Mary H H Ensom
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In January 2015, I announced my intention to step down as Editor of the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (CJHP), effective February 2016, a date that marked the end of my 10th year as Editor and my 20th year on the Editorial Board. It has been a richly rewarding experience to be intimately involved in ensuring that new knowledge is disseminated to other hospital pharmacists, clinicians, educators, and scientists around the world, who can incorporate it into their practices or further build on the work of the Journal’s authors. However, I am keenly aware that leaders, no matter how effective they are, have biases and tendencies. Thus, it is critical for an enterprise as vital as our Journal to periodically change its leadership. Undoubtedly, the new Editor will have preferences, biases, and a leadership style that will mark the new editorial term, but it is time for me to pass the torch.
During my tenure as Editor, I worked with some exceptionally talented and committed Associate Editors, hundreds of authors and peer reviewers, dedicated publication administrators and other CSHP staff members, a copyeditor extraordinaire, and many others who continue to provide invaluable contributions to make the CJHP what it is today. In particular, I am indebted to the Associate Editors, all of whom have contributed their unique perspectives and skills and who have worked tirelessly to enhance the Journal’s quality. Through its successes and challenges, the entire editorial team has inextricably bonded as only those experiencing the fellowship of shared commitment and determination can bond.
Archiving in PubMed Central (since 2009) has helped to greatly expand the Journal’s audience beyond hospital pharmacists so that it now includes clinical scientists, clinical pharmacists, educators, preceptors, hospital pharmacy administrators, and students, not just in Canada but globally. Our Journal is one of a very small cadre of hospital pharmacy journals (n = 8 in the NCBI database within the National Library of Medicine catalogue), only one of which is currently indexed in MEDLINE. Furthermore, the CJHP is unique in its global editorial board and distinctive features such as the Point Counterpoint section, the recently completed Research Primer series, and the recently initiated International Perspectives on Pharmacy Practice series.
In 2014, the CJHP celebrated its 45th anniversary of continuous publication, although its publication history extends back to 1948 when it was published under the title Bulletin of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists. The Editors who preceded me—Perrin C Statia, Jack L Summers, Jane B Gillespie, Susan Tremblay, and Scott E Walker—each helped to pave my way. I am honoured and humbled to pave the way for the new Editor.
I am not just passing the torch to a new Editor, however. There are many forms in which contributions can be made to the Journal and thus to the profession, including Original Research, Review Articles, Innovations in Pharmacy Practice, Case Reports, Point Counterpoint debates, Research Letters, and Correspondence. As such, I am passing my torch to all pharmacists in hospitals and other collaborative health care settings, along with a challenge to continue contributing to the CJHP and sharing insights to advance practice and knowledge.
Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, VOLUME 69, NUMBER 2, March-April 2016