POLISH ANNALS OF MEDICINE GOES WORLDWIDE

   Polish Annals of Medicine published by the Warmia and Mazury Medical Chamber in Olsztyn, with the cooperation of the Polish Medical Association, and under the scientific patronage of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, by the decision of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of June 21, 2010, was granted 6 points in the Ministerial journal value rating scale (previously points granted by the State Committee for Scientific Research). Earlier, i.e. on March 4, 2010, it received 4.05 points as measured by Index Copernicus Value, which foreshadowed the success in the ministerial rating.
   It is a significant event because at present our scientific journal is placed on an official list of Polish journals, but not only that...
   Apart from being indexed by the Ministry, Polish Medical Bibliography and Index Copernicus, our journal has been also placed in the following international data bases: EBSCO Publishing Inc. and Academic Search Complete. Our journal has been accepted for indexing in the EMBASE, SCOPUS – Elsevier database –
a recognized scientific publisher.
   The presence of our journal on international lists of indexed journals is indispensable for the opportunity presented of our papers being read and cited not only by our colleagues in the region, but also within Poland and various countries on other continents.
   The high value rate achieved by our journal provides a genuine opportunity for scientific and academic development not only for physicians and those colleagues holding a master’s degree, but also for those with a PhD and post-doctorate degrees and professors.
   Polish Annals of Medicine, issue of 2010, volume 17 is entering the next phase of development, which will be evaluated after the subsequent two issues. In the spring of 2010, the Executive Committee of the Warmia and Mazury Medical Chamber in Olsztyn accepted the project of extending the Scientific Board of our journal to include professors from abroad. Consequently, the Scientific Board has been enriched by an international group of scientists: USA – 7, Israel – 2, Lithuania – 2, Belarus – 1, France – 1, Germany – 1, Georgia – 1, Grenada – 1, Russia – 1, Turkey – 1. Included in this eminent group are physicians, stomatologists, biologists, physiotherapists, psychologists and speech therapists. The next obvious step taken by the Editorial Board was to issue the 17th volume of the journal entirely in an English version.
How did we achieve this during just one year of cooperation?
   First of all, this was due to the readers and authors of the academic papers from our region. After the death of the late and much lamented Editor-in-Chief, doctor Władysław Lipecki, the newly formed Editorial Board issued a call for papers, which was answered by colleagues from the region who sent their articles. These works enabled us to issue two consecutive volumes, including the missing issue of 2008. All the offered articles were reviewed. Some of them were corrected repeatedly and supplemented in cooperation with the secretaries of the Editorial Board, later with the reviewers and finally with the editors from Elset publishing house. All the people involved in this process must be thanked for their efforts, and authors also deserve special appreciation for their perseverance and understanding of our work. As a result of this professional procedure for preparing articles for publication, some of the papers were finally not accepted. It should be emphasized, that there were no articles written by the colleagues from our region among the rejected papers.
   Our journal gradually is gaining the status of an English-language publication. To reach this goal, new editorial rules were introduced which specified the requirements for a structured abstract, two-language versions of headings under tables and figures, key words, titles, etc.
The issue of 2008 included one English-language article from Russia. The issue of 2009 featured two such papers, one from Belarus and one written in cooperation with authors from the USA and Grenada. There was also an article prepared in cooperation with authors from Mexico. In the issue of 2010 all articles are in English versions, including, among others, three papers from Lithuania, in cooperation with authors from Sweden and China, one from Holland and one from Israel.
   All three new volumes of the journal of 2008, 2009 and 2010 include papers from various Polish scientific centers.
   Moreover, as a Supplement for the issue of 2011, the Editorial Board in agreement with the Medical Chamber in Olsztyn, plans to publish a post-doctoral work ordered by an academic worker from the Medical University of Silesia.
   Polish Annals of Medicine can be currently found on the shelves of all significant medical libraries in Poland and in several libraries abroad, among others the National Library of Medicine in Washington, in the United States of America. Moreover, our journal can be accessed in an electronic version at www.paom.pl .
   Let me thank sincerely all the Authors of the papers sent to our journal, Reviewers, Members of the Scientific Board, and especially Professors from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, the closest Partners of the Editorial Board and the Publishing House, and the constantly supportive and friendly Executive Board of the Warmia and Mazury Medical Chamber in Olsztyn.