The Rebirth of International Surgery
The focus of this editorial letter is the “rebirth of International Surgery.” A familiar expression in our lives is “being born again,” which generally conveys a change in thinking on issues, a change in philosophy, and a change in outlook. Accompanying this expression is the thought that one of the greatest discoveries of our generation is that human beings can alter their lives, and the entities with which they are associated, by changing attitudes and mindsets. As you think, so shall you be.
The rebirth of International Surgery involves a number of facets, which are briefly portrayed in this letter. The most important aspect is that I, as Editor-in-Chief of International Surgery, from the “get go” of being given responsibility for this Journal of the International College of Surgeons, firmly decided that my outlook on International Surgery, and all of the persons associated with the publishing team, would only be one of making International Surgery the very best journal for publishing scientific/medical research data to advance medical science and the care of human kind around the world. I communicate to you that this attitude, this philosophy, this outlook, is my unwavering mindset.
On my assuming responsibility for International Surgery, I began by assembling an excellent team of assistants, including Professor John Marley, Australia, and some of his associates, including Lisa Kruesi, and my personal assistant in Singapore, Glenda Binoya, with the request to them to tell me “what is a world class journal” and how do we make International Surgery a world class journal. We then concurrently reviewed the existing Editorial Review Board and decided that membership of the Editorial Review Board should be based on surgeons performing world class surgery in affiliation with world class medical research institutions—and based on their willingness to be active participants. We have taken action accordingly.
A journal with the mission of communicating new scientific/medical information to other global researchers must make every effort, within the necessary publishing guidelines, to share this information on a prompt basis—unnecessary delays are unacceptable to me and my team. We exist in a global environment where information moves very quickly to all parts of the world, and we must perform in the very best manner in this environment. We changed to online publishing, we have embraced open access publishing, and we have taken actions to reach out to all worldwide researchers by collaborating with PubMed Central. For those authors who wish to have their respective data made available to global researchers as soon as possible, we have established an “online first” program, whereby manuscripts are made available on a preprint basis in a special section of our hosted journal website. We are using the best software systems to track the progress of manuscripts submitted by authors to make certain that no undue delays are occurring.
The rebirth of International Surgery is a fact. New manuscripts are submitted in increasing numbers. Since I have become Editor-in-Chief, we have increased the frequency of publishing from quarterly with 96 pages per issue to monthly with 192 pages per issue. These statistics reflect a progressive rebirth of International Surgery.
As your Editor-in-Chief, my commitment to excellence is total and will continue so.