JBJS is pleased to highlight 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:

Peter A Cole, MD, FAOA

Division Medical Director, HealthPartners Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine

Program Medical Director, HealthPartners Trauma Network

Orthopaedic Trauma Director, Regions Hospital

Professor, University of Minnesota

Affiliation:

Regions Hospital – HealthPartners, St. Paul, MN

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Years in practice: Since 1998 – 21 years

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

I think the reviewer invitations began to arrive after I began thematic publishing back in the early 2000’s.  Thematic publishing means consecutive publications on the same topic.  My own publishing themes included minimally invasive fracture care, complex scapular trauma, and fracture pattern mapping for example. Perhaps, editors use this threshold of success in the peer review process as the qualification for a successful reviewer. I believe achievement in thematic publishing has more to do with being invited, than networking, committee or political positions, or being a nice person, though these things help.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Thoughtful, structured, scientific, timely reviews—period.  No one quality alone is good enough, not even 3 out of 4.  I review for three journals consistently, and others on a selective case by case basis.  I have rejected many offers to be a journal reviewer in order to protect the integrity of the main three I have chosen.  It is hard to turn down experts and friends in order to keep the main thing the main thing.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

I read and study The Bible consistently, if not daily—as the primary source of wisdom and personal growth.  I enjoy books on entrepreneurialism, leadership, spiritual growth and an occasional biography.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight 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: Arvind von Keudell, MD

Affiliation:

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Years in practice: 1.5 years

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

The editor-in-chief, Dr. Marc Swiontkowski, kindly invited me to review for his journal. Other journals have reached out to me either due to personal connections or due to my previous publications in their journal.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

The most important advice is to take the time to diligently read the paper at least 3 times. First to get a sense of what the authors are trying to convey, second to assess the quality of the methods and the interpretation of their results and whether their discussion places the results in perspective to the current literature. In general, it might be helpful to provide constructive feedback for the authors.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

I try to read research studies from other fields to gain perspective for my own research work and to improve my ability to review manuscripts. More specifically, I am interested in papers from specialties such as geriatric, rheumatology, endocrinology and anesthesia as well as topics such as global surgery, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight 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: In-Ho Choi, MD, PhD

Affiliation:

Chung-Ang University Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

Years in practice: 35 years

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

I have been reviewing manuscripts for JBJS for 7 years and reviewing for other orthopaedic journals for 23 years.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Try to provide constructive feedback that gives the authors both an opportunity and the means to improve the quality and clarity of the manuscript.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight 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: Terence E. McIff, MBA, PhD

Affiliation:

University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas

Years in practice: I have held faculty positions in the Orthopedic Surgery Department for 20 years but have been a researcher in orthopedic related subjects for over 30 years.

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

I have been reviewing for over thirty years and almost 18 years for JBJS.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Respond quickly to requests, commit real time to thoroughly consider the manuscripts, and get it done in a single day if possible.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

Mostly scientific papers related to my research but occasionally classic French literature such as Stendhal’s Le Rouge et le Noir.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight 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: Harry A. McKellop

Affiliation:

Emeritus Professor in Residence

The UCLA and Orthopaedic Institute for Children Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Los Angeles, CA

Years in practice: I have a PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Biomechanics). I was involved in orthopaedic research beginning in 1970 until I retired at the end of 2013.

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

I was invited to be a reviewer.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Provide constructive comments. Focus on those aspects of the research project that, if published, would be useful to the orthopaedic community, and advise the authors how to appropriately emphasize them in their manuscript.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

Biographies of Napoleon Bonaparte and Leonardo da Vinci.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight 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: Noam Shohat

Affiliation:

Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Years in practice: Six Years

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

After several years of research, and once I gained knowledge in statistical analysis and study design, I reached out to the JBJS Editorial Board to become a reviewer.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Researchers devote themselves to their research; they spend much time and thought throughout the long process that ends with submission. I do my best to remember this in each review; I review only topics that I feel I have extensive knowledge in. I spend several hours examining each study and pay special attention to its design and analysis. Finally, I try to accept every review request in my field and I complete it as quickly as possible.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

I try to keep updated in general medicine. I read the New England Journal of Medicine weekly. This also enhances my understanding on design and statistical analysis.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight 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: Robert Cumming Schenck, Jr., M My friends call me “Bob” or “Bobby”.

Affiliation:

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

Years in practice: 29.  I have had 2 jobs in Orthopaedic Surgery.  My first decade of orthopaedic practice was in San Antonio at UTHSCSA (my thanks to Jim Heckman, MD) and my past 20 years have been in Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico (my thanks to Moheb Moneim, MD).  I became chair of Orthopaedics at UNM in 2006 and along with a fun sports medicine/trauma practice, continue as a leader servant to this day.

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

 Simply by invitation and being an academic orthopaedic surgeon.  I found it a good way to give back to the profession.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

My advice is to be timely with reviews, candid but professional with opinions, and to focus on your area of expertise.  It is especially useful to review topics of interest as you will find the review a positive learning experience through which you can give back to our wonderful profession of orthopaedic surgery.  As an aside, when I accept a review, I create a folder with that title, export the specific manuscript PDF and create a blank review format with the identifying title of the manuscript.  This folder goes into my “to do” folder on my Mac Book Air and once completed is moved to my finished reviews.  Doing this step of downloading the manuscript PDF and starting my review format at the time of each invitation sets me up for success, not missing the deadline, and putting the project into a proper queue for thoughtful completion.  Lastly, when I fly, or watch sports, I clear out my “to do” folder!

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

Like most of us, I read a lot. I was fortunate as an adolescent on the Western Slope of Colorado to have minimal television exposure and have always read. Gratefully, my wife Trish and I have instilled this habit in our children and I have an unofficial adult Schenck Kid Book Club; most recently we read Howard Stern’s Comes Again, Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, and in preparation for Quentin Tarantino’s recent movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, we read Vincent Bugliosi’s account of the Manson Family in Helter Skelter.  Outside of that club, I recently began reading James Fennimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales and read Last of the Mohicans.

Reading and writing go hand in hand. I especially enjoy writing and editing my own fiction and non-fiction. As a result of this passion, I was asked to be editor of the University of New Mexico Medical Muse a few years back and I read/re-read all art submissions of poetry, fiction and non-fiction with my co-editor, Laura Hall. I recently published on Amazon/Kindle Juárez, an action novella starring a fictional FBI agent, Shandy Randall, working in the Southwest. The second installment of the Shandy Randall series, Snow Mass, is in preparation.  Self-publishing on Kindle was a blast and allowed me to learn a new avenue for publication. I highly recommend that process and adventure to all.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight 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: Charles E. Johnston, MD

Affiliation:

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, TX

Years in practice: 38

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

 I was asked to. Editors sent manuscripts and asked me to review.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Don’t accept statements/conclusions that seem far-fetched or a reach – demand better evidence. Discard manuscripts that lack conviction and are repetitive of previous work. No B.S., and demand short concise statements not in passive voice.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

I always read The New Yorker and Texas Monthly.

Books: Lightning Men, Where the Crawdads Sing

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight 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: Rupesh Tarwala, MD

Affiliation:

Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City, NY

Years in practice: 16 years

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

It’s very important to keep your knowledge current in the orthopedic field and reviewing for journals is one way to do that. I applied to JBJS to become a reviewer.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

New treatment options, new surgical techniques, and future research depend on the current literature being published. Reviewing a manuscript is a big responsibility. Please read the manuscript thoroughly for the accuracy of the data. Check if the data is valid and if it will help to improve the clinical results of the patients and change the current practice methods. Also, make sure these methods are reproducible and other surgeons can easily incorporate them. Providing specific feedback to the authors to improve the manuscript is important as well.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight 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: John Gerard Birch, MD, FRCS(C) 

Affiliation:

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, TX

Years in practice: 35

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

I was invited and recommended by my former Chairman of Orthopedics and JBJS Deputy Editor Bob Bucholz 20+ years ago.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Recognize that reviewing other individuals’ work is a privilege, and an opportunity to improve the clarity of the message. For most manuscripts, I will read once, “jotting” notes within the pdf, then come back later to read a second time.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

I like to read the “classics” by Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens. Also, the Louise Penny Inspector Gamache series!

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.