JAMA Fishbein Fellowship Offers Deep Dive Into Medical Editing

Abstract

Physicians who want to learn more about life as a medical editor have an unusual opportunity thanks to the Morris Fishbein Fellowship in Medical Editing1 offered by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). This fellowship, which has been offered annually since 1977, was designed to introduce physicians to all facets of editing and publishing a major medical journal. In this interview, two former fellows describe the experience and how it changed their careers. Former Fishbein fellows Kristin Walter and Christopher Muth joined Kelly Lenox, from Environmental Health Perspectives, to discuss the fellowship. Walter was the 2020–2021 Fishbein fellow and is now a Senior Editor at JAMA. Muth, who is a Deputy Editor at JAMA and director of the Fishbein Fellowship program, was a Fishbein fellow in 2016–2017. Their responses have been edited for flow. Science Editor (SE): What drew you to apply to this program, which aims to teach physicians “the highest standards of medical-science evaluation and writing”? Christopher Muth: While practicing as a general neurologist, I became interested in the Fishbein Fellowship to see if I could unite my interest in the liberal arts and strong attention to detail with my scientific training. The content of the scientific research is important, but there’s also the piece of how clinicians are understanding and applying it. I was curious to learn how editors can help in the process of stating research findings in a clear and accurate way so those findings can be useful to the community at large. […]