Scotty Has the Helm

Abstract

While certainly a fan of the original Star Trek series, I would not call myself a “Trekkie” or “Trekker,” but I think the title for this note seems appropriate. You see, this will be my final Editor's Note, as I have decided to step down as Editor-in-Chief for Wilderness & Environmental Medicine at the end of 2010. After 10 years in this role, I have decided that the time has come for me to pursue new endeavors in the waning years of my career—endeavors that will require a substantial amount of time and effort, and will not allow me the time to give the Journal the full focus it deserves. It has been a tremendously rewarding experience working on the Journal and watching it grow in size, quality, and recognition in the scientific community. In my first year as Editor, we received 38 manuscripts for peer review. This number steadily grew, and this past year we received 139. During this time the WEM team has worked diligently on a number of important projects including changes to the look of the Journal (with new cover images appearing since 2003), the move to online manuscript management, and making continuing medical education credits available to readers for 3 articles in each issue. In addition, we have successfully navigated the transition from our former publishing company to Elsevier, and, with that, we are seeing many exciting changes such as the new Journal website and more color images in our articles. Now what of the “Scotty” reference in the title to this note? Well, I am very pleased to announce that the new Editor-in-Chief for WEM will be Dr. Scott McIntosh. (I hope Scott doesn't mind being likened to the no-nonsense, “can-do” engineer of the Starship Enterprise!). Scott has been a long-time supporter of the Wilderness Medical Society and a strong reviewer for WEM in the past. Scott hails from the University of Utah, where he is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Emergency Medical Services and Wilderness Medicine Fellowship. His interests include mountaineering, mountain medicine, and the epidemiology of wilderness injuries in the mountains. Assisting Scott as Associate Editors—new roles for the Journal—will be Dr. Linda Keyes, an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado, who has interests in altitude research, and Dr. Tracy Cushing, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado and recent graduate of the Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital Wilderness Medicine Fellowship. Tracy is interested in high altitude physiology and mountaineering. I am confident that Scott, Linda, and Tracy will bring their creative and editorial talents to bear to continue the growth and development of Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, and further advance its scientific reputation and its service to its readers and the Society. Before I sign off, I'd like to thank our Section Editors and Peer Reviewers for their dedication to the Journal and their hard work in helping me ensure that the manuscripts we published were the best possible. To those who, over the last 10 years, submitted their work to the Journal for consideration, thank you for entrusting to us the fruits of your labor and for your patience with us as we moved through the review and editing process. And finally, and most importantly, I must express my deep and sincere gratitude to our Managing Editor, Jonna Barry, who has been a stabilizing force for the Journal for 11 years. She is truly a foundation on which the current success of WEM has been built. She is tireless in her commitment to the Journal and tenacious in her efforts to make it the best it can be. It has been a true pleasure to work with her, and I will miss, most of all, our regular communications related to the Journal and to life in general. Thank you, Jonna. I am proud to call you “friend”! In closing, to all I say, “live long and prosper!” And, as always, live well, stay active, and be safe!