British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2001, Vol. 86, No. 1 3-4
© 2001 The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia
Editorial |
Editorial II
Publishing changes in 2001
Peer-reviewed journals that are predominantly archival tend to be viewed as rather conservative and staid organs but they do provide an accurate reflection of changes in modes of communication and they adapt, at varying speeds, to meet the needs of the audiences which the journals are designed to serve.
From its inception in 1923 until 1995, the sole method by which the British Journal of Anaesthesia conveyed information to subscribers was via the printed page. However, in the last decade, there have been two significant changes in our modus operandi. In 1995, material was distributed on a CD–ROM and, since July 2000, the BJA has been published on the Internet.
In partnership with Anesthesia and Analgesia, the BJA helped to pioneer the development of the Electronic Anesthesia Library (TEAL). Shortly after linking with Anesthesia and Analgesia, the two journals were joined by Anesthesiology and the Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia and so, in 1995, all four journals became available in a single format. TEAL comprises a CD–ROM containing all the peer-reviewed material appearing in these four journals over a 5 yr period. Five volumes have now been published, spanning the period 1991–1999. This superb archive obviates the necessity for storage and binding of journals and it allows instantaneous access via an easily used search engine to the majority of the most highly cited anaesthetic papers in the literature. From this year, TEAL will be produced not only on CD–ROM but also in a DVD–ROM version; both formats will be available for at least another 3 years. The advantage of the DVD–ROM is that it will be able to carry the contents of all four journals for a decade on a single DVD.
The second and most revolutionary change in communication has been via the Internet; many journals now publish their contents via this medium. The BJA became available in July 2000 on the Internet with free access until December 2000. However, from January 2001, access is restricted to subscribers by the use of a password whilst occasional users may access it on a ‘pay-as-you-view’ basis.
Another major initiative, which the BJA will launch in 2001, is the introduction of a new journal of continuing educational and professional development (CEPD) called BJA: CEPD Reviews.The Editor-in-Chief of this journal is Professor David Rowbotham and the chairman of its new Editorial Board, separate from that of the BJA, is Dr Ralph Vaughan. The raison d’être for this venture is that the BJA, as the official journal of The Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCA), has responsibilities in producing CEPD material for Fellows, Members, and also trainee anaesthetists undertaking the RCA training programme. In the UK, the RCA stipulated in April 2000 that participation in CEPD was obligatory for all career-grade anaesthetists. CEPD is also an essential element of clinical governance and will be an integral and mandatory part of the General Medical Council’s (GMC) Revalidation Folder (Personal Portfolio). The GMC aims to finalize its proposals for revalidation by May 2001. If these prove to be acceptable, as anticipated, a system will be introduced in the UK whereby every 5 yr doctors will be obliged to undergo revalidation; a doctor who fails the revalidation procedure will be liable to erasure from the Medical Register, i.e. will be unable to practise medicine either as a specialist or as a generalist. Thus whilst participation in CEPD has always been a normal part of doctors’ professional activities, it will soon become a legal necessity.
BJA: CEPD Reviews intends to cover essential core material in the fields of anaesthesia, critical care medicine and pain management. It will comprise a series of review articles of a predominantly teaching nature rather than of a comprehensive research format. It will be published bimonthly, commencing in February 2001. BJA: CEPD Reviews will be distributed to those individuals on the RCA list (Fellows, Members and trainees) as part of their College subscription. However, it is anticipated that the review will have widespread appeal to anaesthetists worldwide wishing to keep abreast of CME via up-to-date teaching review material. Material published in this new review journal will be citable with the title of BJA: CEPD Reviews and pagination differing from that in the full BJA.
Another innovation introduced by the BJA in 2001 is the production of a précised version of the full journal, termed the BJA Concise. This version contains full text of editorials, reviews (research reviews), book reviews, correspondence and commentaries together with abstracts only of peer-reviewed original articles and case reports. BJA Concise is circulated only to anaesthetists on the RCA list. Other subscribers will continue to receive the full version of the BJA and all subscribers, those affiliated with the College and non-affiliated and institutional subscribers, will obtain access to the full version of the BJA on the Internet by the use of a password obtained as part of their subscription arrangements. Separate subscription arrangements have been made for individuals on the College list who still require full paper copy of the journal rather than the BJA Concise. Material in BJA Concise will be paginated and cited identically to that in the full BJA.
There has been much discussion in the lay press that the technological revolution in communication that has occurred in the last decade exceeds the changes wrought by the first industrial revolution. However, there still remains a substantial number of our subscribers either without Internet access or for whom access is extremely slow or delayed because of problems with local telecommunications. We hope, therefore, that the changes described above will enable a high standard of anaesthetic literature to be delivered in appropriate format to both technophiles and those with limited electronic availability. At the same time, with the publication of BJA: CEPD Reviews, we are responding in part to the increasing demand placed by the public on anaesthetists to demonstrate their maintenance of competence to practice. There is, however, little doubt that the reader will see continuing changes as the journal adapts progressively to the varied demands of its widening audience, and its role as official journal of the RCA with its responsibilities for maintenance of professional standards.
Graham Smith
Chairman, Editorial Board
Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management
University of Leicester
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