Hans-Joachim Wagner, MD, PhD: 1999 Eyler Editorial Fellow

Questions and Answers for Potential RSNA Editorial Fellows

For whom might the editorial fellowship be of interest?
Radiologists who have an interest in administrative journalistic activities—for example, reviewing scientific manuscripts and serving as Editor of radiological scientific journals—are best suited for the fellowship. The underlying idea is to give interested radiologists a better insight and a better understanding of the editorial process involved in publishing two of the major radiological journals: Radiology and RadioGraphics. Ideally, the candidate already has some experience reviewing scientific and educational manuscripts.
 
However, the editorial fellowship goes far beyond the prospects of reviewing. During the fellowship, the participant will be closely involved in the editorial process of publishing Radiology and RadioGraphics. The 2 weeks spent at the Editorial Office of Radiology and the week spent at the Editorial Office of RadioGraphics will teach the fellow basic principles of reviewing manuscripts, selecting manuscripts for publication, and blending articles together for a particular issue.

The week spent at the RSNA Publications Office is probably the most unexpected and astonishing portion of the fellowship. The copyediting aspect of publication of radiological articles is largely not understood by the authors or by the reviewers. It is most interesting to gain insight in this process and everything else involved to create from accepted manuscripts a printed copy of the journal. The last week of the fellowship spent at the Annual Meeting of the RSNA provides deeper knowledge of the committee work, for example, meeting with members of the editorial board and meeting with the journal reviewers in order to get feedback and new ideas.

In what ways is the editorial fellowship worthwhile for international radiologists?
To the best of my knowledge, there is no comparable journalistic fellowship in Radiology available in other countries. Furthermore, most editors of radiological journals worldwide are not trained for their job. The RSNA Editorial Fellowship is a wonderful and unique opportunity to gain information on medical journal activities on a professional level. This allows future or potential editors of radiological journals to slowly grow into this important and demanding position. The experiences from the editorial fellowship can be transferred to the home country of the fellow. This not only leads to personal benefits, but it improves the journal activities of the country. Especially in this regard, I recommend the fellowship.

Is the editorial fellowship worth spending 4 to 5 weeks away from the home department?
Most definitely. Many possible candidates might fear the rather long time away from the department. However, as stated above, the rewards of the fellowship—which means heavy work, especially at the Radiology Editorial Office—are so manifold and of such a degree that these will probably be some of the most intensive weeks in the life of a radiologist.