As I pen this final editorial, and reflect on my journey as an editor of this important endoscopy journal, I am filled with a sense of gratitude and pride. One of the important matrices of any national professional society is publishing a journal, with an aim to disseminate knowledge and showcase the work of scientists' across the world, including members of the society.
The foundation of the Journal of Digestive Endoscopy (JDE) was laid down during my tenure as the Secretary of the Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (SGEI) almost 12 years ago, with Dr. Showkat Ali Zargar, who is an exceptional academician, being entrusted with the responsibility of becoming the editor-in-chief. To start a new medical journal was no easy task, but Dr. Zargar could carry on with this arduous task of taking out the issues of the journal regularly, with great proficiency and aplomb. I took over the responsibility of being the editor-in-chief of the JDE, almost 10 years back. I truly consider that this as a great opportunity for me to contribute to the society (SGEI) by propagating academics through this journal.
As an integral part of the journey of this journal for the last several years, I feel that while we took baby steps initially, we have now carved out a significant space for ourselves. With the help of our publishers, we have been able to deliver the issues almost always on time and the quality of printing can match any high-impact international journal. This would not have been possible without the unwavering support of our dedicated editorial board, reviewers, and authors. I would, in particular, place on record the continuing support of Dr. Shivaraj Afzalpurkar who has been involved with the journal for almost 6 years now. Our special issue in 2021 on “COVID and endoscopy” was appropriately timed, well written, and was cited extensively. We have been able to publish position papers of our society on endosonography and also on endoscopy disinfection and training in relevance to our geographical region. The journal is indexed and now has an impact factor albeit modest. We have also recently taken a decision to avoid publishing case reports and have reached a near 50% rejection rate.
The journey has not been without challenges. Foremost has been getting very high-quality original research articles, because of competition posed by the availability of other higher-impact journals. I am sure that with better indexing and higher-impact factor, more and more researchers would submit their work to the JDE. The other challenge has been to get reviewers responding on time with their comments. I fully understand that reviewing an article is time-consuming and has no materialistic reward. We, therefore, need to develop ways to honor the reviewers in order to incentivize them to take out their time for this important work. Recognizing their contribution during annual meetings, which we have started recently, is one such endeavor that might encourage the reviewers.
As I step down from my role as Editor-in-Chief, I am excited about the journal's continued evolution as well as the future of gastrointestinal endoscopy. The field is poised for significant advancements with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics promising to revolutionize both the diagnostic and treatment algorithms. I am delighted to pass the baton to Prof. Surinder Singh Rana who would be the Editor-in-Chief of the journal from the next issue. Prof. Rana is an internationally renowned researcher and a great academician who has also published a number of articles in this field. I have no doubt that under his leadership, the journal will thrive and make even greater contribution to science in the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy. I am thankful to the SGEI for asking me to continue as Editor Emeritus. In this new role, I would be available for suggestions and contribution to the future journey of our journal.
In closing, I thank the SGEI, its office bearers, authors, reviewers, editorial board members, and our publishers for making my journey incredible, and I also wish all the best for any future endeavor.
