The road less traveled: An Editor's journey

Abstract

This 25th anniversary issue of Emergency Medicine Australasia (EMA) contains a truly outstanding collection of articles set around emergency medicine research, Australasian and international emergency medicine status, the role of journals and journal publishing, and the pedagogy of emergency medicine with the emerging role of Free Open Access Medical education (FOAM) contrasted with the traditional textbook, all set against a historical background describing the evolution of EMA from its inception as a broadsheet in 1989. The authors are internationally renowned and recognised leaders in their fields -a veritable 'who's who' of contemporary emergency medicine. If anaphylaxis is a quintessential emergency medicine presentation, 1 then this issue is the quintessence of just what journals, such as EMA, and their content can offer the practice of our specialty.It is clear that we are all in the midst of a revolution in how we access, store and review information, which is now delivered instantly online to the bedside, ED desk or our home. This has driven dramatic changes in how journals reproduce research and other articles, as some publishers struggle to maintain their very existence in the field of knowledge translation. It is now de rigueur to follow a favourite opinion leader and instantly exchange information via avenues such as Twitter ® , but how this does or even should change how we practise is unclear. Traditionally, changing physician practice has proven extremely difficult and generally requires comprehensive approaches at different levels (doctor, team practice, hospital, wider environment), tailored to specific settings and target groups.

CJEM and the changing landscape of medical education and knowledge translation

“…7 With the rise of social media and online resources, academic journals are increasingly taking an active role in the translation of the research that they publish and have had varying levels of success. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] We believe that CJEM will benefit by embracing these evolving media and resources to become a leader in reader engagement.…”