Scientific Editor: Position Description and Selection Criteria

Purpose

The Scientific Editorial Board comprises a small core group of scientist-clinician-researchers that is committed to helping Pharmacotherapy exert a positive influence on patient drug therapy, contribute to drug therapy knowledge, and produce a scientific publication of the highest scientific rigor and quality.

Scientific Editors' Key Responsibilities

Scientific Editors contribute to Pharmacotherapy in the following ways:

Screen all original research articles and major review articles within the Scientific Editor's field of expertise for impact and scientific rigor. The results of this screening process and the recommendations of the Scientific Editor are communicated to the Editor-in-Chief within 48 hours of receipt of the manuscript. It is anticipated that each Scientific Editor will screen between 20 and 50 manuscripts per year. A simple screening of a manuscript requires between 10 and 30 minutes per manuscript.

Of these screened manuscripts, it is anticipated that many will be rejected (i.e., current rate of rejection is 39%, with 20% being rejected at the screening stage) or reclassified to a less rigorous category (e.g., Brief Reports). Ideally, a SE would manage all papers sent to them for screening and those sent out for review and eventual rejection or publication. However, the actual workload and time commitments that would be necessary for a SE to handle all manuscripts to them are uncertain. For this reason, of the manuscripts that survive the initial screening process, a Scientific Editor will be responsible for the entire editorial control of the paper for a maximum of 20 manuscripts per year. This will entail selection of the reviewers, making the accept/reject judgment on the manuscript based on the comments of the reviewers, detailing revision requirements to the author, and making the final accept/reject decisions on revised manuscripts. The precise flow of manuscripts through the Scientific Editor process is detailed in the "Scientific Editor Manuscript Flow" document adopted at the July, 2000, Scientific Editors' meeting in Boston (see below). It is anticipated that it will require approximately 4 hours per week for a fully trained Scientific Editor to complete all activities associated with this position. It is recognized that the SEs have a life outside of their role as a SE, and that there will be periods of time during the year that the SE will be unavailable, due to vacations, grant preparations, and the like.
Secure at least 2 new articles or one supplement per year. SEs are expected to recruit papers for the journal that are timely research or review topics and/or to recruit papers for special issues of the journal focused in their area of research and/or clinical practice.
Promote the journal at national and international meetings (e.g., attend at least one ACCP meeting every 2 years with participation at the Pharmacotherapy booth as well as representing the journal at specialty meetings in the SE's area of expertise).
Publish at least one review or research paper in Pharmacotherapy every 2 years on a topic in their field of research and/or clinical practice.
Advise editors on policy, direction, scope, and content of the journal. Conference calls and formal meetings of the SEs will be held at least twice a year to coordinate overall SE activities and to make decisions concerning the editorial process used by the journal.
Scientific Editors are expected to be proactive and contribute to Pharmacotherapy regularly. Scientific Editors are empowered to serve as emissaries for the journal at national and international meetings, which includes active pursuit and invitation of appropriate, promising manuscripts and presentations to be submitted for review and publication in Pharmacotherapy. In addition, Scientific Editors are expected to react to requests for assistance from the editors.

Prerequisite Qualifications for Scientific Editors

Scientific Editors should be nationally recognized as prominent researchers; possess an established record of sustained, high-level research; have a keen understanding of the spectrum of contemporary study design and scientific rigor; and be well versed in the issues confronting contemporary pharmacotherapeutics in order to assess the potential impact of a study submitted for publication. Scientific Editors must have a demonstrated record of and a current commitment to time sensitivity, as it relates to performance of manuscript reviews and all of the functions of a Scientific Editor. Because of the intensely clinical nature of Pharmacotherapy, it is highly desirable that Scientific Editors have a strong clinical background. Specific characteristics that will be evaluated in the selection and appointment of Scientific Editors include the following:

Candidates will be active scientists, or they will have a professional record that has been so exemplary that even though they are not actively practicing, their counsel is still sought.
Candidates will possess a significant publication record of peer-reviewed articles. Their publication record will demonstrate a continued and current commitment to peer-reviewed publication.
Candidates will have demonstrated a record of sustained, high-quality service to the journal (e.g., as an author, reviewer, providing counsel, obtaining supplements and articles, writing editorials).
Conflicts of interest will be evaluated on an individual basis. Because the Scientific Editors will be so intimately involved in the primary mission of the journal, significant conflicts of interests, such as membership on any competing journal's Editorial Board or industry affiliations, will eliminate a candidate from consideration.

Appointment and Composition of the Scientific Editorial Board

Nominations for Scientific Editor appointments are derived from a variety of sources including the editors, the current Scientific Editors, the current Editorial Board, and the Pharmacotherapy Board of Directors. Potential candidates for Scientific Editors are invited by the Editor-in-Chief to submit their curriculum vitaes for formal review by the Pharmacotherapy Board of Directors and current Scientific Editors. Recommendations for Scientific Editors are made to the Pharmacotherapy Board of Directors by the Editor-in-Chief at the semi-annual meetings or semi-annual teleconferences. A final list of acceptable appointees is approved by the Board of Directors.

Initial 1-year probationary appointments are then made from this list by the Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with the current Scientific Editors. Candidate Scientific Editors are provided with a 2-day "hands-on" training session (with all expenses covered by Pharmacotherapy) in Boston, which is orchestrated by the Editor-in-Chief and current Scientific Editors to familiarize the candidate Scientific Editors with the entire editorial process, to provide solutions to typically encountered problems and dilemmas, and to apprise them of the host of resources available to them.

The candidate Scientific Editors are appointed to full Scientific Editor status after the successful completion of the 1-year probationary and training period. Scientific Editors are initially appointed for a 3-year term (including the 1-year probationary time). Thereafter, the Pharmacotherapy Board of Directors evaluates the performance and contributions to the journal of each Scientific Editor each year. Appointments may be renewed if recommended by the Pharmacotherapy Board of Directors. Newly arising potential conflicts of interest are considered in making reappointments.

In recognition of the valuable, pivotal, and vitally important role that the Scientific Editors provide for Pharmacotherapy, a stipend of $5,000 per calendar year is provided to each Scientific Editor. It is recognized that this cannot begin to compensate the Scientific Editors for the large amount of time and talent that they expend in this most critical role. Rather, it is a symbol of their importance as the highest appointed scientists of the journal.