A Time of Transition

The first issue of what is now the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy was published in March/April 1948, under the title Bulletin of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists. Its first editor was Perrin C. Statia, a southern Ontario hospital pharmacist who provided all of the content for the first issue. Not only did he write the first editorial, which dealt with the purpose of the publication, but he also wrote one article on isopropyl alcohol in hospitals and another on curare. Since that first issue, the journal has undergone many changes, including a change in title and numerous changes to the front cover. Now, the journal is in the midst of another change, an editorial transition. In August 2005, at the CSHP Annual General Meeting, I announced that I would be resigning as Editor of CJHP and that Mary Ensom would be taking over as Editor following the February 2006 issue. The time has come for these changes to take effect. I’ve enjoyed being the Editor of CJHP and overseeing the content of what is considered a valuable resource for Canadian hospital pharmacists and a terrific CSHP member benefit. In this position I have learned much, not only about scientific writing, but also about the publication industry and the place of society-sponsored, nonprofit journals within that industry. I accepted the position of Editor in 1992 and I’ve witnessed tremendous change over the intervening 14 years, both in the way pharmacists do business and find information and in the operation of the Journal. In 1992, fax was the fastest method of transmitting written communication, but virtually all manuscripts were submitted through the mail. It was not until the late 1990s, with the growth of the Internet, that e-mail became widely available and it became common for manuscripts to be submitted in electronic format. The growth of the Internet also engendered numerous online journals, and there were widespread predictions of the end of hardcopy journals and a future paperless environment. This was perhaps the greatest paradigm shift I had to deal with as Editor. CJHP content was first posted on the Internet in 1999, but the prediction of a paperless environment appears to have been wildly optimistic, and it is clear that a hard copy of CJHP will continue to be published for several years to come. There were many other smaller challenges, and the editorial staff responded to each by modifying the way in which the Journal operated and delivered its content to members. During my tenure as Editor, I was privileged to work with many outstanding pharmacists who served as the Journal’s Associate Editors: Lee Dupuis (since August 1992), Bill Bartle (since April 1995), Mary Ensom (since April 1997), Charlie Bayliff (from August 1992 to December 1998), Jim Tisdale (since August 1999), Linda MacKeigan (from April 1997 to June 2003), Pegi Rappaport (from August 1992 to February 1997), Stephen Shalansky (from August 1995 to December 1999), Raymond Reilly (from June 1993 to February 1995), Glen Brown (since September 2003), Regis Vaillancourt (since September 2003), and Neil MacKinnon (from June 2000 to Autumn 2001). During this period the Associate Editors and myself were expertly assisted in the Ottawa office of CSHP by Brenda Warnes, Angele St-Jules, Katral-Nada Hassan, and Peggy Robinson. My thanks to all of them. In closing, I would like to say that it has been an honour to serve as the Editor of CJHP. I believe that the Journal is strong and have no doubt that it will continue to thrive under the leadership of Mary Ensom. I look back fondly on the past 76 issues and look forward to becoming simply a CSHP member–reader of the Journal and to joining the select group of its former editors: P.C. Statia, Jack L. Summers, Jane B. Gillespie, and Susan Tremblay. I wish continued success to the Journal and its dedicated editorial staff.

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