Celebrating 50 years

5 0 years ago, what would soon evolve to become the profession of respiratory therapy emerged as the Canadian Society of Inhalation Therapy Technicians. One year following the inception of the Society, Canadian Inhalation Therapy published its first issue. From the outset of the profession, research, evaluation and knowledge translation have been fundamental to advancing our understanding of respiratory therapy and improving the care that we provide to our patients. Today, we continue to work toward these same goals of advancing a global understanding of effective clinical interventions and ways of improving care for patients with respiratory diseases. Looking back, we have pioneered and cultivated innovative ideas, research and commentary that have led to meaningful improvements in how respiratory therapists work and how respiratory therapy departments integrate themselves into the Canadian health care system. There are many achievements that we should be proud of, and these achievements should propel us to continue to pursue the highest standards of biomedical research and innovation and the sharing of important ideas. Our work is far from over. There are a growing number of respiratory therapists pursuing advanced degrees and research opportunities and, most importantly, there is a growing population of respiratory therapists who are asking important questions of the things that we do, the ways in which we do them and the contexts in which we operate. The role of the Journal is to provide space for each of the areas to be explored rigorously and systematically, offering new ideas and new findings to a community of clinicians and inquisitive minds. In many ways, the role of the Journal is to disrupt the status quo. Tackling such broad topics necessarily requires an editorial team that is open to new ideas, yet focused on quality ; one that is generous in their editorial insight, yet protective of the integrity of the research that we publish. Most practically, the Journal exists because of the efforts of the authors who conduct important work and submit their findings or their commentaries for publication. Without this commitment, not only would the Journal cease to exist, but so too would the advancement of the profession and important developments in the provision of safe, competent and effective respiratory care. The Journal that exists today is the culmination of all of these things. The efforts of the profession as a whole, the editorial board as a team, and the individual authors …