Abstract
As we pause to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) and the 43rd anniversary of the journal, this quote by Ziglar 1 seems appropriate: “The past is your lesson. The present is your gift. The future is your motivation.” This collaborative look back to the beginning of our Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography has been an insightful project and motivational for the authors/editors of this journal.
Our Lesson
Joan Baker 2 provided the historical impetus for the early society to develop a scientific journal: “An original misconception concerning diagnostic ultrasound was that only physicians had the knowledge to perform ultrasound examinations. From the beginning, however, sonographers had not only been performing the scanning procedures but also were doing the research as well. Sonographers began to demand credit for their work. Articles published at the time rarely included the names of the sonographers as coauthors or even mentioned them in acknowledgments. When sonographers actually wrote papers, they were usually listed as second or third authors.” It was for this reason the American Society of Ultrasound Technical Specialists (ASUTS), precursor to the SDMS, developed their own journal. The ASUTS had the vision that a journal that highlighted sonographer’s contributions would not only provide them with a forum for their work but also push the scientific development of the field. In Focus on the Future, Baker 3 provides historical context: “The ASUTS established the journal, Medical Ultrasound, in 1976 as their official journal, putting an end to the need to find a physician to be named as first author.” Dr. Mimi Berman-Sandler was selected to be the first Editor-in-Chief of Medical Ultrasound and as editor had the daunting task of recruiting authors.
Dr. Berman-Sandler: “When the journal started, as Medical Ultrasound, the field was in its infancy. In fact, when I told people I was a sonographer, they would ask how many words a minute I could record. We have advanced to the point that probably every person in the United States experiences at least one ultrasound exam in his/her lifetime.” Working to produce the first issue of Medical Ultrasound, in August 1976, yielded a lead article by Sonia Chang, MD, in addition to four abstracts and two review articles authored by sonographers. 3 This issue of seven education offerings was the pace setter for several years to come. Dr. Berman-Sandler: “Getting good articles was really like ‘pulling teeth.’ In those days, few sonographers had graduated from bachelor’s degree programs, let alone with advanced degrees. They were not prepared to record their clinical experiences, do research, or share their opinions. It was not unusual to have half the articles be from physicians, with or without sonographers as coauthors. Once educational programs began emphasizing the importance of making the effort to share knowledge, especially through mechanisms such as the Sample Award, it became a little easier to obtain good material.”
In 1985, the SDMS realized that they did not own the copyright to their own scientific journal. When the publisher’s contract ended with John Wiley, Nici Leibovitz (seventh SDMS president) negotiated a new contract that allowed the SDMS to own their own journal and be published by J. B. Lippincott. 3 The first issue of the new journal was published in January–February 1985 with Dr. Berman-Sandler, continuing as the Editor-in-Chief.
Dr. Berman-Sandler: “You may not know that the journal’s title was changed to the Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography because it more accurately represented the role of our profession.”
One of the most seminal articles published in JDMS was the research provided by Terry J. DuBose, MS, RDMS. Terry’s original research manuscript, in 1985, described his programming of 55 lines of code and three resulting graphs for his analytical software called BASIC BABY. This is considered the first software developed that could graph the multiple measures of fetal growth and predict fetal age/size.4,5 Without question, the first Gottesfeld Award was given to honor Terry’s work that appeared in the July–August 1985 issue. 3 The prestigious Gottesfeld Award is presented annually and is named for Dr. Kenneth Gottesfeld, who was an obstetrician and gynecologist from Denver, Colorado. 3
Our current publisher, Sage Publications, became the publisher of JDMS in January/February 2001, which represented the next publication change from J. B. Lippincott after 16 years.
Our Gift
JDMS continues to be an important outlet for sonographers and sonologists to share their work, and as such, we provide consistent contributions—original research, literature reviews, case studies, and symposia. The journal is an important vehicle for highlighting the work of sonographers and underscoring important professional issues.
Dr. Berman-Sandler: “A professional journal is a key ingredient of a dynamic profession.”
Our journal not only has a rich history but also continues to provide important information to our colleagues around the world. The best way to transmit the work of our authors is by citing their work. Citations and downloads of JDMS articles demonstrate the importance of our work and help to disseminate this valuable information. Richard Taylor, 6 EdD, RDCS, authored one of our most cited JDMS articles on the proper use of correlation coefficients. Dr. Taylor’s article has been cited over 1240 times and downloaded over 10,270 times. This demonstrates the power/gift of publishing JDMS and the value that it has in our professional community. Currently, there is excitement about the original research that Joy Guthrie, 7 PhD, ACS, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, has published on the inclusion of subdiaphragmatic vessels in the evaluation of hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus in premature infants. Dr. Guthrie’s article was recently published and already has been downloaded over 400 times! In addition, JDMS continues to publish seminal articles on the problem of work-related musculoskeletal injuries that plague sonographers and sonologists.
Our Future
The past three publication years have seen a resurgence in original research published and a subsequent jump in citation rates and indexing.
Dr. Evans: “During my first term as the editor, we really pushed to get more scientific content produced by sonographers and as a result JDMS has an h5 index of 6.0 and a Scopus index of 0.13. These small steps forward and increasing our content offerings per issue demonstrate the health and vitality of our journal.”
Dr. Berman-Sandler: “I admire the success of JDMS and the ongoing commitment to publishing an interesting and informative journal.”
Citations and indexing are more traditional methods for measuring impact, but alternative metrics, or “altmetrics,” have been proposed. These types of metrics broaden our traditional understanding of using references in a scientific paper. One example provided was how often a paper is downloaded, how an outcome of a clinical trial is used to develop a diagnostic guideline, or if an article is included in course curriculum. 8 The use of altmetrics presents a very exciting new way to measure scientific impact. 8
Future growth is anticipated for JDMS as it continues to publish articles in print and through the OnlineFirst platform. The editors and staff are evaluating ways to make it easier to read articles on handheld devices. We want our content to be immediate and impactful for our members and the community.
The events that began with the creation of Medical Ultrasound and leading to the current Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography represent a rich heritage and are the building blocks for even more impact for the profession. Happy Anniversary SDMS and JDMS!