JNMT has been supporting the technologist community since 1973. For one who is willing to admit that she was working in nuclear medicine in 1973, and remembers its simplicity at that time when compared with today’s technology, assuming the responsibility of becoming the incoming Editor of the only peer-reviewed publication dedicated to nuclear medicine technology is a challenging experience.
I would like to begin my journey as JNMT Editor by thanking Norman Bolus, the outgoing Editor, for his dedication and commitment to the quality and content of JNMT for the last 6 years and his patience and guidance in my transition to this position. I would also like to thank Susan Alexander, the SNMMI associate director of communications, for her continued patience and support as I scale the steep learning curve associated with the complexity of the JNMT publication process.
Each Editor brings new ideas to JNMT designed to meet the ever-expanding diversity of its readership. For my term, aside from the obvious color and design change of the cover, the single most significant change that I have implemented is a team approach to developing the content of JNMT. The primary content for each issue of JNMT will be developed by associate editors who have been paired on the basis of experience in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, including clinical practice, research, quality assurance, education, and management skills and techniques. Supported by a team of consulting editors representing physicians, scientists, physicists, pharmacists, and international technologists and educators, our goal is to expand and create new content, including…
Brief Communications—submissions that are shorter than a full research manuscript. They can follow the format of a research article or perhaps just be written to share a new technique, teaching point, or the results of a pilot study. They are designed to give the author the opportunity to share important information that will be peer-reviewed but presented in a brief format with a maximum of 2,500 words. They can be an excellent opportunity to turn that abstract or poster into a more in-depth presentation.
Invited Editorials—articles that describe new content, discuss current content, or initiate some lively and educational conversations on controversial protocols or techniques.
Educators’ Forum—a permanent section in the journal to specifically address the needs of educators and students in nuclear medicine technology.
Practical Protocol Tips—concise imaging or therapeutic protocols designed to be printed or “ripped out” of the journal and incorporated into daily practice. Whenever possible, practical protocol tips will highlight articles included in the journal or a procedure common to most clinical settings; for example, in this issue, Practical Protocol Tips will highlight the continuing education article “Best Practices in Molecular Breast Imaging: A Guide for Technologists.” If you have suggestions for future protocols for this section, please contact me at ksthomas0412{at}msn.com.
Quality and Practice Management—techniques and information essential to optimal patient care and outcomes.
Professional Development—educational information related to management skills and techniques, as well as alternative career pathways.
Radiopharmacy and Adjunctive Medications—pharmaceutical and radiopharmaceutical information that can be incorporated into departmental policy and procedure manuals or as part of an in-service educational program.
Continuing education (CE) opportunities continue to be a priority for nuclear medicine technologists, and Krystle Glasgow, Kristen Waterstram-Rich, and Amy Brady have done an excellent job during Norman’s term in providing the technologist community with interesting articles designed to enhance and maintain professional experience and credentials. Mary Beth Farrell will be stepping into the position of CE editor and has already been working closely with the associate editors to develop educational articles to support new content for JNMT.
New for 2018, and thanks to the suggestion from my international consulting editors, Geoffrey M. Currie and John D. Thompson, an additional educational opportunity via a journal club, the JNMT Twitter Club, will be developed around scientific articles published in JNMT. The articles will be posted on the SNMMI website to allow both nonmembers and members to participate. As with all JNM and JNMT CE articles, CE credit will be free to members successfully completing the required post-Tweet exam and will incur a nominal cost to nonmembers. The anticipated full launch of the JNMT Twitter Club is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, April 19, 2018. Watch for the official launch announcement of the JNMT Twitter Club on the SNMMI website and in Uptake.
This first JNMT issue of 2018 has 3 CE articles. The first article is part 1 of a 2-part series that will provide a refresher course on basic clinical statistics. Although terms such as sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and predictive value are discussed in training, the application and determination of these terms in today’s imaging environment can be difficult to understand. The second CE article provides a comprehensive discussion on the use of recently approved PET radiopharmaceuticals and promising agents on the horizon. The final CE article brings us back to the clinical environment in the specialized area of molecular breast imaging. This article offers a best-practice guide for optimal high-quality examinations. Additionally, the practical protocol tip for this issue will be a concise version of molecular breast imaging that can easily be copied or ripped from this issue and incorporated into your department’s policy and procedure manual.
Additionally, this issue, under the creative direction of Mary Beth Farrell and LisaAnn Trembath, includes invited editorials discussing the goals of the SNMMI-TS quality committee, an introduction to the new Educators’ Forum, and an introduction to brief communications, an alternative writing template for JNMT. Two examples of brief communications are also included in this issue. The first introduces a new series called Tech TIME, created by the SNMMI-TS to address what is being described as the information gap between traditional continuing education and immediate online references. The second brief communication shares the experience of a clinical site in the development of an online informational resource for patients scheduled for a PET/MRI or PET/CT exam.
The Educators’ Forum, a new permanent section in JNMT, launches in this issue with an interesting article encouraging educators to incorporate research methodologies into the curriculum to generate new interest in clinical research and hopefully continued interest as students enter the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging.
This issue also includes several imaging articles and teaching case studies, an alternative method for drawing unit doses from a multidose vial, and a discussion on the relationship between accreditation and CBNC-certified physicians and NCT- or PET-credentialed technologists.
Finally, a plea to the technologist community: JNMT needs your experience and expertise as a reviewer for manuscripts submitted for publication. Every article published in JNMT is peer-reviewed; however, we need more technologist reviewers! If you are interested in sharing your expertise in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging by becoming a JNMT reviewer, please visit the JNMT manuscript submission website (https://submit-jnm.snmjournals.org/) or contact me (ksthomas0412{at}msn.com).
The strength of JNMT relies, in part, on the participation of its readership. What do you need to enhance your professional growth? What would improve JNMT? We have now successfully achieved a goal that has been in the making for decades: JNMT will be indexed and abstracted in the Emerging Sources Citation Index. So, what’s next? Clearly with time, dedication, and attention to quality and detail, nothing is impossible. So please contact me with your comments, suggestions, and, yes, even complaints, because with your help, JNMT will remain the premier peer-reviewed publication dedicated to nuclear medicine technology.