Eight Years at the Helm

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.

Admane, Sonal*	Bell, Sigall	Buranosky, Raquel
Afarideh, Mohsen	Bender, Ralf	Burke, James
Alavi, Reza	Benitez, Joseph*	Burke, Jessica
Alley, Dawn	Bennett, Ian	Burkitt, Michael
Allsworth, Jenifer	Berg, Wendie	Burton, Michael
Allyse, Megan	Berger, Amy	Buttorff, Christine
Ammannagari, Nischala	Berger, Gabrielle*	Byhoff, Elena
Anderson, Emily	Bergman, Jonathan	Cain, Jeff
Anderson, Johanna*	Berkenblit, Gail	Caines, Laurie
Anderson, Timothy*	Berkowitz, Seth	Campbell-Yesufu, Mobola
Andrews, Jane	Berliner, Elise	Caplan, Gideon
Andrews, Rebecca	Berner, Eta	Caraballo, Ralph
Anklesaria, Zafia*	Bertholet, Nicolas	Carnahan, Jennifer*
Anthierens, Sibyl	Berz, Jonathan	Carney, Patricia
Arora, Zubin*	Best, Jennifer	Carson, Jeffrey
Ashrafioun, Lisham	Beste, Lauren	Carter, Jocelyn*
Assmann, Susan	Bezler, Natalie	Cene, Crystal
Assoumou, Sabrina	Bharmal, Nazleen	Chadha, Jagriti
Athavale, Ambarish	Bian, John*	Chaiyachati, Krisda*
Auriemma, Catherine	Binswanger, Ingrid	Chamberland, Martine
Averbukh, Yelena*	BirruTalabi, Mehret*	Chan, Brian*
Baig, Arshiya	Blosnich, John	Chan, Stephanie*
Banderudrappagari, Rajesh*	Blumenthal, Daniel	Chander, Geetanjali
Bao, Yuhua*	Blumenthal, Kimberly	Chandler, Seth
Baradhi, Krishna	Boccuti, Cristina	Chandra, Ramesh
Barengolts, Elena	Bonifacino, Eliana	Chandrasekhar, Rameela
Barnes, Geoffrey	Bonn-Miller, Marcel	Chang, Evelyn
Barnes, Hilary	Bonner, Jason	Chanprasert, Sirisak
Barnes, Meredith	Bonny, Olivier	Chavez, Augustine
Barry, Declan	Bosworth, Hayden	Chelladurai, Yohalakshmi
Barry, Lisa	Bowen, Deborah	Chen, Elizabeth
Barterian, Linda	Boyd, Andrew	Chen, Jessica*
Barton, Jennifer	Boyle, Raymond	Chen, Melinda
Batal, Holly	Bradley, Elizabeth	Childers, Julie
Bates, Carol	Bradley, Michael	Chou, Ann
Baudendistel, Tom	Breckons, Matthew	Chowdhury, ImranHussain
Baughman, Amy	Brettschneider, Christian	Chuang, Cynthia
Bautista, Christopher*	Broers, Barbara	Chung, Yoonkyung
Beasley, John	Broitman, Marina*	Clark, Amanda
Becker, William*	Brooks, Elizabeth	Cleary, Paul
Beckman, Thomas	Brown, Edward	Cochran, Susan
Beckta, Jason*	Bruti, Christopher*	Cohn, Steven
Beidinger-Burnett, Heidi	Bump, Gregory	Cole, Megan
Conlin, Paul	Earnest, Mark	George, Benjamin
Cook, David	Eid, Shaker	Ghatalia, Pooja
Cordasco, Kristina	Eisenberg, Floyd	Ghosh, Arkadipta
Coronado, Gloria	El-Jawahri, Areej	Gibson, Carri-Ann
Cosco, Dominique	Elias, Thistle	Gionfriddo, Michael*
Croskerry, Pat	Ellaway, Rachel	GiuliiCapponi, Michela
Crouse, Elisa	Elliott, Marc	Glass, Joseph
Cummings-Vaughn, Lenise	Elsheshtawy, Moustafa*	Glowinski, Anne
Cunningham, Amy	Emmerich, Anne	Gnanajothy, Rosana
Cupp, Julia	Eng, Jessica	Gnanaraj, Jerome
Cusack, Caitlin	Etz, Rebecca	Goldstein, Carly
Custers, Eugene	Evans, Elizabeth	Goldstein, Karen
D'amico, Elizabeth	Feinglass, Joe	Goncalves, Ana
Dahn, Jason*	Feng, Bo	Good, Chester
Dalal, Anuj	Fenton, Joshua	Goodman, Francine
Dalton, Jarrod	Fine, Lawrence	Goodman, Kenneth
Daneschvar, Homayoun	Fingerhood, Michael	Gould, Jon
Danis, Marion	Finley, Erin	Goyal, Ravi
Dankner, Nathan	Fischer, Michael	Gray, Kristen
Davis, Elizabeth	Fischer, Shira	Green, Lee
Davis, Michael	Forrow, Lachlan	Grossman, Ellie
DavisGiardina, Traber	Foth, Thomas*	Grotzke, Marissa
Davydow, Dimitry	Fowler, Floyd	Gulati, Swati
Decamp, Matthew	Fralick, Michael	Gunderson, Craig*
Delbanco, Tom	Frank, Maria	Guo, Ling
Dewaay, Deborah	Franklin, Gary	Gupta, Ankit
Dewaters, Ami*	Frasso, Rosemary	Gupta, Arjun
Dezee, Kent	Freiman, J.Morgan	Guy, Michelle
Dhaliwal, Gurpreet	Frogner, Bianca	Haas, Jennifer
Dhruva, Sanket*	Fuld, Jennifer	Hajjar, Joud
Diefenbach, Michael	Furman, Andrew	Halkar, Meghana
Dinardo, Deborah	Gagliardi, Jane	Han, Wencui
Dobrosielski, Devon	Gajendran, Mahesh	Hannah, William
Dobscha, Steven	Gajulapalli, RamaDilip	Hansen, Ryan
Dogra, Anjali	Gamble, VanessaNorthington	Hargraves, Ian
Doshi, Ruchi	Ganiats, Ted	Harrison, James
Douketis, Jim	Ganz, David	Hart, Laura*
Driscoll, Mary	Garcia, Maria	Hartz, Sarah
Du, Yu	Garin, Nicolas	Hartzell, Joshua
Dubé, Tim*	Garla, Vishnu	Hausmann, Leslie
Duda, Nancy	Garrido, Melissa	Heisler, Michele
Dugdale, David	Garrison, Scott	Helms, Rebecca
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
Hsu, Douglas	Kassakian, Steven	Leng, Xiaoyan
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
Hussey, Peter	Kenyon, Nicholas	Linder, Jeffrey
Hwang, Seungyoung	Khawaja, Imran	Linzer, Mark
Ilgen, Mark	Kidd, Jane	List, Justin
Inui, Thomas	Kiefer, Meghan	Liu, Chienying
Isik, Arda	Kimball, Sarah	Liu, Chuan-Fen
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
Marton, James	Nambudiri, Vinod	Penti, Brian
Martsolf, Grant	Nandagopal, Lakshminaraynan	Pereira-Lima, Karina
Mas, MiquelÀ.	Nandiwada, DeepaRani	Perez, Hector
Masi, Christopher	Narayanan, Santhosshi	Permpalung, Nitipong
Matta, SimranKaur	Nebeker, Camille	Perrier, Arnaud
Maust, Donovan	Nelson, Erik	Perry, Cynthia
Mccarthy, John	Nelson, Nick	Petterson, Stephen
Mccurley, Jessica	Neubauer, Brian	Pilla, Scott
Mcfarland, Craig	Neuss, Michael	Pincavage, Amber*
Mcginnis, Kathleen	Newby, Celeste	Plantinga, Laura
Mcleod, Heidi	Newman, Jeff	Pomerantz, Andrew
McmahonJr., Laurence	Ng, ChinTeck	Ponte, Belen
Mcmillan, Sara	Ng, Henry	Poon, Eric
Mcnamara, Megan	Ngov, Likheng	Popova, Lucy
Mcnamara, Peggy	Nguyen, Oanh	Power, Melinda
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
Mittal, Ashok	Pace, Lydia*	Reichard, Amanda
Mohanka, Manish	Page, Cameron	Reid, Rachel
Mohiuddin, Ahmed	Palacio, Ana	Reikes, Andrew
Molina, Yamile	Pandey, Soumya	Renn, Brenna
Montori, Victor	Parasa, Sravanthi	Reuben, David
Morain, Stephanie	Parent, Brendan	Riess, Helen
Moreland, Christopher	Paris, Joel	Riggs, Kevin
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
Rose, Susannah	Sharma, Anjana	Tepper, Miriam
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

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