We have many journals in dermatology, with many struggling to find and maintain their niches.
New Editor, New Focus at JID
It also seems that many of the best of our journals give their editors a limited tour of duty. This year, the editorship changed at one of the flagship dermatology journals, the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, giving those who produce that journal an opportunity to take a fresh look at what it is, what it does, and who it serves.
How the Pendulum Swings
The JID has been the pre-eminent basic research journal for our specialty. As science has become more detailed and technical, basic research has become more distant and difficult to comprehend to all but the experts. This has distanced the JID from many clinical dermatologists. In an effort to bring dermatologists back to the JID, the Journal has at times been open to clinical research. At times it has it has not.
The pendulum has swung again at the JID. There is strong support for publishing more clinical research and for supplementary short reviews that try to bring science closer to the clinician.
The Challenge: Serving Clinicians and Scientists
Will the JID become more user-friendly, more clinically oriented, and find a niche that attracts clinicians as well as basic scientists? I think it will be a challenge. The JID already has to compete with the best science journals (Cell, Nature, and Biochemistry) for the best science, and it will probably lose to those journals when it comes to publishing breakthrough bench research.
For research with an immediate clinical impact, the JID will have to compete against our great clinical journals, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Archives, and the British Journal of Dermatology, for the best clinical work, and it may lose out there, too.
To Be or Not to Be User-Friendly
Distilling detailed science into readable articles may help attract dermatologists back to the JID. Distilling clinically relevant information is an attractive concept, but it is already going on in more user-friendly publications, such as this one. At Skin & Aging, we understand our niche and focus and will continue to focus our efforts on practical aspects of common conditions in dermatology.
We have many journals in dermatology, with many struggling to find and maintain their niches.
New Editor, New Focus at JID
It also seems that many of the best of our journals give their editors a limited tour of duty. This year, the editorship changed at one of the flagship dermatology journals, the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, giving those who produce that journal an opportunity to take a fresh look at what it is, what it does, and who it serves.
How the Pendulum Swings
The JID has been the pre-eminent basic research journal for our specialty. As science has become more detailed and technical, basic research has become more distant and difficult to comprehend to all but the experts. This has distanced the JID from many clinical dermatologists. In an effort to bring dermatologists back to the JID, the Journal has at times been open to clinical research. At times it has it has not.
The pendulum has swung again at the JID. There is strong support for publishing more clinical research and for supplementary short reviews that try to bring science closer to the clinician.
The Challenge: Serving Clinicians and Scientists
Will the JID become more user-friendly, more clinically oriented, and find a niche that attracts clinicians as well as basic scientists? I think it will be a challenge. The JID already has to compete with the best science journals (Cell, Nature, and Biochemistry) for the best science, and it will probably lose to those journals when it comes to publishing breakthrough bench research.
For research with an immediate clinical impact, the JID will have to compete against our great clinical journals, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Archives, and the British Journal of Dermatology, for the best clinical work, and it may lose out there, too.
To Be or Not to Be User-Friendly
Distilling detailed science into readable articles may help attract dermatologists back to the JID. Distilling clinically relevant information is an attractive concept, but it is already going on in more user-friendly publications, such as this one. At Skin & Aging, we understand our niche and focus and will continue to focus our efforts on practical aspects of common conditions in dermatology.
We have many journals in dermatology, with many struggling to find and maintain their niches.
New Editor, New Focus at JID
It also seems that many of the best of our journals give their editors a limited tour of duty. This year, the editorship changed at one of the flagship dermatology journals, the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, giving those who produce that journal an opportunity to take a fresh look at what it is, what it does, and who it serves.
How the Pendulum Swings
The JID has been the pre-eminent basic research journal for our specialty. As science has become more detailed and technical, basic research has become more distant and difficult to comprehend to all but the experts. This has distanced the JID from many clinical dermatologists. In an effort to bring dermatologists back to the JID, the Journal has at times been open to clinical research. At times it has it has not.
The pendulum has swung again at the JID. There is strong support for publishing more clinical research and for supplementary short reviews that try to bring science closer to the clinician.
The Challenge: Serving Clinicians and Scientists
Will the JID become more user-friendly, more clinically oriented, and find a niche that attracts clinicians as well as basic scientists? I think it will be a challenge. The JID already has to compete with the best science journals (Cell, Nature, and Biochemistry) for the best science, and it will probably lose to those journals when it comes to publishing breakthrough bench research.
For research with an immediate clinical impact, the JID will have to compete against our great clinical journals, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Archives, and the British Journal of Dermatology, for the best clinical work, and it may lose out there, too.
To Be or Not to Be User-Friendly
Distilling detailed science into readable articles may help attract dermatologists back to the JID. Distilling clinically relevant information is an attractive concept, but it is already going on in more user-friendly publications, such as this one. At Skin & Aging, we understand our niche and focus and will continue to focus our efforts on practical aspects of common conditions in dermatology.
