Kathy S. Thomas, MHA, CNMT, PET, FSNMMI-TS
It’s a rainy December morning, just a few days until Christmas. As I look out my window at those stormy clouds, my mind continues to wander. At this time of year, we all tend to consider those things that we are most thankful for: family, friends, a rewarding professional life. In addition to my family and friends, as JNMT Editor, I am also thankful for the nuclear medicine professionals willing to share important clinical research and educational materials in the JNMT. Additionally, I am especially thankful for my Associate and Consulting Editors as well as the tireless dedication of the SNMMI staff. The JNMT continues to support the educational and professional growth of its readers with the latest in nuclear medicine technology thanks to the dedication of these very important individuals.
By the time you read this issue, you will have received (and hopefully completed) the online JNMT survey designed to focus the activities and content of the JNMT for the next 1–2 years. As a new editor, I made some initial changes in my first year without the benefit of input from JNMT readers. I wanted to support our educators by adding a whole new section designed to provide educators with useful information specific to the learning environment. The Practical Protocol Tip was another new addition designed to succinctly describe the technical steps associated with a specific protocol. In retrospect, and without the benefit of input from JNMT readers, those two new additions seem successful. The final new project, the JNMT Twitter Journal Club, did not have the same outcome. It was designed to provide a social media forum to discuss scientific research and offer participants an opportunity to share differing perspectives in 280 characters or less. Participation in the chat also came with the benefit of earning continuing education credits. The success of the program was measured during the year by the number of people (and thumbs!) participating in each chat. Unfortunately, although up to 60 technologists participated in the CE exam that followed the Twitter chat, fewer than 10 individuals actually participated in any live chat. On the basis of the amount of work on the part of the Associate Editors and SNMMI staff and the declining participation in the live chat, the decision was made to discontinue the JNMT Twitter Club for 2019. Looking forward, the JNMT survey will help the Associate and Consulting Editors define new sections and content as well as make any necessary revisions. If you didn’t have the opportunity to complete the survey, you can always forward your comments and suggestions directly to me.
This first issue of 2019 launches with three continuing education articles. The first is the continuation of the excellent pharmacology series by Geoffrey Currie (1) discussing the less commonly used interventional medications and adjunctive medications in general nuclear medicine. The next two articles focus on quality brain imaging and the future of diagnosing Parkinson disease. To support the two continuing education articles on brain imaging, the focus of the Practical Protocol Tip is DaTscan.
The Educators’ Forum offers two exceptional discussions. The first explores employability as it relates to the qualities of nuclear medicine technology programs and graduates. The second discussion reviews the basics of accreditation and assessment for nuclear medicine educators.
In the Quality and Practice Management section, Camilla Andersson (2) explains her institution’s use of web-based information as it applies to patients undergoing 18F-FDG PET/CT exams.
In the imaging section, we explore several interesting topics and techniques utilizing PET, PET/CT, SPECT/CT, SPECT, and SPECT/CT-guided ultrasound to diagnose or confirm scientific findings.
A Special Contribution, provided by Pedro Fragoso Costa (3), discusses a technologist’s approach to global dose optimization.
Finally, the teaching case studies continue to provide readers with key facts, concepts, and unusual findings where imaging has been helpful with diagnosis or assessment of disease.
In each issue of the JNMT, I continue to beg and grovel for volunteer technologist reviewers. Every nuclear medicine technologist is an expert in some aspect of nuclear medicine technology. Each article published in JNMT undergoes a strict peer-review process designed to enhance and preserve the quality of the journal. This process, however, is only as good as the volunteers willing to share their valuable time and expertise by reviewing manuscripts submitted to JNM and JNMT for publication. If you are interested in becoming a reviewer for the JNMT, please visit the JNMT manuscript submission website (https://submit-jnm-snmjournals.org) or contact me (ksthomas0412{at}msn.com).
In my next editorial, I will share with you the findings from the JNMT survey as well as a report of technologist participation in acquiring continuing education credits from articles published in JNMT. It is with this information that we will continue to enhance and improve JNMT. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.