This was an outstanding year for your 114-year-old Missouri Medicine medical journal. We continued our long-standing format of themed issues developed by state medical schools. For the first time an osteopathic medical school produced an entire theme with September/October’s “Building on Our Osteopathic Foundation” by Kansas City University of Medicine & Biosciences (KCUMB). In a propitious reprise, looking ahead the January/February 2018 issue will be produced by A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. MSMA and Missouri Medicine remains committed and the ‘big tent’ for advocacy, representation, and publication of all medical schools in the Show-Me state.
New editorial board members this year include: Susan Berdy, MD (Allergy/Immunology), Kan N. Huang, MD (Hematology/Oncology), and John B. Holds, MD (Ophthalmology). I want to thank my good friend Chuck Lederer, MD, for his service and counsel as our long-time ophthalmology expert.
The second book based on a series of articles in our Journal was published: The Science of Near-Death Experiences. (Missouri University Press, 2017 John C. Hagan III, MD Editor and is available from MSMA or Amazon.com). The book has had favorable international exposure and review in both professional and lay publications. Your Editor has been invited to give Grand Rounds on the book in Audrain County, KCUMB, North Kansas City Hospital and next year Santa Barbara Cottage General Hospital. A first literature report appeared in September/October, “Uveitis Following Treatment of Verruca Vulgaris with Intralesional Candida Antigen” by Doctors Crowley, Hagan, Dyer and Brundige.
One of the most important reasons for Missouri Medicine’s national reputation and ability to attract quality manuscripts and have academic departments eagerly commit to producing our signature theme issues is our content goes to internet-search availability via our indexing services including MEDLINE, PubMed and EBSCO host data bases. Approved and encouraged by the Publication Committee/Contributing Editors, about three years ago we began a long, rigorous qualifying procedures to have all our content linked at PubMed Central. Except for the New England Journal of Medicine, this is unprecedented by a state medical journal. Missouri Medicine was approved and set to ‘go live’ in early Fall. We then learned that MEDLINE was going to a new publication method and they were requiring re-certification of all publications approved prior to 1988. Missouri Medicine has been indexed by MEDLINE for over 40 years. Moreover, PubMed Central requires journals to be included in MEDLINE as a condition for their acceptance. So, we had to stand down from linking with PubMed Central while we reapplied to MEDLINE. This all boils down to over a hundred hours of work by Missouri Medicine most notably Liz Fleenor, our consummate managing editor and one-woman production staff, your Editor, the Publication Committee and MSMA staff. We eagerly anticipate MEDLINE approval in several months of our very strong re-application and retrospective uploading all 2017 content plus all future publications to PubMed Central.
All of us at Missouri Medicine thank MSMA and its members for 114 years of encouragement, participation, and support.