Kathy S. Thomas, MHA, CNMT, PET, FSNMMI-TS
As we put the final touches on the December issue of JNMT, I cannot help but think, “Wow, what an incredible ride this first year has been as Editor!” Working with a team of dedicated associate and consulting editors, we have successfully enhanced content and continuing education (CE) offerings in the JNMT. So, let’s take a walk down memory lane and recap our successes.
13 CE articles offered in 2018: Thanks to the enthusiastic (shall I say fanatical?) work of Mary Beth Farrell, CE editor, the dedicated mentoring of the associate editors with new authors and the commitment of many technologists willing to share their expertise in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, the JNMT has published at least 3 continuing articles in each issue. Topics have included leadership and mentoring techniques, best practices in imaging and therapeutics, a statistical refresher course, and the current pharmacology series providing a comprehensive review of radiopharmaceuticals and pharmaceuticals (including contrast media and interventional medications) used in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging today.
Brief Communications providing insight into new techniques and topics: The introduction of the Brief Communication template has encouraged new authors previously wary of writing to share new ideas, techniques, and information. For abstract authors reluctant to consider enhancing research data into a full scientific research manuscript, the Brief Communication provides a more concise format to present important scientific research.
Practical Protocol Tips: The goal of the Practical Protocol Tip is to provide the reader with a concise imaging or therapeutic protocol that can be printed or “ripped out” from the journal and incorporated into daily practice. Whenever possible, the Practical Protocol Tips will highlight a comprehensive discussion included in the same issue of the journal.
Educators’ Forum supporting educators and students: The new Educators’ Forum provides our educators with an opportunity to share new ideas, teaching techniques, and topics of interest relevant to the education of nuclear medicine technologists. Looking forward to 2019, my goal is to continue enhancing this section and potentially, with the help and support of our educators, offer students willing to do the work required to publish a peer-reviewed manuscript an opportunity to be published in the JNMT. Several educators have invited Mary Beth Farrell to present her lecture “How to write a manuscript” to help student technologists understand the basic elements necessary to successfully develop a manuscript. Educators interested in participating in this educational offering should contact Mary Beth at olafsmum@gmail.com.
JNMT Twitter Club: The JNMT Twitter Club offers a new discussion format and CE opportunities, providing participants with a social media forum to discuss at least one scientific research manuscript published in the most recent issue of JNMT. Each session encourages participants from around the world to share differing perspectives—in 280 characters or fewer—using the #JNMTclub Twitter hashtag. Everyone is invited to participate. The more minds (and thumbs) the better! Predetermined discussion points help to drive the conversation and assist participants in answering the 10-question exam posted on the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging’s (SNMMI) CE Center for one week following the twitter session. The link to exam information (to obtain 1 CE hour) is provided during the Twitter session.
Educational Resources developed for new and existing reviewers: As a peer-reviewed publication, each manuscript published in the JNMT undergoes an important peer-review process that is only as good as the volunteers willing to share their time and expertise to provide a thorough assessment of the manuscript’s content, the accuracy of the data and statistics, and the relevance of the information presented. To assist interested nuclear medicine professionals understand the review process, several resources have been loaded in the JNM/JNMT Manuscript Processing software under “Reviewer Area.” These resources include the Reviewer Instructions, Reviewer Checklist, and Reviewer Slides Handout titled “Tips and Guidelines for JNMT Reviewers, an online continuing education webinar for new and current reviewers. Completion of the online webinar found in the CE Center provides participants with 1 CE credit. Additionally, the JNMT editor and associate editors are always available to answer questions or mentor new reviewers. If you would like additional information, please contact me at ksthomas0412@msn.com.
Mentors and financial awards available: Writing can be a scary journey. How to translate a successful research protocol performed at your institution into a scientific manuscript that can benefit the nuclear medicine community can seem like a daunting task—but what if you had some help from seasoned journal author? Help is available! If you are interested in finding a mentor to help you develop a manuscript—from something as simple as a case study describing an unusual anatomic variation to a scientific manuscript—please contact me and I will pair you with a mentor who can help you be successful in completing your first manuscript. An important note: there are monetary awards presented each year at the SNMMI annual meeting for the best JNMT manuscripts with a technologist as the first author. You could be the recipient of that award in 2019! So, get to writing!
JNMT survey: The successes mentioned above are relevant only if they meet the professional needs of JNMT readers. A new survey has been developed and will be distributed before the end of the year asking JNMT readers to evaluate JNMT’s content, rank the various sections, and make suggestions for future improvements. But let’s face it—no one likes surveys! Yet, without your input (positive or negative), we cannot continue to build and improve the only peer-reviewed journal dedicated to nuclear medicine technology. So please, take a few minutes to let us know your thoughts, suggestions, and recommendations for future content in 2019 and beyond.
In this issue we have four excellent educational offerings. Cybil Nielsen provides a brief summary pertaining to some of the knowledge nuclear medicine technologists need to assume the role of radiation safety officer (RSO) or associate RSO in “Radiation Safety Certification: A Review” (1). Geoffrey Currie continues his pharmacology series discussion with “Pharmacology, Part 3A: Interventional Medications in Renal and Biliary Imaging” (2). (Part 3B will be presented in the March 2019 issue of JNMT.) The final continuing education article by Barbara Grabher discusses Alzheimer disease (“Effects of Alzheimer Disease on Patients and Their Family” (3)). Additionally, we have a special contribution that provides one additional continuing education opportunity, “SNMMI Procedure Standard for Bone Scintigraphy 4.0” (4). Following the Alzheimer’s disease article is Jessica Williams’ Practical Protocol Tip “Amyloid Imaging” (5) that can be copied and incorporated into the department’s policy and procedure manual.
The Educators’ Forum presents a thoughtful discussion, “Supporting the Quality of Measurement and Evaluation in Education,” written by Donna Mason (6).
The scientific articles in this issue provide a diversity of topics, such as several discussions pertaining to brain imaging. The brain imaging topics include a pilot study on regional changes in brain 18F-FDG uptake after prophylactic cranial irradiation and chemotherapy; a study of the effect of the presence of electroencephalography leads on image quality in cerebral perfusion SPECT and 18F-FDG PET/CT; and a review of the current status of 18F-FDG PET brain imaging in patients with dementia. Additional topics include a discussion of the practical considerations for integrating PET/CT in radiation therapy planning; guidelines for quality control testing of molecular breast imaging systems; bone marrow scintigraphy in the diagnosis of diffuse pulmonary extramedullary hematopoiesis; an initial device concept for the measurement of radiotracer concentration in blood; and the validation of a semiautomatic quantification of 18F-fluoride PET/CT whole-body skeletal tumor burden. The teaching cases present several unusual findings including 18F-FDG–avid internal mammary lymphadenopathy and implant rupture; pitfalls in the characterization of relapsed multisystem lymphomatoid granulomatosis with 18F-FDG; and the detection of a previously unknown hepatic metastasis from colonic adenocarcinoma using iminodiacetic acid scanning.
In the professional development section, Frederic Fahey, DSc, describes the journey of the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board in the development of its latest exam for radiation safety certification, designed specifically for nuclear medicine technologists (7).
With this December issue, it is important that I take a moment to highlight and thank the many nuclear medicine professionals who help to make the JNMT a success. The team of associate and consulting editors, whose names appear on the title page of each issue, play a critical role in the success of the JNMT by identifying new topics and authors, mentoring new authors and reviewers, and keeping me focused on what is important to the success of the journal. Additionally, my thanks go to the many volunteer reviewers who help to maintain the quality and integrity of the journal—truly unsung heroes. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to thank the SNMMI staff, Susan Alexander, Paulette McGee, Caroline Krystek, Mark Sumimoto, and many others behind the scenes who keep me in line, and the journal on track. Thank you all for your dedication to the journal and your continued support. And because this is the December issue—I also want to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous new year!
