The heartbeats of Academic Medicine: an editor's reflections on authors and ideas

Like a patient with a serious medical crisis arriving in an emergency department, an article submitted to a journal has a story to tell. Just as a doctor must develop trust with a patient to provide the opportunity for a story to unfold and allow for unexpected twists and turns, an editor of a journal must develop trust to communicate effectively with authors and help them tell their stories. The vital heartbeats of a journal are the ideas that become stories told by authors and are nurtured by reviewers, editors, and staff. As Academic Medicine celebrates its 100th anniversary, the important stories told by previous authors will continue to resonate like the continued beating of a heart and provide relevance for the current articles that will influence future authors, students, and the health professions education community.