Dear colleagues,
I am excited to introduce the November issue of The New Gastroenterologist – which is also my first issue as the new Editor in Chief! First, I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to be a part of the only existing publication tailored toward trainees and early-career gastroenterologists. Bryson Katona has done a remarkable job for the last 5 years as the publication’s inaugural EIC, as he has laid a great deal of groundwork and really set the standard going forward. Each issue has been a multifaceted compilation of salient clinical topics paired with brief but high-yield articles to help guide personal and professional growth; I hope to continue to do the same and maintain a high level of interest in our newsletter.
Dr. Vijaya Rao
In this issue, the In Focus article, brought to you by Adeeti Chiplunker and Christina Ha (Cedars Sinai), discusses inpatient management of acute severe ulcerative colitis. It is an excellent review of the diagnostic workup and therapeutic options, and an important one, as therapies are quickly evolving in inflammatory bowel disease. We also have Manol Jovani (Johns Hopkins) help us navigate the daunting world of statistics, specifically focusing on the interpretation of the P value.
For those interested in or already pursuing careers in private practice but would not like to relinquish their research interests, Chris Fourment (Texas Digestive Disease Consultants) provides a series of helpful tips on how to be effective in conducting clinical research endeavors. In the realm of basic science, Melinda Engevik (Baylor College of Medicine) gives an informative breakdown on how to choose a lab that is the right fit for you.
Also in this issue, Sadeea Abbasi (Cedars Sinai) provides an array of tangible ways for gastroenterologists to become involved in health policy advocacy. Byron Cryer (UT Southwestern), Jesus Rivera-Nieves (UCSD), and Celena NuQuay (AGA) describe how the AGA has been promoting workforce diversity in academic gastroenterology via the FORWARD (Fostering Opportunities Resulting in Workforce and Research Diversity) program.
Finally, as the submission deadline for DDW® 2020 approaches, abstract reviewers for the fellow-directed quality improvement (QI) projects from this past year share helpful tips on crafting memorable QI abstracts (Mohammad Bilal, UT-Galveston; Chung Sang Tse, Brown University; Manol Jovani, Johns Hopkins; and Mer Mietzelfeld, AGA).
If you are interested in contributing or have ideas for future TNG topics, please contact me (vijayarao@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu), or Ryan Farrell (rfarrell@gastro.org), managing editor of TNG.
Sincerely,
Vijaya L. Rao, MD
Editor in Chief
Dr. Rao is assistant professor of medicine, University of Chicago, section of gastroenterology, hepatology & nutrition.
