JAMA Surgery recently announced that its impact factor rose significantly from 5.66 to 7.96. The Impact Factor of 7.96 positions JAMA Surgery as the number 2 ranked surgery journal in the world, second only to Annals of Surgery.
Impact factor is an objective measure of the world’s leading journals, based on articles’ cited references, and is considered a measure of a journal’s overall performance and relevance to its field.
Melina Kibbe, MD, the Zack D. Owens Distinguished Professor and Chair of Surgery at the UNC School of Medicine, is the journal’s Editor-in-Chief. She has been at the helm since January 2015 when the impact factor was 4.30. Such a large increase in the impact factor over such a short period of time is considered a tremendous accomplishment. Kibbe has adopted several initiatives to advance the reputation of the publication, including the introduction of new article types, including biostatisticians on the editorial board, reducing the time from acceptance to online publication, publishing online-only articles, extending the journal’s reach through social media, including podcasts, and introducing a more user-friendly website format. Equally important are the efforts of the editorial team and editorial board members who actively participate to ensure that the highest level of science is being published in the journal.
“Under Dr. Kibbe’s leadership, JAMA Surgery is rapidly becoming one the most influential, respected, and accessible surgery journals in the world today. This development is a reflection of Dr. Kibbe’s commitment to excellence as well as public service and is completely in line with our mission to be a leading global public research University- truly great stuff,” said Bruce Cairns MD, the John Stackhouse Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Director of the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center.
Kibbe credits this impressive accomplishment as a true team effort that reflects the hard work of the authors, peer reviewers, board members, editorial team, and everyone in The JAMA Network who work hard to get this publication out every month. She also thanks to the readers, and importantly Howard Bauchner, MD, the Editor-in-Chief of JAMA and The JAMA Network. “In the two and a half years I have been part of The JAMA Network family, Howard and many others have taught me a lot about publishing and maintaining the highest standards with the science. I will be forever grateful to Howard for this opportunity. I am excited about the future, as the potential is limitless”
JAMA Surgery, which began publication in 1920, is an international peer-reviewed journal. JAMA Surgery is the official publication of the Association of VA Surgeons, the Pacific Coast Surgical Association, and the Surgical Outcomes Club and is a member of The JAMA Network family of journals, which includes JAMA and 11 specialty journals. The missing of JAMA Surgery is ‘to promote the art and science of surgery by publishing relevant peer-reviewed research to assist the surgeon in optimizing patient care’ and to ‘serve as a forum for the discussion of issues pertinent to surgery, such as the education and training of the surgical workforce, quality improvement, and the ethics and economics of health care delivery.