I will be assuming the daunting position of Editor-in-Chief starting with the December issue of JIAMSE. Our current Editor-in-Chief, Douglas Gould has already done the yeoman work of putting our journal on strong footing with International recognition and a steady stream of high quality peer-reviewed papers on subjects most important to the International medical education community. He and our superb Editorial Board deserve all praise for what JIAMSE is today.
My first IAMSE meeting was in Chicago and I have been a steady contributor to the Basic Science Educator (predecessor of JIAMSE) and to JIAMSE over the years. Currently, I am a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Louisville, School of Medicine, and I felt I was at a time in my career where I could take on this important job and devote the time and energy necessary to accomplish what I hope to achieve. When the call came out that Doug was stepping down from his position and IAMSE was looking for a successor, I never thought that I would get the job; I was shocked but pleased when it was offered. I accepted the offer with great enthusiasm, excitement, and strong intentions of building on what has been so ably started.
It is my goal to shepherd JIAMSE to the very top of available medical education journals. It is important to increase the paper submission totals and maintain a high level of quality, so I ask each of you to consider submitting articles to JIAMSE for review on the exciting things you do at your schools to foster better medical education. It is also critical to be indexed in Index Medicus, an initiative that has already been started. Then, we need to increase the exposure radius for this journal in the educational community.
I have requested the Editorial Board and staff to remain and I have happily heard from most of them that they will. I have increased the number of Associate Editors to expand the expertise and also to provide a wider opportunity for targeted editing. I intend to maintain the methodology and quality for review started by Doug. I am looking forward to Doug??bf?s assistance in putting together the December issue.
I will be happy to talk to any of you in Puerto Rico about JIAMSE and also about publishing your work in the journal of our association. If you have posters and oral talks, you should definitely consider submitting your work.
In closing, I am very proud and excited to be the next Editor-in-Chief of JIAMSE, and I hope all of you share my pride and the pride of our great organization in this journal which so brightly represents our association.