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J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2001;121:831-832
© 2001 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery

Editorials

Publications of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery, or "How to be all things to..."

Andrew S. Wechsler, MD

From the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, MCP Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pa.

12/1/114933doi:10.1067/mtc.2001.114933 Address for reprints: Andrew S. Wechsler, MD, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, MCP Hahnemann University, 230 N Broad St, Mail Stop 111, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1192.



From time to time, we receive letters or E-mails in the editorial office with helpful observations about the Journal. Sometimes the Journal is alleged to be "too esoteric, inadequately technical, light on review articles, or lacking in controversy." On any given day, perhaps any one of these comments is accurate. However, can the Journal really do a good job by trying to encompass all of these approaches?

The Journal is an independent publication that is overseen by the council and publication committee of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS). These bodies give the Editor and the Associate Editors broad discretion regarding the style and content of the Journal. As Editor, I wield at every opportunity the particular force that renders the Journal so valuable in our specialty and that accounts for its high impact rating and position in the Science Citation Index, that is, the qualitative, rigorous peer review process that reflects our concern for accuracy, validity, and relevance. If it appears in the Journal, you can "take it to the bank." However, just because a manuscript survives the rigorous review process does not mean that its conclusions or experimental design is without controversy. Frequent editorials highlight the limitations of important studies, place discovery into perspective, and offer alternative interpretations of well-designed, well-implemented studies.

The AATS shows its deep commitment to continuing education by offering a variety of products. Any one publication (including the Journal) is, by itself, incomplete. Several publications, as a package, each with a committed editor and staff, provide the contemporary thoracic surgeon with a wealth of technical information, reviews, and editorial commentary. In addition to the Journal, the AATS identifies the following as its official publications:

Operative Techniques in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
The Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Annual
CT Digest

Of the AATS publications, the Journal is available both in print and online. Operative Techniques, Seminars, and The Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Annual are printed publications. CT Digest (www.CTDigest.com) is an electronic product that provides commentary by acknowledged experts on the most relevant articles in the publications from our specialty, as well as those from critically important related specialties such as cardiology, pulmonary medicine, anesthesiology, basic research, and cardiothoracic epidemiology.

CT Digest is the quickest way to obtain perspective on the most current articles of relevance to our daily practice and knowledge base. Operative Techniques in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery provides detailed, well-illustrated technical approaches to common problems, frequently with contributions by several authors describing different surgical solutions for the same problem. Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery focuses on one important general thoracic topic and one cardiovascular topic each issue with multiple expert review articles. The Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Annual is a collection of important original articles concerning surgery of congenital heart disease, edited and refereed by authorities in the field.

For the future, we hope to expand electronic coverage, with its associated hyperlinking possibilities, to the remaining two publications. Readers will then be able to quickly collect information from technical articles, contemporary basic and clinical scientific papers, topical reviews, and electronic commentary on the topic of their choice.

On its own, the Journal cannot be all things to all people, but the Journal together with the focused publications can. Used in tandem, they become a powerful educational package. The AATS remains committed, through its publications, to providing a body of knowledge that covers all aspects of our specialty.





This Article
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Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
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Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Personal Folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Author home page(s):
Andrew S. Wechsler
Right arrow Permission Requests
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Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wechsler, A. S.
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PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wechsler, A. S.
Related Collections
Right arrow Education

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