In celebration of Peer Review Week, JBJS is pleased to present the first in a series of profiles highlighting our Elite Reviewers. The Elite Reviewers Program recognizes our best reviewers for their outstanding efforts. All JBJS reviewers help us maintain the highest standards for quality orthopaedic publishing.
Name: Antonia F. Chen, MD, MBA
Affiliation: Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Years in practice: 5
How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?
As a resident, one of my attendings asked me to review for a different journal given my interest in research. The guidelines for reviewers were incredibly helpful, and I initially spent days reviewing a study trying to critically analyze it and provide constructive feedback. Subsequently, I met Dr. Tom Bauer at a meeting, and given my research interests, he invited me to review an article for JBJS. It’s been an incredible privilege to review for JBJS, and the critical thinking skills developed as a reviewer have helped me become a better writer.
What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?
The more you practice reviewing, the more intuitive it becomes; try to do as many reviews as possible. I like to read an article twice – once to get the general gestalt of an article to understand if/how everything ties together, then a second time to critically analyze the article and try to find loopholes in the article. By doing so, I am able to understand the big picture before getting into the details of a manuscript.
Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?
I recently read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I have so many changes to make!
Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.