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Journal of General Internal Medicine logoLink to Journal of General Internal Medicine
editorial
. 2017 Oct 4;32(12):1269–1272. doi: 10.1007/s11606-017-4190-z

Eight Years at the Helm

Mitchell D Feldman 1,, Richard L Kravitz 2
PMCID: PMC5698233  PMID: 28994026

Mitchell Feldman: Well, I guess this is it.

Richard Kravitz: I suppose that depends on what your definition of “it” is.

MF: I mean that this issue of JGIM is the very last one we’ll publish together.

RK: If I were the sentimental sort, I might pause to reflect on that. But I thought I would start with a few facts.

MF: Real or alternative?

RK: You decide. Between July 2009 and September 2017, JGIM received a total of 11,877 manuscript submissions and published 3047 articles. From a base of just under 1000 “peer-reviewable” articles (original research, reviews, and perspectives) submitted in 2010, JGIM received 1300 such submissions in 2016, while over the same period, acceptance rates for original research articles fell from 24% to 10%.

MF: So, competition for space in the journal increased. What about our Impact Factor?

RK: The Thomson Reuters Journal Impact Factor rose steadily from a base of 2.65 in 2009 to 3.70 in 2016. However, JGIM’s relative ranking in the General Medicine and Health Care Sciences and Services improved only marginally, meaning that JGIM’s competitors are improving too. However, under our tenure, JGIM gained recognition as the #1-ranked journal in the Primary Health Care category according to the Google Scholar h5-index. As you know, the h5-index of a publication is the largest number h such that at least h articles in that publication were cited at least h times each over a 5-year period.

MF: You and I have talked a lot about what Journal Impact Factor really means. JGIM has resisted the temptation to “game” the system by, for example, encouraging self-citation, preferentially publishing material from well-known authors, or engaging in some of the more extreme forms of self-promotion. Nevertheless, we know that authors look at the Impact Factor when deciding where to submit their best work, and we’ve tried to strike a balance between maintaining JGIM’s reputation for research rigor and seeking material that is likely to draw attention and get cited. I think we’ve made progress, but there is still much for the next editorial team to do.

RK: Yes, they have an exciting road ahead. I’m sure you remember our early days with the journal. When we began our term, we were guided by the principle that JGIM is a journal for generalists committed to improving the world in which they practice, teach and conduct research. We aimed to publish data derived from settings where real patients live and real doctors practice (“practice-based evidence”), as well as reviews and tools that clinicians and educators use to do their jobs more effectively, efficiently, and humanely (thereby supporting “evidence-based practice”). We were lucky to inherit the strong editorial legacy of Bill Tierney and Martha Gerrity, and also a terrific editorial management team headed by Cindy Byrne and then Jenni Clarkson at Regenstrief Institute in Indiana. Some of our early goals were to streamline submission categories, reduce turnaround time, introduce new content in clinical medicine and in the humanities, increase JGIM’s web presence, and find new ways for the journal to add value for readers.

MF: And, remarkably, we got most of that done. Between 2009 and 2016, the average time from submission to initial editorial decision for externally reviewed manuscripts decreased from 72 to 59 days. We introduced new clinical content such as Clinical Images and Exercises in Clinical Reasoning that informed and challenged our readership. One experiment in the medical humanities (“Text and Context”) proved unsustainable, but others (“Materia Medica”) flourished. Our collaboration with the Annals of Internal Medicine has allowed us to attract some high-quality manuscripts that may not have come our way, but that have the potential for greater impact than the average JGIM paper (e.g. systematic reviews, larger clinical trials, epidemiological studies) and are also consonant with the needs and interests of our readers. Then, in one of our more brilliant moves, we recruited Neil Mehta to run JGIM Web. Neil not only created a working web portal; he also recruited, trained, and sustained an all-volunteer team of JGIM Web editors, many of them medical students, residents, and junior faculty. Finally, we made the commitment that most, if not all, original research content in JGIM would be accompanied by expert commentary. And by increasing the number of published editorials and introducing Capsule Commentaries, we did just that.

RK: You make it sound easy. As we’ve discussed, the future of medical journals is pretty murky. People have rightly asked what value journals and journal publishers add that justifies high subscription and open access prices. After all, peer review is a volunteer activity, and a shrinking fraction of readers pay attention to the way articles are collated within issues. We often joked that when we put a monthly issue together, our goal was “Sgt. Pepper’s,” but most readers access information these days more like iTunes. When information is immediately searchable via the web, it’s less important how it’s organized. The reason we have doubled down on editorials and Capsule Commentaries is because this is how journals add value: by highlighting controversies, by providing clinical and policy context, and by stimulating debate. If it is to continue to survive and thrive, JGIM will need to keep adding value—perhaps through a more robust and interactive “Letters” section, perhaps by putting Mike Clarke’s recommendation (“reports of clinical trials should begin and end with an up-to-date systematic review”) into practice, perhaps by developing interactive and increasingly intelligent web tools that can deliver an engaging learning experience exactly at the time of need.

MF: And we should be sure to mention that we could not have accomplished anything without the dedication and good judgment of our volunteer group of JGIM deputy editors who have helped us build on the reputation for high quality that JGIM enjoys. We are fortunate that many of our most experienced deputy editors have remained on our team throughout our tenure. This is gratifying in light of the increasing financial and other pressures on faculty members in academic general internal medicine nationally. We are grateful for their service.

RK: And speaking of service, JGIM relies on a dedicated group of peer reviewers to examine findings, scrutinize methods, and help authors improve their work. In 2016–2017, JGIM reviewers volunteered their time and expertise to review about one-third of the approximately 1500 manuscripts JGIM receives each year. During this period, 724 reviewers provided a total of 882 reviews with a mean quality score of 4.3 on a scale of 1 to 6 (as judged by JGIM Deputy Editors). Of these, 151 provided at least two reviews, and 9 provided three or more. We are indebted to them for their service. Among this group of dedicated peer reviewers, there is a group of top performers who stand out. Reviewers included in this group performed at least two reviews between July 2016 and June 2017, returned all reviews within 30 days, and received a quality score of four or greater on all reviews. An asterisk identifies the 84 reviewers who meet these criteria. We congratulate them on their service to the academic community and thank them for their efforts on behalf of the journal.

MF: Well, I think that’s it. What are you going to do with all of your newfound spare time?

RK: Fortunately, I’m not too worried about that. As we both appreciate, the life of an academic generalist is infinitely rich and varied, and I expect I’ll continue teaching, doing research, and seeing patients in clinic and in the hospital, just as I’ve been doing for almost three decades. I’m also thinking about writing a murder-mystery novel that begins as our intrepid journal editor discovers a shocking peer-review scandal.

MF: Maybe stick to medicine.

RK: Good idea.

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Davis, Elizabeth Fischer, Shira Green, Lee
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DavisGiardina, Traber Foth, Thomas* Grotzke, Marissa
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Delbanco, Tom Frank, Maria Guo, Ling
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Dobscha, Steven Gajulapalli, RamaDilip Hansen, Ryan
Dogra, Anjali Gamble, VanessaNorthington Hargraves, Ian
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Driscoll, Mary Garcia, Maria Hartz, Sarah
Du, Yu Garin, Nicolas Hartzell, Joshua
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Duong, Jonathan* Garvin, Jane* Henry, Stephen*
Dutton, Gareth Geha, Rabih* Henschel, Frank
Dworsky, Michael* Gellad, Walid Hessler, Christine
Dy, Sydney Genevro, Janice Hicken, Margaret
Higgins, Diana Jones, Christine Lasser, Karen
Hines, Anika* Joseph, Robert Latham, Kenzie
Ho, Minh Jubelt, Lindsay Lauffenburger, Julie
Hochman, Michael* Kahwati, Leila Lawrence, Karen
Hofer, Timothy Kalkhoran, Sara* Laws, M.Barton
Hoffman, Ari Kanady, Jennifer Layton, Timothy
Hogarth, Michael Kandula, Namratha Lazarus, Cathy
Hoggatt, Katherine Kangovi, Shreya Leasure, Emily*
Holmes, John Kanter, Genevieve* Lee, Jessica
Holzer, Lukas Kanter, Michael Lee, Joy
Hoppe, Jason Karches, Kyle* Lee, Rita
Howell, Embry Karim, Mahzuz Leekha, Surbhi
Howell, Erik Karippot, Asha LeepHunderfund, Andrea
Hrisos, Susan Karnes, Jason Leff, Bruce
Hsiao, Chun-Ju(Janey) Karpiak, Stephen Lei, Pui-Wa
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Hsu, Gerald* Kathol, Roger Lessing, Juan
Huang, Hsiang Kavati, Abhishek Leung, YingYing"katy"
Huang, Yen-Ming Kearns, Mark Levine, David*
Humensky, Jennifer Keith, Rosalind Lin, Kyaw
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Hwang, Seungyoung Khawaja, Imran Linzer, Mark
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Islam, Nadia King, Christopher Liu, Haiyan
Ivers, Noah Kipp, Aaron Liu, Kathy
Ivlev, Ilya Kohli, Amar* Lo-Ciganic, Wei-Hsuan*
Iyer, Geetha Kohlmann, Wendy Locke, Kenneth
Jackson, Christopher Kormos, William Lombardi, Angela
Jackson, George Kroth, Philip Longo, Lisa
Jackson, Jeffrey Kruppa, Nicole Lopp, Lauri
Jackson, Sandra Kruse, Gina Lorig, Kate
Jacobs, Elizabeth Kuhn, Kristi Lowenstein, Margaret*
Jain, Snigdha Kullgren, Jeffrey Lum, Hillary
Jan, Arif Kuon, Carla Lyons, Maureen*
Jarmul, Jamie* Kurtzman, Ellen Lypson, Monica
Jay, Melanie Lacour-Chestnut, Frene Ma, Chenjuan
Jegadeesan, Ramprasad Ladapo, Joseph Macy, Eric
Jena, Anupam Lafreniere, Justin Mafi, John
Jennings, Marisa* Lalmuanpuii, Judy Majumdar, Sumit
Jinjuvadia, Raxitkumar Lamantia, Michael Makam, Anil
Johnson, Kay Lampman, Michelle* Malik, Manpreet
Johnson-Lawrence, Vicki Landon, Bruce Mallory, Renee
Jones, Amie Larochelle, Marc* Mangurian, Christina
Jones, Barbara Larsen, Douglas* Mann, Adrienne
Marchica, Amanda* Murimi, Irene Patel, Mitesh
Mark, Dustin Murphy, Daniel Pauly, Nathan
Marsh, Anthony* NaderiMahbadi, Ali Paz, David
Martinez-Gonzalez, MiguelA. Nagaraja, Vivek Pedersen, Eric
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McmahonJr., Laurence Ng, ChinTeck Ponte, Belen
Mcmillan, Sara Ng, Henry Poon, Eric
Mcnamara, Megan Ngov, Likheng Popova, Lucy
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Mcvay, Megan Niessen, Timothy* Priya, Aruna
Medarametla, Venkatrao Nouer, Simonne Priyanka, Priyanka
Mehta, Sanjeev Nutan, Fnu Psek, Wayne
Mejia, Raul O'connor, Patrick Rabin, Elaine*
Menon, Anish O'keefe, Meaghan Radomski, Thomas
Meredith, Lisa O'malley, Ann* Raghavan, Sridharan*
Meyer, Ashley Obi, Engels Rajkumar, Aarthi
Meyers, David Odoms-Young, Angela Ramachandran, Ambili
Miake-Lye, Isomi Okafor, Chukwumeka Ramakrishnan, Praveen
Michel, Jeremy Olayiwola, J.Nwando Ramasamy, Ranjith
Michtalik, Henry Ono, Sarah Ramsey, Alex
Mieczkowski, Alexandra Ornelas, India Rastegar, Darius
Mills, Whitney Ornstein, Katherine Ratanawongsa, Neda
Miner, Sarah* Oser, Megan Ratcliff, Chelsea*
Miranda, Jeanne Ott, Brian Razack, Saleem
Mishuris, Rebecca Ousager, Jakob Redley, Bernice
Misra-Hebert, Anita* Ozanne, Elissa Reese, Jennifer
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Mohiuddin, Ahmed Palacio, Ana Reikes, Andrew
Molina, Yamile Pandey, Soumya Renn, Brenna
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Mori, Deanna Park, TaeWoo Riva, Nicoletta
Morrison, Katherine Parks, Anna Roberts, Eric
Moss, Karen Pasupula, DeepakKumar Roberts, Susan
Patchett, David
Robertson, Douglas Secora, Alex Talari, Preetham
Rogers, Elizabeth* Segal, Gad Talwar, Divya
Romanelli, Robert Sethi, Jasobanta Taylor, Stephanie
Romo, Rafael* Shah, Nilay TenCate, Olle
Rose, Danielle Shaheen, Amy Teoh, Deanna
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Rosenberg, Walter Sharma, Rashmi Thielke, Stephen
Rosenthal, Daniel Sheldahl, Amy* Thimmisetty, Ravi
Rosenthal, Meredith Shelton, Jeremy Thompson, Hale
Rossom, Rebecca Sheu, Leslie Thumula, Vennela
Roth, Katalin Shoag, Jonathan Tilstra, Sarah*
Rothberg, Michael Shroff, Swati Tinetti, Mary
Roy, Brita Siegel, Elena Tobey, Matthew
Roy, Payel* Silva, Abigail Tobin, Daniel
Rudd, Mariah Simmons, David TobinTyler, Elizabeth
Ruggero, Camilo Simon, Gregory Tohme, Fadi
Rumball-Smith, Juliet Simpson, Scot Traino, Heather
Rustici, Matthew Singh, Aparajita True, Gala
Saag, Harry Singh, Hardeep Truglio, Joseph
Safer, Joshua Singh, Harpreet* Tseng, Eva
Saffar, Darcy Sittig, Dean Tsilimingras, Dennis
Saloner, Brendan Skoyen, Jane* Tumilty, Emma
Samuelson, Bethany Smetana, Gerald Turner, Robin
Sandberg, Shana Smith, Dustin Ulloa, Erin
Sandoval, Marie Smith, Peter Underwood, Martin
Santulli, Gaetano Sobota, Mindy Unruh, Mark*
Sarrazin, MaryVaughn Sofaer, Shoshanna Vafaei, Afshin
Savani, Ghanshyambhai Sokolove, Robert VanDenBerk-Clark, Carissa*
Sawatsky, Adam Song, Zirui VanGroningen, Nicole
Sawaya, George Soones, Tacara VanderWeg, Mark
Schaepe, Karen Soong, Christine* Vanneman, Megan*
Schapira, Marilyn Spann, Stephen Vassilakis, Athina
Scharf, Eugene Spencer, Michael Venkataramani, Maya
Schiff, Gordon Spitzer-Shohat, Sivan Vipond, Bertrand
Schmidt, Jennifer St-Onge, Christina Vogeli, Christine
Schnittker, Jason Stack, Shobha Vohra, Parag
Schoenbaum, Michael Stickrath, Chad VonKorff, Michael
Schoenfeld, Adam Stockdale, Susan Vyas, Ami
Schroeder, Steven Stracci, Fabrizio Wagholikar, Kavishwar*
Schultz, Ellen* Sullivan, Mark Wagner, Maryam
Schwartz, Mark Sweeney, Shannon Walden, H.Douglas
Sciamanna, Chris Szymusiak, John Wallhagen, Margaret*
Scioli-Salter, Erica Taber, Jennifer* Walz, Stacy
Scott, Suzanne Tai-Seale, Ming Wang, Chenchen
Seaman, Aaron Tait, Alan Wang, Emily
Sears, David Talamantes, Efrain Wang, Zhen
Warm, Eric Whittle, Jeff Ye, Siqin
Wasfy, Jason Winkelman, Tyler Yellowlees, Peter
Washington, Donna Winnike, Allison Yin, Jianyi*
Wasson, John Winston, Lisa Yoon, Jean
Waterer, Grant Witkop, Catherine* Young, Eric
Wearne,Susan WitkoskiStimpfel, Amy Yudell, Michael
Wee, Christina Witt, Daniel Zambrana, Ruth
Weimer, Melissa* Wittenberg, Eve Zar, Fred
Weinberger, Andrea Wood, Timothy Zhu, Junya*
Weinberger, Steven Wu, Stephen Zisberg, Anna
Weiss, Audrey Xu, Jiayun Zullig, Leah
Wendler, Dave Yang, Jianji Zulman, Donna
West, Colin Yanovski, Susan Zunzunegui, MariaVictoria
White, Douglas Yates, Scott Zwijsen, Sandra

*Superior Reviewer, defined as >=2 reviews, quality score no lower than 4 of 6 on any single review, no review returned past 30 days


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