Challenges to grow!

Editorial

Today is a result of yesterday and will be an example for tomorrow. Taking over as the editor-in-chief for the Journal of the Brazilian College of Surgeons, I must first highlight the work of the previous editors, but in particular, I should acknowledge all the College leaders who have supported them. It has been their aim to have the journal as the voice of science and education, not only in Brazil but also in the world, especially in the Portuguese speaking countries. Looking towards the future, I am sure of the challenges and responsibilities I have been given by the board of directors, whom I thank for having trusted me with this task, and I hope I will fulfill their goals.

The current economic crisis, in the country, tremendously impacts the production of science and education with quality, which further interferes in the scientific literature. Therefore, I foresee significant challenges ahead. However, my perception of life is of constant challenge, which is undoubtly a characteristic of those who choose Surgery as a profession, independently of sex. Thus, this will be one more challenge to be faced by someone who, long ago, chose to follow the steps of a then known man’s profession.

The Journal of the Brazilian College of Surgeons was early born, after the foundation of the College, in 1929, as its first bylaw foresaw the publication of the “Bulletin of the Brazilian College of Surgeon”, which indeed happened in 1930 ¹. However, it was only in 1967, that it was named as it is now known but with no periodic publishing. It was only in 1974 that it became bimonthly published. Throughout these years, various editors-in-chief have endeavored several efforts aiming at its indexation on national data basis as well as international, adopting free access to its content, more recently. This democratic principle for knowledge diffusion, in a country where research is seldom funded, it is not without costs to the authors. On the other hand, this practice has been adopted worldwide by many major international journals. However, in most first world countries, research is supported by various funding agencies, which contemplate publication fees in the grants. This situation might be one of the first challenges to address: to find ways of guaranteeing the democratic principle of free publication without laying the burden on the authors. Tough task, but we will endeavor all potential ways that will lead to democracy to all. The latter will require different initiatives that will rely on the relevance of the scientific content of the journal, as well as its clinical applicability. These are the mottos to attract attention and interest!

The number of physicians in Brazil has exponentially raised, considering that between 1920 and 2017, the total number of registries increased from 14,031 to 451,777 (a growth of 2,219.8%), in a country where the number of inhabitants rose by 577.8%. It means that the number of physicians was 3.7 times higher than the increase in the population. It is essential to highlight that the number of doctors rose, in particular, after the beginning of the current century, which means there is a predominance of young professionals, and in Surgery, it could be no different. ². There are currently thirty-five thousand general surgeons in Brazil, whose ages range from 30 to 49 years old ³, and for whom our journal means free information and knowledge, especially when considering the geographic and economic limitations of the country. Nonetheless, we aim more, and since the journal is bilingual, we may reach other professionals in the world, in particular, if the scientific content impact in their clinical practice.

Brazilian Medicine and Surgery have considerably evolved and have followed international advances. In Surgery, robotic and minimally invasive procedures, together with multimodal practices on the importance of the adequate metabolic and nutrition care of the patients, have placed the Brazilian surgeon at the same level of the first world professionals. However, despite this reality, the Brazilian doctors have not translated this into the habit of practicing science and publishing it, with the same determination and quality.

One might question if there is a need for the publication of national journals, in particular, when there are currently 20 million papers published in Pubmed, of which one million are clinical trials, and almost two million are review manuscripts ⁴. However, particularities and experiences of Brazilian doctors, despite the financial, logistic, and scientific challenges, are undoubtely valuable to the clinical practice in the country, but not only. Nonetheless, it is crucial that adequate methods and statistical analysis be carried out. Thus, it is important to stimulate the doctors to carry out research and publish it, especially in areas that do not rely on large funding support, such as topics related to quality and safety, which are further highly relevant to good surgical practices.

The relevancy of the correct scientific method, contrary to what is practiced by many as - let’s do a “trabalhinho” (the suffix “inho” together with the word “trabalho = research work”, in the Portuguese language, means little research) should not be the tone. Thus, one of the goals will be to cover in the editor’s column topics regarding the scientific method. Moreover, we will require the collaboration of many national and international colleagues, who, by always respecting the ethical principles (which will also be an important topic discussed by the journal), will help us. There is a world to be unveiled!

We will need the collaboration of many colleagues, in particular, of those in the editorial board and invited as ad hoc, who among the many daily obligations will dedicate part of their time to review assigned manuscripts, and whom beforehand, I acknowledge and thank them!

“Reality is nor at the beginning neither at the end; it is shown to us in the middle of the crossing” (João Guimarães Rosa - The Devil to Pay in the Backlands)

Referências

• ¹
  A arte e a técnica da cirurgia no Brasil - A história da maior entidade científica da América Latina Rio de Janeiro Libertta; 2018/2019 [Available from: file:///C:/Users/isabe/Downloads/Revista%20Histo%C3%8C%20rica%2090%20Anos-compactado.pdf
  » file:///C:/Users/isabe/Downloads/Revista%20Histo%C3%8C%20rica%2090%20Anos-compactado.pdf
• ²
  Medicina CFd. Brasil chega a quase meio milhão de médicos, com cada vez mais mulheres e jovens entre os profissionais [Web page]. 2018 [Available from: http://portal.cfm.org.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27500%3A2018-03-19-19-09-56&catid=3%3Aportal&Itemid=1.
  » http://portal.cfm.org.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27500%3A2018-03-19-19-09-56&catid=3%3Aportal&Itemid=1.
• ³
  http://www.myendnoteweb.com/EndNoteWeb.html?func=remoteSearchConnections& [
  » http://www.myendnoteweb.com/EndNoteWeb.html?func=remoteSearchConnections&
• ⁴
  Ioannidis JP. The Mass Production of Redundant, Misleading, and Conflicted Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses. Milbank Q. 2016;94(3):485-514.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  27 Mar 2020
• Date of issue
  2020