''During my recent tenure as editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, I presided over 425 weekly issues of the Journal. I made countless decisions about which manuscripts to accept, which to reject, and which to revise. I edited manuscripts, sometimes extensively. With a staff of outstanding dedication and excellence, I introduced multiple new clinical features and initiated series of articles on many topics, including quality of care, delivery of health care, and the techniques of molecular medicine. I added enriching graphics, redesigned the Journal’s format, introduced one of the first medical journal websites, and wrote more than 60 editorials,'' Dr. Jerome P. Kassirer writes of his duties as a medical editor for the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Of course, medical editors don’t only sit at desks reading manuscript after manuscript. They must also consider the mediums of electronic publishing and other sources of information and their effects on the journal in question; discuss with journalists the papers they are publishing; and creatively select papers that readers both want and need, keeping an eye out for the social, economic, and medical events that are influencing medicine.
''Even though a career path to medical editing is rather nebulous, I would encourage medical students who aspire to spend part of their career as a medical editor. A medical journal is a special part of the world of medicine. The reports of original research are a fundamental underpinning of most journals. Research projects are simply not complete unless the work has been subjected to evaluation by a researcher’s peers, published in a journal, and exposed to criticism by the medical community,'' Kassirer writes.
Medical editors are needed not only at medical journals but also at healthcare advertising and medical education companies to fact check manuscripts for accuracy. Such positions do not require an MD degree, only a BA or BS degree in a science or health-related field, a vast knowledge of the American Medical Association’s style, excellent word processing and organizational skills, and an ability to interpret articles in medical and scientific literature. That said, a master’s degree, PhD, PharmD, or MD is seen as more desirable to employers and is more likely to land you a more prestigious position.
''Few people will make their entire careers in medical editing, but many will spend years at it. If you have a creative spark and a love of language, if you derive pleasure from helping others improve their work, if you think that you can help inform the discussions about the future of medicine, and if you have a thick skin, an editor’s job is worth contemplating,'' Kassirer writes.
