{"id":10436,"date":"2022-05-12T06:05:38","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T10:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/?p=10436"},"modified":"2022-05-13T09:31:45","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T13:31:45","slug":"as-they-say-some-personal-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/as-they-say-some-personal-news\/2022\/05\/12\/","title":{"rendered":"As They Say, “Some Personal News”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Growing up, I had a dog who looked exactly like this — his name was Rufus. Maybe they are related.<\/p><\/div>\n

This week marks the 14th anniversary of HIV and ID Observations, give or take a few weeks. I started writing this blog* in 2008 — and since then there have been 832 posts, a gazillion comments, and one awful (and ongoing) pandemic. For the opportunity, I sincerely thank Matt O’Rourke, a wonderful and generous editor at NEJM Journal Watch who took a chance on me when I proposed writing it.<\/p>\n

(*The word “blog” has a mixed reputation at best, implying to some a\u00a0venue for shallow navel-gazing and trite philosophizing. Milt Weinstein<\/a>, one of the smartest people I know, told me flat out, “I don’t read blogs.” But what’s the appropriate alternative name? If we were in print, it would be a “column,” but we’re not in print and never have been. Many now call their regular writing a “newsletter,” but that implies a freestanding and often paid subscription service, which isn’t the case either. Help!)<\/i><\/p>\n

Since it started all those years ago, this has been a place where I can write about pretty much anything ID-related (and sometimes not so ID-related). Matt moved on and up within NEJM Group, so I’m now guided by three different and skilled editors — Kristin Kelley, Amy Herman, Kelly Young (and previously, Catherine Ryan) — who take turns correcting wayward text and making sure my hyperlinks work. They only veto something if I choose a video that doesn’t meet the site’s family-friendly standards.<\/p>\n

I’ve tried to keep the content relevant to clinicians, the tone casual and friendly, and the images and videos fun.<\/p>\n

And I must thank you, the people who read this thing, and who make up a friendly, curious, and interesting community. Your feedback —\u00a0in the comments section, or via emails, or directly — has been hugely gratifying on multiple levels. It’s wonderful to hear that my summary of some ID issue (length of antibiotic therapy<\/a>, whether to wear white coats<\/a>, drugs with good oral absorption<\/a>, all those streptococci<\/a>, to name a few) is useful, or entertaining, and preferably both! Plus, by\u00a0having a moderated comments section, we’ve mostly avoided the vitriol that pops up regularly in these sorts of forums and on social media. COVID-19 stresses us all, but it should be no excuse to attack one another.<\/p>\n

You might wonder why I’m making these reflections today — who celebrates a 14th anniversary? It’s because this week, I start handling submitted papers to Clinical Infectious Diseases<\/em><\/a> (CID) as their incoming Editor-in-Chief, with the full transition taking place in July. It’s an exciting new challenge, one that certainly will take up a ton of time.<\/p>\n

How much time? Just ask the current Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Robert “Chip” Schooley. He navigated this important ID journal through an unbelievable deluge of submissions during a global pandemic. The word “surge” as it relates to COVID-19 does not only apply to case numbers — it also applies to the volume of ID-related research papers, which have absolutely skyrocketed. Over on PubMed, the site lists over 250,000 COVID-19 papers since 2020<\/a> — and remember, before this date there were none<\/em>. That came on top of an already high volume of submissions to this journal for non-COVID research in infectious diseases.<\/p>\n

(Speaking of Dr. Schooley, I strongly recommend this profile of him in the San Diego Union-Tribune<\/a> \u2014 it accurately captures his wide-ranging expertise and remarkable humanism.)<\/p>\n

When friends and colleagues heard that I was taking this new position, one of the most common questions I received was “Will you still be writing the blog?”<\/p>\n

The quick answer is “Yes.” This is an enormously gratifying creative outlet for me, in ways I never could have imagined when I started 14 years ago. Because of my new role, though, posts might be less frequent, or more related to content CID publishes (it is a highly relevant journal for all clinicians, not just ID doctors), or something else entirely. Into the great unknown…<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, here’s an aptly named video site for an ID blog<\/em> (there’s that word again). “ViralHog,” indeed. Certified family-friendly.<\/p>\n

But tell me — what’s the dalmatian doing? Is he the referee? Certainly has the right colors.<\/p>\n