Am Fam Physician. 1999;59(10):2693
Near the end of last year, we took a look at some of the improvements AFP had in store for this year. While we're not yet halfway into the year, many of the changes on our list are already old news: graphic refinements in tables and figures, redesigned patient information handouts, a sleek two-page table of contents list, a handy AFP directory page (see page 2687), CME calendars in every issue and expanded reader research, such as the CME quality survey that now appears in every issue (see page 2712).
While we could stop here and pat ourselves on the back, we realize as we enter the first weeks of spring that we're just getting warmed up. With a wish list in one hand and a planner in the other, we're continually preparing new attractions for AFP, and here are some you can expect to see in upcoming months:
Readers who love AFP's patient information handouts but who have asked for convenient groupings of topics will be happy to learn that we'll soon be publishing occasional collections of patient information handouts.
For our readers who can't get enough practical information on procedures, we're planning a series of overviews of procedural techniques.
We'll be introducing a series of articles, coordinated by the American Diabetes Association, on the prevention and treatment of the complications of diabetes—which is also the topic of this year's Annual Clinical Focus.
We're working on a series of interactive online case studies, some of which will tie in directly with AFP articles, for which CME credit will be available. Edited by Mark Zamorski, M.D., from the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, the series will be available through the AAFP Web site.
Our calendar is sprinkled with other important events that we'll keep you updated on: The next medical editing fellow, Amy Weichel, D.O., will begin her year of work on the journal at the first of July, and our annual editors' meeting at the end of July will bring Dr. Weichel and other AFP medical editors together for a two-day session that will shape future policies and content of the journal.
At this year's annual Scientific Assembly in Orlando, September 15–19, we'll be reaching out to readers in a different way: for the first time, we'll be conducting formal interviews to gather feedback from our readers. In case you're wondering, though, we'll still want you to stop in at our booth; we'll be there with written surveys, hoping to capture your thoughts about AFP.
And, if that weren't enough, we'll be returning from Assembly only to pack up our stacks of journals and mountains of files, bid adieu to this old house and move to the new AAFP headquarters. After the dust settles and we're glancing back on a hectic year and looking ahead to the next, we'll be planning for a special celebration, and one we hope you will be as excited about as we are—AFP's 50th anniversary.