Volume 193 - Issue 11
For the editor’s eyes only: quotes from MJA contributors in 2010
Author: Ann T Gregory
Med J Aust 2010; 193 (11): 685. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb04104.x
Published online: 6 December 2010
Published online: 6 December 2010
Did you know that when a manuscript is sent out for peer review, experts may elect to provide comments for the editor’s eyes only? Although we have sometimes shaken our heads in frustration when advice given to the editor (“Do not publish!”) does not match that offered to the authors (“A promising report, indeed ...”), thankfully, more often than not, the content is fairly congruent and includes further information that enlightens, entertains or otherwise stimulates us. We feel particularly privileged when contributors share their personal stories.
Once again, at Christmas, we’d like to share a few comments that caught our eye this year. From the more sobering to the humorous, we hope you’ll find something thought-provoking among the batch provided.
A doctors’ health journal?
We all may know that many doctors do not have their own general practitioner. Members of the Journal’s Content Review Committee meet on a monthly basis to discuss, among other things, the most recent issues of the Journal. During one meeting, a participant commented:
Public stations
From various submissions, apologies and requests for extensions, we are aware that several of our very valued contributors required medical attention this year. One expert shared this timely experience that was relevant to reviewing a paper related to the practice of medicine:
On location
“I see you [the MJA] are in Clarence Street [in Sydney]. My parents bought me a bike there for my 17th birthday (1986) and I am ashamed to admit that I still ride it, although it has largely retired (2005), to ride down to check the surf on summer holidays.”
Editor’s note: We think this was probably Clarence St Cyclery, founded in 1975.
Quality publishing
“I’ve written more than I usually do to the authors in the hope this places a bomb under them to write something that is more worthy of the MJA. As it stands, their current version could make it in the Women’s Weekly or page 3 of the Sun. (Probably showing my age with that last line — I guess the Sun doesn’t do Page 3 anymore. Not that I ever looked at Page 3, I only know this from what [name of esteemed professor] tells me ...).”
The essential ingredient
“I’m wondering whether you’ve had the time (or the inclination) to watch a new reality [cooking] show ... I came across a re-run yesterday when the cricket match was boring me to tears ... For the starter course, they [an amateur chef team] served a risotto of lobster with vanilla and truffle ... You will note [from the website transcript] that no truffles are listed on the [ingredients]. In its place is truffle oil ... I thought the quote of the show was, ‘Where were the truffles?’ ... Well, this in a nutshell, is what’s wrong with [this manuscript]. Where were the truffles?”
The MJA looks forward to receiving more of your “truffles”, be they formal or informal, next year and beyond.