HIGH STANDARDS

The story begins in 1981 with the creation of the American Intra-Ocular Implant Society Journal, with Dr Stephen Obstbaum as the founding editor. This became the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery in 1986, with Dr Obstbaum retaining his role as editor. During this same period Dr Emanuel Rosen and colleagues were creating a journal for the European Intraocular Implant Club, which would become the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. 

Emanuel had the idea to sit down with Steve Obstbaum and discuss a merger of the two journals. They brainstormed the idea of consolidating their journals, with two editors from each side of the Atlantic. They decided to keep the name JCRS in order to maintain the journal’s impact factor, launching the current form of the JCRS in 1996. Emanuel and Steve became the original co-editors, while Doug Koch and Julian Stevens, very quickly followed by myself, became the first associate editors. At the same time we consolidated editorial boards from each society. 

We have to remember that at this time refractive surgery was still viewed with suspicion by the establishment. It was considered something of a cowboy procedure. Therefore, considerable effort was expended to develop the journal as a credible source of scientific research. Over the years we have done many things with our US colleagues in terms both of popularising and bringing academic rigour to the field of refractive surgery.

In more recent years we have also expanded our board to include members outside of Europe and the USA. The board now includes more than 30 members from the USA, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. In the past 19 years, under the stewardship of Emanuel and Steve we have become a truly international journal, run by both societies.

In the early days the JCRS provided a much needed place to publish peer-reviewed research on topics that might not appear in other journals. The JCRS early on gained a reputation as a place to read about interesting innovative research. We have built on this reputation of maintaining the highest academic standards and intend to keep it going. In addition to our peer-reviewed research articles, we also include a lot of practical material that is of great use for our readers. By this I mean our sections on surgical techniques, consultations and case studies. We also provide editorials, comprehensive review articles, as well as information on more basic science through our laboratory science section. This blend of content distinguishes us from other journals in the field.

The JCRS receives more than 1,200 manuscripts for review every year. We only have space for approximately 300 articles. This equals a rejection rate of 75 per cent, and it means we can really pick among the very best articles for acceptance in the journal. For those who are interested in submitting an article, I have several suggestions to improve your chances. First of all, you need a hot topic. You might have a perfect study of induced astigmatism following 3.0mm clear corneal incisions, but that has been done 15 years ago. Second, you need to follow the instructions to authors. You need to compose it in the suggested format in good English, carefully proofread. 

When my residents want to publish with me they get upset at the number of times I ask them to revise the manuscript. You have to spend a lot of time and effort on your manuscript. Moreover, if you want to publish in the JCRS you have to start early, at the idea stage. You have to plan how you structure your research, design the protocols, how you go through the ethical committee, and have a clear purpose for the study. The best advice I could give would be to read the journal, study the format, then impress us with a brand new idea and an influential topic. 

Finally, I would like to reiterate our gratitude to Emanuel Rosen and Steve Obstbaum. They are really the co-fathers of what has become an excellent source of the latest research in cataract and refractive surgery. In recognition of this, next year we will initiate two new awards in the names of the founding editors. These will be presented at each of our annual meetings, one each for best technical paper and for best original research paper.