Staying current with practice and research trends not only helps us to be better at what we do but also helps the profession. Thus, one of the goals for the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) is to reach as many people in the profession as possible. This particular issue welcomes a new group of subscribers to our readership. The American Chiropractic Association has arranged for its members to receive the JMPT (either free or at a discount depending on membership category) as a membership benefit. In addition, the American Chiropractic Association now recognizes the JMPT as its scientific peer-reviewed journal.
The JMPT will continue to remain independent and free from political influences. The National University of Health Sciences, owner of the journal, upholds the journal's compliance with the high standards of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org) and World Association of Medical Editors (www.wame.org) guidelines, which expressly support editorial freedom and best publication practices. We will continue to strive to provide the best scientific information that impacts practice and future research. However, for us to do this successfully, it is up to the readership to participate by reading the contents.
Making the time to read information, which would best serve our patients or impact future research, is not easy. However, staying abreast of what is happening in our field is an important part of what we do to sustain ourselves and impact our future. It has been suggested that our profession is at a crossroads.1 Each of us has the opportunity to make a difference on which direction our profession takes.
As a child, I would watch my father return home from working at the hospital, pick from his stack of specialty journals, and read. Reading was part of his expectation of being a professional. He was not a researcher, but a practitioner, and yet even after a long day at work, he still found the time to read his journals. Unfortunately, many in practice have not been formally trained how to read scientific journals. During preclinical or clinical training, many of us were not acculturated with how to make consuming research a normal part of our lives. Therefore, we must make a choice to implement reading into our regular routines.
Many would agree that reading provides a variety of benefits. However, there may be others who find no value in reading. Some may have the misconception that we only need science to prove that “chiropractic works” or that journals should be accessed only when one needs them for evidence of the efficacy of chiropractic.2 And, there may be others who think that reading intellectually challenging journal articles may dilute our thinking processes, undermine our enthusiasm, damage our practice management strategies, or harm the profession. Although I do not have a double-blind controlled trial to support the counter argument to these statements, I suggest that regularly reading scientific journals will have a positive impact on the profession, strengthen future research, and ultimately improve patient care. However, to accomplish these, each of us needs to create the time to read sound scientific material and do so with an analytical eye.
To support our readers to include reading as part of their regular routine, we provide several easy ways to access the JMPT. In addition to receiving the print copy of the journal, JMPT subscribers have online access to all online back issues. Go to www.mosby.com/jmpt, and you can search a topic of interest or author or browse the back issues. The pdf file function allows you the option to view articles on the computer as they are found in the print journal. You may print these articles and take them with you, perhaps to read during breaks.
In addition, the JMPT provides a free table of contents service to anyone who wishes to sign up (www.mosby.com/jmpt). As soon as the latest JMPT issue is published, the table of contents will be sent to the e-mail of your choice so that you may select which articles you wish to read. This free service provides a friendly reminder that it is time to catch up on reading the latest in chiropractic research.
Making the time to read has both personal and professionwide impact and is one of our professional duties. Whether you choose to dip your toe in the water by reading only the titles, wade in by skimming the abstracts, or dive in by reading the journal from front to back, I welcome all readers to join us in making reading the scientific literature a part of our professional lives.
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