From the Editor's Desk: New Leadership and a New Look

Ronald G. Amedee

With an awesome sense of pride and responsibility, I assume the role of Editor-in-Chief with this issue of The Ochsner Journal. I wish to thank my predecessors, Editors-in-Chief Emeriti Drs Robert Perrillo, William Pinsky, and David Beck, for their outstanding contributions and success in elevating the Journal to its current level of excellence. Their vision and mine for the future are to have the Journal continue to serve as a critical instrument for driving the aggregate reputation score of the Ochsner Health System. After all, The Ochsner Journal is an outward demonstration to our readers of how we at Ochsner “Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate, and Innovate.”

A new page layout debuts in the summer 2015 issue of The Ochsner Journal. The goal is to bring a fresh, contemporary look to the Journal through a variety of design alterations: (1) an updated font and new spacing/alignment; (2) a dynamic presentation of abstracts and keywords; (3) a clear statement of the article category; and (4) a judicious use of space to present affiliations, corresponding author information, and disclosures.

The Journal's table of contents has also been redesigned for a cleaner appearance. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)/American Board of Medical Specialties Maintenance of Certification (ABMS MOC) competency numbers have been removed from the table of contents, and the fonts and spacing have been updated. The ACGME/ABMS MOC competencies are still listed after each article, and to further enhance the teaching value of the Journal, we have added detailed descriptions of each competency on the reverse of this page.

Finally, in the not too distant future, look for an updated cover design.

This issue contains a diverse and interesting selection of contributions involving general medical topics. Highlights include an original research article that reports the results of a survey on surgical safety from the patient's perspective, a literature review on clinical comparative effectiveness research, and a case report that details the preservation of a forearm loop arteriovenous graft via the development of a median cubital venous collateral.

We are diligently working to expand the number of external reviewers to handle future Journal submissions, and changes to the composition of the editorial board are likely to follow. I wish to thank the editorial board, our reviewers, and all our contributors for their collective efforts that serve to enhance the overall quality of The Ochsner Journal. A debt of gratitude must also be expressed to the outstanding editorial staff who work so hard to produce and support each issue.