Pediatrics in review: a hard gap to fill.

Author Disclosure Dr Zenel has disclosed no financial relationships relevant to this commentary. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device. The first issue of Pediatrics in Review was bundled with the journal Pediatrics mailing. The office assistant opened the package, placed Pediatrics gently into the attending physician's inbox on the wall, and tossed Pediatrics in Review surreptitiously onto the coffee table in the reception room where I sat anxiously awaiting the start of the day's routine. The time was July 1979, and this was my first day as a fourth-year medical student about to partake in morning rounds with the most feared infectious disease physician on campus. To distract myself from my developing sense of dread, I picked up the issue with the glossy blue cover, skipped the editorial, and started reading the first article by Dr Carol Baker on something I had never heard of: group B streptococcal disease in neonates. The article was packed with information presented in a way that was easy to read, comprehend, and remember , unlike information in current medical textbooks. I finished the article and soon joined the infectious disease physician and his fellow to see our first patient on the service, a neonate whose blood culture just happened to grow group B Streptococcus. As the fellow presented the case, the attending physician turned toward me and started firing his first volley of intimidating questions. I was prepared; he was surprised; and I was hooked on Pediatrics in Review. Since 1979, Pediatrics in Review has grown in stature and reputation. The journal is listed in the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health main biomedical index (PubMed), has a worldwide readership, and is available in both printed and electronic format. Academic clinicians have advanced their scholarly careers by authoring articles for the journal and by serving on its editorial board. Practicing physicians have improved their care of children throughout the world by reading the journal and also by authoring articles. Through the efforts of two great Editors-in-Chief, Pediatrics in Review is no longer tossed to the side. Instead, learners turn to the journal to obtain practical up-to-date clinical information, insight into clinical reasoning, continuing medical education, means for maintenance of certification, and, my favorite, to answer professional curiosity. In the editorial that I ignored initially , Dr Robert Haggerty, world champion of …