Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons Medknow Publications on behalf of the Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons ISSN: 0971-9261 EISSN: 1998-3891 Vol. 10, Num. 1, 2005, pp. 8-8

Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons, Vol. 10, No. 1, January-March, 2005, pp. 8

Editorial

JIAPS: Future projections

Upadhyaya Purushottam

Editorial Consultant, JIAPS

Correspondence Address:Editorial Consultant, JIAPS

Code Number: ip05002

I feel honored to have been asked to write this editorial for the first issue of the Journal after the change of editorship. To begin with, I would like to express our gratitude to Subir Chatterjee, the outgoing editor-in-chief, who not only founded the Journal, but also nurtured its growth over the past ten years in the face of multitude of difficulties. We greatly admire him for the courage he showed in sustaining the national identity of the JIAPS by refusing to merge it with journals published in the West. It is in deed reassuring to know that his guidance and counsel would remain available to us as Emeritus Editor-in-Chief.

The Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons has taken a judicious decision in designating Prof. Devendra K. Gupta as the new Editor-in-chief of JIAPS. I have known Devendra for more than 25 years, since the time he joined us for training in pediatric surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Currently he holds the chair of Professor and Head of the Department at AIIMS. He has published a large number of scientific/research papers and contributed chapters to textbooks. He has also edited a widely- read Textbook of Neonatal Surgery . This wealth of experience in publishing would be a great asset to him in his work. Furthermore, he has a penchant for excellence and an untiring energy for achieving his goal. I feel confident the Journal will make speedy progress under his leadership.

It is my sincere belief that JIAPS should not be taken as merely another source of publishing papers. The aim of the Journal should be to serve as a forum for communication, not only of the work done by us, but also for expressing the views of fellow members. We need our own journal because the quality and content of pediatric surgery as practiced in India are different from the West. We need to forget for the time being our obsession with Index Medicus and work for making our Journal an index of professional brotherhood transcending all political barriers. It should become a bridge for coming together for a common cause of elevating the standard of our specialty. For this, the JIAPS should open a wide front of activity. In addition to printing scientific papers, it should publish Review articles, Book reviews, Personal views, Controversies and comments on the training in pediatric surgery, Current concepts on Medical education and Medical ethics, Letters to the editor, Reports on seminars and conferences, Information about the growth and current status of our training centers, Open letters to health administrators and organizations like the MCI and so on. It should invite suggestions from members for promoting research and for improving the quality of patient care in our training centers. It has been rightly said that the days of authoritarian journals with the attitude "The editor and the editorial board know best" are surely gone.

I hope the Journal will not only continue the good work of publishing papers, but also become a potent vehicle for carrying out the much-needed overall improvement in the standard of Pediatric Surgery in India.

Copyright 2005 - Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons