ACG Case Reports Journal Continues to Evolve

I am honored to serve as the Editor-in-Chief for the ACG Case Reports Journal for this academic year. This journal was established by the ACG only three short years ago and remains uniquely positioned as the only national GI journal primarily edited and reviewed by gastroenterology fellows. The educational mission of our journal reaches beyond the goal of expanding the understanding of unique cases and novel approaches to challenging clinical questions. The generation of a published case report manuscript involves a team of authors, reviewers, editors, and publication staff. It is my belief that the quality of a manuscript depends equally on all members of that team, and that by working and learning together, everyone benefits and grows. By actively engaging trainees along all steps the process, our journal functions as a workshop for those who hope to develop their skills in writing and reviewing academic manuscripts. I strongly encourage all trainees who would consider submitting a manuscript to also participate as a reviewer or, when solicited, apply to join the editorial team. I also encourage readers and published authors to share the journal with your peers, through academic channels or through social media. ACG recently inaugurated a social media outreach strategy to promote ACG Case Reports Journal articles via Twitter through the hashtag #ACGCRJ. We encourage you to use it when sharing your favorite articles. As part of an open-access journal, our content lends itself to sharing via social media, with vivid images to captivate potential readers. Unlike any other kind of manuscript, a well-written case report can and should succinctly capture the essence of what keeps the practice of medicine fresh and exciting. To honor this spirit of rapid innovation and discovery, this year we hope to compress the time between submission and publication—a daunting challenge at a time in which the number of submissions to our journal continues to grow. We have started the transition from quarterly publication to biweekly publication, and will be publishing a large number of manuscripts over the coming months. We will also work to decrease review and decision times for authors, so that the time between submission and publication is as brief as possible. On behalf of our team of dedicated and outstanding Associate Editors, I hope that our journal will continue to mature into its role as the premier forum for young gastroenterologists and trainees to participate in all steps of …