Early stages of Clinical Nutrition

Abstract

The creation of an official ESPEN journal was one of the functions which those who established the Society recognised as of prime importance from the beginning, and consequently this was written into the Constitution. Although clearly recognised as a vital means of communication between members, it would also support the other important functions of the Society, most particularly providing the forum for presenting scientific work of high standard related to the developing investigative field of the metabolic consequence of acute trauma and disease and its management. It could also be foreseen as having a significant role in developing the future educational role which ESPEN would acquire with time. During the year 1980 a group [Ron Clark (Sheffield), Rob Wesdorp (Maastricht) and Ad Grunert (Ulm)], was asked to look at the feasibility of publishing a journal on behalf of the Society. Although most countries in Europe had one or more major journals devoted to nutrition, none covered the subjects on which ESPEN was based, so that a good case could be made for another journal, on this occasion with a European base. The decision was quickly reached that the Society’s journal should be published in English, the official language of the Society, that in the early stages the Editor should be based in the UK, and that the publisher need not necessarily be from the UK, but of course it would make for easy communication if both the Editor’s and publishers’ offices were based in the UK. Discussions with publishers were hampered by the fact that ESPEN had only just been established and was therefore relatively unknown, had a small membership list and was devoted to a subject which had yet to achieve full recognition as being worthy of study in its own right. We had plenty of enthusiasm but were light on things such as a substantial mailing list backed by solid subscriptions on which to formulate plans of a commercial nature with publishers who had experienced this type of behaviour from others in the past. In fact, we eventually had to admit that we were trying to learn to walk and to run at the same time. A number of publishers were approached in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, a process which took some time, so other different options had to be considered, amongst which was the possibility of publishing jointly with a kindred Society who already had an established publication. The logistic advantages to ESPEN were obvious but there were equally obvious legal and financial hazards. Informal approaches were made to the secretariat of the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, but ASPEN had recently gone through a substantial restructuring and had also just changed the editor of their journal, JPEN, consequently any other major change was unlikely. The independent European option, therefore, seemed the most feasible and a number of publishing houses were approached. Eventually, Churchill Livingstone was chosen as publisher and Clinical Nutrition selected as the title for the journal. Selecting an Editor presented much the same degree of difficulty as choosing a publisher, and eventually Ron Clark agreed to take on the role of editor for 1 year in the first instance, in an effort to get the project off the ground. Financial security remained the principal concern for both ESPEN and the publisher during the initial stages. To keep costs to a minimum, it was agreed to produce the journal using a camera-ready printing technique which meant that every page incorporating text and illustration had to be complete before leaving the editor’s office. Four issues were produced in the first year and continuity of publication assured. The editorship changed hands at the end of the first year when additional commitments elsewhere compelled Ron Clark to relinquish the post and Frank Woods became his successor. The fact that sufficient work was being submitted for publication to ensure continued publication induced Churchill Livingstone to agree the adoption of conventional printing methods for all future issues of Clinical Nutrition. In 1988 Simon Allison was appointed editor-in-chief, a task which he continued for 6 years. During his editorship the circulation grew gradually, as did the number of papers submitted, although frustratingly he was not successful in getting the journal into Index Medicus. This handicapped the journal in terms of its circulation and the number and quality of the papers submitted. Dr Marinos Elia took over as editor in 1994, and his distinction in the field contributed to a growing quality in the journal. ARTICLE IN PRESS