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The Journal at three: A progress report
EDITOR'S PAGE The ]ournal at three: A progress report B a r r y L. Z a r e t , M D Parents fill albums with photos and memorabilia cataloging their children's birth, growth, development, and maturation. Each year marks a special time for expanding the photo album and scrapbook and reflecting on the year's events. The same can be said for the Journal. In its third year of life the Journal has flourished and has achieved many milestones worthy of inclusion in its metaphoric scrapbook. Of greatest note for incorporation in the third-year section of the Journal's scrapbook has been the relatively early acceptance by the National Library of Medicine for indexing in Index Medicus and MEDLINE. The indexing began with the first issue of Volume 3. We are in active discussion with the National Library of Medicine with respect to retroactive indexing of the first two volumes. Acceptance into Index Medicus after the publication of only two volumes is a substantial achievement. It is clear recognition of the quality of the Journal and the esteem with which it is viewed by others. It also places the Journal in another stratum with respect to attractiveness to authors, acceptability, and prestige. There have been many other positive sign posts on the Journal's road to maturity. The total number of manuscripts received continues to increase. At the time of this writing we project 20% growth in submissions for calendar year 1996. Manuscript quality has been excellent. To stay within page limitations, we have had to be progressively more selective. The current acceptance rate for original manuscripts is approximately 33%. We continue to strive to ensure prompt review of manuscripts and rapid decision. The average time for initial manuscript review by reviewers continues to be 14 days. The mean time to first decision on received manuscripts (including third reviews when necessary) is 5.38 weeks, with a median time of 3.77 weeks. A recent survey of the readership concerning perception of and interest in the Journal was quite gratifying. The 24% response rate included both American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) members and independent subscribers which resulted in a total of 573 responses. Such a response is extremely robust for this type of survey. The survey represented a true spectrum of the readership in the field and involved substantial J Nucl Cardiol 1996;3:369-70. Copyright © 1996 by American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. 1071-3581/96/$5.00+ 0 43/39/75820
numbers of nuclear physicians and radiologists as well as cardiologists. It is noteworthy that the response involved a readership that was active and relatively young, with more than 40% in practice for 10 years or less, and only 20% in practice for more than 20 years. The survey involved all types of practices, ranging from office based to hospital based, from private practice to academia. Readers were asked to grade various components of the Journal with respect to interest level. The survey involved comments on original articles, reviews, editor's page, editorials, bullets, news update, nuclear cardiology in the literature, and supplements. Substantial interest (>90% favorable response) was encountered for each category. The Journal is justifiably proud of the results of this survey. On the basis of these results, we appear to be receiving the approval of our readership. The survey will be repeated in approximately 2 years. The publisher has provided us with demographic data on the readership. Interestingly, there is a broad distribution of readers with respect to both primary field and geographic location. Based on the distribution for the November/December 1995 issue of the Journal, of the 2264 individuals receiving the Journal, 951 were cardiologists, 335 internists, 236 radiologists, 529 nuclear physicians, 29 other types of physicians, and 184 were technicians. The geographic distribution ratio was roughly 3:1 for the United States versus non-U.S. locations. Approximately one half of the non-U.S, readers were from Europe, and roughly 20% were from Asia. Based on these data, the Journal is reaching a broad and representative spectrum of those currently performing nuclear cardiology. From a demographic standpoint we appear to be achieving our goal of being "the voice of the field." The Journal continues to grow. The readership has increased substantially. The special program supported by Fujisawa Inc. has provided the Journal at no cost to approximately 1100 trainees during 1996. Advertising pages have increased significantly during 1996 after falling somewhat in 1995. We continue to publish high-quality reviews and editorial points of view. We continue to publish position papers and guidelines under the auspices of ASNC, which are standard setting for the field. We will continue to publish supplements, with three scheduled in the next 18 months. In the immediate future we will seek to establish new sections within the Journal. One will be a technologist/technology page. 369
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This will address a significant portion of our constituency, heretofore underrepresented in the Journal. It will focus on specific technical issues relevant to both technologists and physicians. In addition, we want to institute another new section, "The Other Side." This will involve publication of nonmedical material such as photographs, paintings, or short poems submitted by the readership, modeled after similar components in JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine. These will be published in the Journal on a space-available basis. It is hoped that this Section will provide the readership
JOURNALOFNUCLEARCAROIOLO~V September/October 1996 with an opportunity to express their other creative side in a manner that will enhance the esthetic quality of the Journal. Clearly, the third-year birthday section of the Journal's scrapbook will require many pages. There is much to catalog and much to be proud of. However, success is a very evanescent phenomenon. We must continually try to make the Journal better and more responsive to the needs of the readership and the needs of the field. As always, your continuing creative and timely support are deeply appreciated.
numbers of nuclear physicians and radiologists as well as cardiologists. It is noteworthy that the response involved a readership that was active and relatively young, with more than 40% in practice for 10 years or less, and only 20% in practice for more than 20 years. The survey involved all types of practices, ranging from office based to hospital based, from private practice to academia. Readers were asked to grade various components of the Journal with respect to interest level. The survey involved comments on original articles, reviews, editor's page, editorials, bullets, news update, nuclear cardiology in the literature, and supplements. Substantial interest (>90% favorable response) was encountered for each category. The Journal is justifiably proud of the results of this survey. On the basis of these results, we appear to be receiving the approval of our readership. The survey will be repeated in approximately 2 years. The publisher has provided us with demographic data on the readership. Interestingly, there is a broad distribution of readers with respect to both primary field and geographic location. Based on the distribution for the November/December 1995 issue of the Journal, of the 2264 individuals receiving the Journal, 951 were cardiologists, 335 internists, 236 radiologists, 529 nuclear physicians, 29 other types of physicians, and 184 were technicians. The geographic distribution ratio was roughly 3:1 for the United States versus non-U.S. locations. Approximately one half of the non-U.S, readers were from Europe, and roughly 20% were from Asia. Based on these data, the Journal is reaching a broad and representative spectrum of those currently performing nuclear cardiology. From a demographic standpoint we appear to be achieving our goal of being "the voice of the field." The Journal continues to grow. The readership has increased substantially. The special program supported by Fujisawa Inc. has provided the Journal at no cost to approximately 1100 trainees during 1996. Advertising pages have increased significantly during 1996 after falling somewhat in 1995. We continue to publish high-quality reviews and editorial points of view. We continue to publish position papers and guidelines under the auspices of ASNC, which are standard setting for the field. We will continue to publish supplements, with three scheduled in the next 18 months. In the immediate future we will seek to establish new sections within the Journal. One will be a technologist/technology page. 369
370
Zaret The Journal at three
This will address a significant portion of our constituency, heretofore underrepresented in the Journal. It will focus on specific technical issues relevant to both technologists and physicians. In addition, we want to institute another new section, "The Other Side." This will involve publication of nonmedical material such as photographs, paintings, or short poems submitted by the readership, modeled after similar components in JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine. These will be published in the Journal on a space-available basis. It is hoped that this Section will provide the readership
JOURNALOFNUCLEARCAROIOLO~V September/October 1996 with an opportunity to express their other creative side in a manner that will enhance the esthetic quality of the Journal. Clearly, the third-year birthday section of the Journal's scrapbook will require many pages. There is much to catalog and much to be proud of. However, success is a very evanescent phenomenon. We must continually try to make the Journal better and more responsive to the needs of the readership and the needs of the field. As always, your continuing creative and timely support are deeply appreciated.