My selfish Christmas wish

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 61, No. 10, December 2019, Page 372 Editorials
By: David R. Richardson, MD

Christmas is a magical time for a child. Does anyone else remember the long-anticipated arrival of the Sears catalogue? My brothers and I would pore over the pages circling desired toys for my parents’ later perusal. Unable to sleep on Christmas morning, we would lie in bed tortured by the slow movement of time until the anointed hour arrived and we were free to empty stockings and open presents. My parents seldom bought any of the circled items, explaining they looked cheap and wouldn’t last. I am sure there was a lesson in there somewhere. Regardless, I was blessed to grow up in a home that could afford all the trappings of the holidays.

Over the years Christmas has become less about receiving and more about giving. The focus shifted to shopping for my spouse and children. This can be stressful, but the joy and happiness reflected through a gift well chosen warms the heart. I would rather watch a loved one’s reaction to opening a gift than open one myself. Being with family, sharing food and drink during this time, is about as perfect as it gets.

As another Yuletide approaches, I find myself in an interesting position. My children are grown and my parents have passed on. Grandchildren are awesome and I love spoiling them on Christmas; however, I find myself restless and longing for the good old days. Therefore, I have decided that this Christmas should once again be all about me and my wants (don’t judge me). So, what does an editor desire for the year ahead? To paraphrase Mariah Carey, “All I want for Christmas is you!”

Our journal’s circulation is roughly 14 000, which includes practising and retired physicians, students, and residents. I have heard that every person has at least one good novel in them. I would prefer to think that each of you has at least one good essay, opinion piece, scientific study, theme issue, letter, or back-page feature floating around in your consciousness. So, for Christmas, that is what I want. Write them down, type them up, finish that last paragraph, and send them in. Don’t be intimidated. Our journal is written by the physicians of BC for the physicians of BC, so that means you. Please do your part to make this aging editor’s dream a reality this Christmas. You all have something valuable to share and I want to read it.

Happy Holidays.
—David Richardson, MD

David R. Richardson, MD. My selfish Christmas wish. BCMJ, Vol. 61, No. 10, December, 2019, Page(s) 372 - Editorials.


Above is the information needed to cite this article in your paper or presentation. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally accepted citation style for scientific papers:
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7.

About the ICMJE and citation styles

The ICMJE is small group of editors of general medical journals who first met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

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