Two Years Gone

See "Why gastroenterologists should be more interested in death," by O'Mahony on page 000. See "Why gastroenterologists should be more interested in death," by O'Mahony on page 000. How time flies. It seems only yesterday that we were writing our first editorial1Moayyedi P. Weinberg D. Gastroenterology: a new editorial team coming to you from around the world.Gastroenterology. 2022; 163: 1-2Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar for Gastroenterology and now 2 years have gone by in a blink of an eye. Mark Twain wrote that "the secret of making progress is to get started." We thought the 2-year milestone was a good opportunity to take stock of early progress, and to let readers know some new developments we have in store. It will surprise no one that we are keen to receive the best gastroenterology and hepatology submissions. After all, the impact of the journal depends most on the quality of the science we publish. However, we are regularly reminded by readers that we do not help our cause by making submission to Gastroenterology unnecessarily demanding. Our low acceptance rate contributes to frustration; most efforts result in limited or no benefit for authors. The process should be easier. Therefore, we are delighted to announce several important changes to our submission policies. First, submission fees will no longer be charged for any original research article. We are grateful to the American Gastroenterological Association leadership for agreeing to this change. Second, we will streamline the submission process. No longer will we require the completion of many webpages of background information with very specific formatting needs. Instead, we will require only a well-organized .pdf of your work, contact information for the corresponding author, and, when relevant, evidence of clinical trial registration. We will reserve the bulk of the submission process for articles that are likely to be accepted, when such bureaucracy is better tolerated! Again, we emphasize our intention to highlight the importance of clinical and translational research in the journal. Fundamental science is still strongly valued, but potential clinical relevance is heavily weighted at the editorial level. The previous layout of the journal where "clinical" and "basic" research was presented separately has been retired, and all original research on any topic, from any perspective must now contain highlighted material showing the relevance of the paper to clinicians and researchers. Although Gastroenterology is the proud flagship journal of the American Gastroenterological Association, our field is an international one, and so are our authors. Making material in the journal more accessible to readers in multiple languages is essential. We are grateful for Francis Chan for supporting this aim in building an agreement with colleagues at the Beijing Friendship Hospital to translate abstracts of selected Gastroenterology articles into Mandarin and post them on Chinese social media. This work has been remarkably successful, allowing key Gastroenterology articles to be seen by a wider audience. For example, the paper on the effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy on the incidence of noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma2Li D. Jiang S.-F. Shah S.C. Corley D.A. Effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy on the incidence of noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma in a large diverse population in the United States.Gastroenterology. 2023; 165: 391-401Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (13) Google Scholar was read approximately 17,000 times within 4 months on platforms such as WeChat. Dr Chan is now looking to use the same approach in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, and we are open to others who may wish to translate abstracts in other languages across the world. We also promised to exploit the opportunities provided by digital multimedia. To that end, we have developed virtual journal clubs where authors of recent Gastroenterology articles present their work in real time to trainees from participating institutions. Gastroenterology and hepatology residents and fellows develop questions for the authors of a recent Gastroenterology article that are relevant for the trainee. The inaugural virtual journal club was held last year on the first large trial of potassium-competitive acid blockers versus proton pump inhibitors in erosive esophagitis in Western populations.3Laine L. DeVault K. Katz P. et al.Vonoprazan versus lansoprazole for healing and maintenance of healing of erosive esophagitis: a randomized trial.Gastroenterology. 2023; 164: 61-71Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (34) Google Scholar You can see and hear Professor Loren Laine presenting to the McMaster Gastrointestinal (GI) resident program on the Gastroenterology website.4https://www.gastrojournal.org/video-do/gastro-journal-club-head-head-ppi-trial-erosive-esophagitisDate accessed: February 23, 2024Google Scholar The library of recorded virtual journal clubs grows every few months. If your training program would like to host a Gastroenterology Virtual Journal Club, please email email protected. In a similar vein, we have also started podcasts on our new section Gastro Grand Rounds. Along with various authors, Drs Sachin Wani and GS Raju lead an interactive, multidisciplinary discussion of challenging cases in GI and hepatology. You can find these audio podcasts on the Gastroenterology website.5https://www.gastrojournal.org/multimedia/audioDate accessed: February 23, 2024Google Scholar As an example, the first featured Lisa Strate and colleagues examining the management of complicated and uncomplicated diverticulitis.6Morris A.M. Fider J.L. Mau B. Strate L.L. Recurrent lower abdominal pain, altered bowel habits, and malaise: conservative or surgical approach to a common disorder.Gastroenterology. 2023; 164: 541-549Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar Gastroenterology was proud to be the first GI journal to specifically appoint an Associate Editor for Diversity Equity and Inclusion.1Moayyedi P. Weinberg D. Gastroenterology: a new editorial team coming to you from around the world.Gastroenterology. 2022; 163: 1-2Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar We are carrying on this tradition of innovation and are now the first GI journal that has patient-partners on the editorial team. Ultimately, gastroenterologists and hepatologists' main job is to serve patients and patient engagement is a growing movement in clinical research. Kate Mason and Megan Marsiglio have been appointed to have a voice in the editorial review of submissions and ensure the material's relevance to patients. They will on occasion contribute to published editorials, emphasizing issues that are important to patients. Finally, these patient partners will also ensure that key clinical research published in Gastroenterology is communicated to patients through social media. Reading a biomedical journal is often a very dry experience. The main reason to read GI journals is to stay abreast of the latest science and to ensure we are up to date so we can best treat our patients. However, we also believe that most GI journals do not publish enough material on topics of general interest to readers. These pieces might be intended to satisfy curiosity, to educate, or on occasion to provoke real discussion. To that end, we want to promote commentaries on topics of general interest that exist for the joy of reading and the opportunity to broaden the mind. Paul had worked with Seamus O'Mahony at the Leeds General Infirmary, UK, when they were both much younger. Seamus has since returned to Ireland and become a celebrated author. He has written thought-provoking books7O'Mahony S. The way we die now. Head of Zeus, London2016Google Scholar related to medical practice that were along the lines we were looking for, so we approached him to see if he would be interested in writing a series of commentaries for Gastroenterology. We were delighted when he agreed. His first commentary on why the GI clinician should be interested in death is in this issue of Gastroenterology.8O'Mahony S. Why gastroenterologists should be more interested in death.Gastroenterology. 2024; 167Google Scholar Future commentaries will touch on such topics as the evolution of humanities in medicine and philosophical musings on research. We hope you enjoy them as much as we have and if you have ideas for other commentaries, please contact email protected; we would be interested in hearing from you. The evolution of biomedical journals will continue. Topics like open access, data sharing, and the responsible communication of credible scientific advances jostle with the economics of publishing, ownership of content and future of print journals in an era of climate change. Gastroenterology is always evolving, and these changes are just one more step in that journey. However, we hope that these changes, and more to come, will make the journal a little friendlier and a little more readable. Why Gastroenterologists Should Be More Interested in DeathGastroenterologyPreviewI am an accidental, even reluctant, thanatologist. When The Way We Die Now1 was published in 2016, many people wondered how I—a gastroenterologist—came to write such a book. After all, this was territory usually occupied (and jealously guarded) by palliative care physicians. The book happened organically, almost by chance. For several years, I had been interested in the ethical aspects of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feeding. I am old enough to recall a time (the late 1980s and early 1990s) when gastroenterologists were expected (at least tacitly) to function as technicians, to carry out the instructions of their colleagues in neurology and gerontology, and not to involve themselves excessively in discussions on the appropriateness (or otherwise) of PEG insertion in individual patients. Full-Text PDF Open Access