence and is dependent on when the guidelines are revised. This month we have 2 guidelines in this issue—one on breast scintigraphy and the other on hepatobiliary scintigraphy.

At some time after we began publishing the guidelines, the SNMTS continuing education committee proposed developing continuing education credits for the practice guidelines. In this issue, you will find 2 sets of continuing education tests related to the guidelines, with information on how to obtain the continuing education hours for them. It is hoped that this will be a service we can provide on a somewhat regular basis for the technologists who are looking for additional credits for their licenses and certifications.

Unfortunately, we do not have a regular continuing education article in this issue, but several are in the review process. We should have at least 1 and perhaps 2 articles in the March issue of JNMT. As always, we appreciate the effort Elpida Crawford makes in recruiting and nurturing potential authors of continuing education articles.

This issue includes a letter to the editor. I appreciate these letters because they do show that someone is reading the JNMT and is vested in the articles we publish. There has not been a rebuttal to this letter yet, but we may have one for the next issue.

Otherwise, the varied selection of scientific articles in this issue should have an equally varied interest. I hope that all readers will find something here to interest them and enhance their professional experience.

Although a number of manuscripts are currently in the revision process, not many new ones are being reviewed. I remain hopeful that many new submissions will come in over the next few months. With only 1 year left in my term, I would like to have my last few issues packed with articles.

I know that the practice of nuclear medicine is going through many changes and that job security is an oxymoron these days, but I would hope that we all would try to hold on to our beliefs and support the profession of nuclear medicine technology in whatever little way we can. I know personally how hard it is to keep up with all the things one is supposed to do along with all the things one would like to do.

I feel a little like a lame-duck editor these days, knowing my term is almost over and that I have not and possibly will not accomplish all the goals I had for the JNMT. Nonetheless, I am going to continue to be optimistic about the future of both our profession and our journal. I hope each of you will also.

As always, I do encourage you to contact me if you have any concerns or just want to talk about the JNMT. I can be reached at fneagley{at}pacbell.net and enjoy any and all comments. In addition, I would appreciate any ideas for the future of this journal that you would like to pass on to either the editorial search committee or the new editor.