Psychosomatics 49:1-2, February 2008
doi: 10.1176/appi.psy.49.1.1
© 2008 Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine
Term Limits: Editors Included
Thomas N. Wise, M.D.
It is time for a change. All journals sponsored by an organization should have term limits for editors. After two decades at the helm, it was clear to me that the Academy must institute such term limits.
Thus, beginning in January 2008, Dr. Theodore A. Stern, Professor of Psychiatry at the Harvard University School of Medicine, and Chief of the Avery D. Weisman Psychiatry Consultation Service at the Massachusetts General Hospital, will be Psychosomatics’ third editor-in-chief. Dr. Stern is an extraordinary editor, writer, teacher, and clinician, who will ably carry on the mission of the journal. He comes to psychosomatic medicine as a second-generation consultation psychiatrist, as his father, the late Dr. Marvin Stern, was director of the psychiatric consultation service at Bellevue Hospital, in New York City.
Psychosomatics is an essential vehicle for transmitting new information the area that constitutes psychosomatic medicine (PM). It is one of the few journals that continues to publish case reports, a vanishing element in many medical journals because of space constraints.1 The history of the journal reveals its humble origins under the first editor, Wilfred Dorfman, who literally utilized his home in Brooklyn, New York to inaugurate and organize the early volumes, which consisted of a heterogeneous collection of papers that covered psychosomatic theory and biological psychiatry. The journal wandered among a variety of publishers, including a period as a controlled-circulation periodical (i.e., a free one). This allowed the journal to survive.
Dr. William Webb saw the limits of this situation, which depended upon advertising revenues, and he initiated discussions with the American Psychiatric Press (APPI). Mr. Ron McMillen, then Chief Operating Officer of APPI, and Dr. Carol Nadelson, President of the Press, took the risk of initiating a Journals division for APPI, with Psychosomatics as a test project. (Both The American Journal of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Services were then published separately under the aegis of the American Psychiatric Association.) The APPI staff has been terrific in both producing and marketing our publication. This test case for both our journal and APPI has been successful beyond our initial hopes.
During the past two decades, Psychosomatics has changed.2 There has been a steady increase in international submissions and publications. This demonstrates the importance of PM as a truly global subspecialty that is closely allied with colleagues throughout the world, especially those in the European Association of Consultation–Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatics. There has been a significant growth in research publications utilizing more sophisticated methodologies.1
The citation impact factor has also risen, to lead other journals that focus on PM, which suggests that the quality and application of the journal are excellent. This is an era where we are deluged by controlled-circulation periodicals, which offer fine reviews of topics but have limited space for original research or unique case reports. Thus, it is more difficult for journals to survive or prosper. Because of the enthusiasm for PM and the energy of our Academy for Psychosomatic Medicine (APM) membership, as well as the skill of APPI, we will continue to flourish. The journal is also an important element of the APM. It defines the organization from a scientific and clinical perspective.
There are so many individuals to thank that it is impossible to mention them all. Dr. Thomas Hackett was an ever-present advisor and role-model in my initial years as editor. It is fitting that Dr. Hackett was also an important mentor to Dr. Stern.
The roles of the editorial board, our associate editors (Drs. Levenson, Lyketsos, and Hall), and the peer-reviewers have been essential elements in leading this journal to its present position. Finally, those who submit their manuscripts are the true heroes and heroines. It takes courage to write an article, submit and revise the manuscript, and await acceptance or rejection. As an editor, the hardest task is to reject an article, knowing that so many hours have been put into its completion. I have personally experienced both the joy and the bitter sting of either acceptance or rejection of my own submissions. We have tried our best to be fair, and the peer-review method is still the best approach, albeit not perfect.
During the past decade, we have realized our greatest hope, formal recognition of consultation–liaison psychiatry into subspecialty status. Psychosomatics was important in that endeavor; the journal demonstrated that our subspecialty has a scientific base unique to the field. It now up to all of us in PM to justify that designation with a continuation of our science, clinical practice, and educational mandate that will excite young physicians in all specialties to understand the importance of the interface between psychiatry and medically ill patients. Psychosomatics, under the able direction of Dr. Stern, will achieve this goal.
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REFERENCES
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- Wise TN: Databased research: antidote to the anecdote? Psychosomatics 1988; 29:371–372[Free Full Text]
- Ramchandani D, Wise TN: The changing content of Psychosomatics: reflection of the growth of consultation-liaison psychiatry? Psychosomatics 2004; 45:1–6[Abstract/Free Full Text]
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