The heartbeats of Academic Medicine : An editor’s reflections on authors and ideas

Like a patient with a serious medical crisis arriving in an emergency department, an article submitted to a journal has a story to tell. Just as a doctor must develop trust with a patient to provide the opportunity for a story to unfold and allow for unexpected twists and turns, an editor of a journal must develop trust to communicate effectively with authors and help them tell their stories. The vital heartbeats of a journal are the ideas that become stories told by authors and are nurtured by reviewers, editors, and staff. As Academic Medicine celebrates its 100-year anniversary, the important stories told by previous authors will continue to resonate like the continued beating of a heart and provide relevance for the current articles that will influence future authors, students, and the health professions education community.