The Journal moves into the new millennium

The semi-annual meeting of the Journal’s Editorial Board took place during the recent Royal College meeting, with Dr. Waddell in the Chair. The annual report comparing data on manuscripts over the last 5 years demonstrated the directions in which editorial content is moving as we enter the new millennium. In 1994, revisions were requested on 40% of accepted articles; today revisions are requested on two-thirds to three-quarters of the manuscripts, and the authors seem uniformly pleased with the improvements resulting from the work of our reviewers. In 1998, 151 Canadian surgeons reviewed for the Canadian Journal of Surgery (CJS), about a third doing more than one review. We believe that the energy and interest of our reviewers, the quality of their comments and insights, together with the willingness of our authors to recognize the value of the reviews have contributed to an improved journal.

We remain concerned about the lack of submissions for the MacLean–Mueller Prize, which is for a high-quality research paper by a resident. Because the cycle of annual meetings of our sponsoring societies encompasses winter, spring and fall, the board has decided that the coeditors will select from residents’ submissions to the Journal a group of outstanding manuscripts from which a panel will identify the best paper. That paper will be published as the MacLean–Mueller prize winner and the other finalists will be identified. Therefore, the importance of identifying residents who are first authors is evident.

The SESAP question has been one of the CJS features for many years. We had hoped to be able to incorporate a similar self-assessment section for orthopedics, but this has proven impossible for contractual reasons. The Canadian Orthopaedic Association has the self-assessment examination issue well in hand. It is of note that the CJS goes to all Canadian orthopedic residents. Efforts are presently underway to find a means to send the journal to all general surgery residents. It is our objective to put the CJS on the reading agenda of our residents by introducing them to it early on in their postgraduate training.

Dr. Waddell and I take this opportunity to wish all of you the very best for the Holiday Season and a glorious start to the next decade and millennium.