Abstract
Dr Vogel’s thoughtful letter 1 is much appreciated and most welcome. He raises several issues critical to the future of Veterinary Pathology, including impact factor and the innate challenge of publishing “a journal with global importance that still provides real value to its supporting members,” the journal’s role in training and continuing education, case reports, expedited publication of select papers, and the importance of reviews and methods papers. The task force appointed by the ACVP Council to prepare a strategic plan for the future of the journal has addressed each of these issues in depth. Our current draft report (as of this writing [August 2012], not yet submitted to the council) contains goals and strategies that we believe will be effective in ensuring that we “publish a journal that makes all of us proud.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!
Dr Vogel makes a critically important observation in noting that ACVP/ECVP/JCVP members have the power to create a “virtuous cycle” by submitting some of their best papers to Veterinary Pathology. There is no doubt the journal must earn the respect required to attract members’ best work, but it is also true that the best possible strategic plan, executed to perfection, will utterly fail without the full support of the members. We pledge to do our best to produce a clear, useful, action-oriented plan for continuous improvement and a journal that “makes us all proud.” We have every confidence that those charged with implementing it will do their utmost. A member-driven “virtuous cycle” will ensure success.
We especially thank Dr Vogel for his idea for papers on recommended methods to correctly and completely evaluate frequently used animal model systems. The task force is well aware of the value of the best practices and position papers in Toxicologic Pathology and the potential value of similar papers for readers of Veterinary Pathology, but we did not hit on the excellent idea provided by Dr Vogel. We’ll make sure his suggestion receives full attention as the task force proceeds toward a final report.
Finally, we again urge all readers to share their thoughts and ideas with us. Although we plan to submit the strategic plan to council in late 2012, it is intended to be a living document—that is, a plan for continuous improvement, flexible and adaptable to our ever-changing world. Thus, your input is and will continue to be essential. Either write a letter to the editor following the instructions on the journal website or send an e-mail with an authentic name and address to comments@acvp.org.