Editorial

Abstract

If you are reading this editorial, you are quickly realizing that the dawn of a new era in information dissemination is upon us. While it is “early in the morning” for the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, the day is already advanced in many other disciplines and for information provision in general. Recognizing that our traditional delivery model was quickly becoming nontraditional/ antiquated, the JAAHA editorial team responded proactively to the changing publishing landscape and readership habits. In conjunction with Highwire Press, we are benefiting from earlier forays into online publishing and are pleased to incorporate these evolving refinements into the online Journal that you now have at your “mousetip.” From easy accessibility, advanced archiving and search functions, to e-mail alert and desktop publishing features, information management has never held such flexibility to address the needs of each and every reader.While this represents an exciting new journey for the Journal and its readership to embark upon, I must bid adieu as my path is following a different direction. While the decision to pass the role of editor on to someone else has been a difficult one, it was a wonderful dilemma to be faced with. On the one hand was the option to continue as JAAHA editor and forge into new territory that promises to bring many more wonderful enhancements as time unfolds. On the other hand was a career opportunity with an emerging pharmaceutical company, also forging new territory in the field of companion animal medicine. While I chose the latter, I will continue to play a part in the Journal in the role of “logged-on” reader.It is with great pleasure that I provide the introduction to JAAHA’s new editor, Dr. Rhea Morgan. For most, no further introduction is necessary, as Dr. Morgan’s high-profile career as a veterinarian, lecturer, author, and editor speaks for itself and has already touched many in the veterinary profession. A diplomate of both the Colleges of Veterinary Internal Medicine and Ophthalmology, Dr. Morgan has played significant roles in both academia and private practice, including Boston’s Angel Memorial Animal Hospital, the University of Tennessee’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and Rowley Memorial Animal Hospital in Springfield, MA. The author of textbooks and many articles in peer-reviewed journals, she most recently held the position of senior editor for an online veterinary information resource network. She has also been honored by state and national veterinary medical associations for her contributions, including receiving the AAHA’s Award for Distinguished Service in 1990. It is an honor for the JAAHA editorial team to welcome her to the fold and a testament to the stature that JAAHA has attained to attract such an accomplished individual.Change is inevitable, and it is not so much the change that generates anxiety for those involved, but how that change is managed. For me, this is simply not an issue, because I take great comfort in the knowledge that I am passing the reins into hands that are far more capable than my own.I will look back on this time and the accomplishments achieved as a definite highlight in my veterinary career. I have been proud to be part of the JAAHA editorial team, a team that was never afraid to “think outside the box” and break new ground; hence living by my personal guiding philosophy, so eloquently summed up by Ralph Waldo Emerson: