EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, Journal of Graduate Medical Education
Job Description
The following describes the various aspects of the designated job. Some or all of these aspects may be changed over time, with or without notice, at the sole discretion of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States (US) on a full-time basis. The ACGME will not provide employment sponsorship for this position (e.g., H-1B Visa or other US employment authorization).
Job Overview The Editor-in-Chief serves as the steward of The Journal of Graduate Medical Education (JGME), responsible for ensuring the journal remains a trusted, relevant, and rigorous peer reviewed resource for the graduate medical education (GME) community. This role combines editorial leadership with field awareness (i.e., grounded in the realities of residency and fellowship education and training, and focused on advancing scholarship that improves educational practice to improve the quality of patient care).
The Editor-in-Chief represents the mission, vision, and values of JGME and is responsible for recruiting the JGME Editorial Board, which is editorially independent from the ACGME. The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board together ensure JGME publishes work that is timely, methodologically sound, valuable to GME educators and researchers, and comprehensible to readers with varying expertise and roles.
The Editor-in-Chief is recruited by the Journal Oversight Committee of the ACGME Board of Directors, whose members and Chair are appointed by the ACGME, the publisher of JGME.
The Editor-in-Chief may not be an ACGME employee.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIESEditorial Direction and Content Priorities1. Define and maintain a clear editorial vision aligned with the needs of the GME community.
2. Prioritize content that is rigorous, credible, relevant, and reflects the needs of GME educators and researchers.
3. Ensure that the journal addresses emerging and ongoing challenges in GME, such as assessment, the undergraduate-to-GME and GME-to-practice transitions, new technologies, and professionalism.
4. Develop new content to expand GME conversations in order to move the field forward.
Editorial Decision-Making and Peer Review Oversight1. Oversee a high-integrity peer review process that is fair, consistent, and high quality through clear policies and processes.
2. After input from senior editors and associate editors, make final publication decisions.
3. Ensure behaviors and communications toward authors are collegial and educational, with an eye toward developing new authors.
4. Recruit, sustain, and recognize a high-quality peer reviewer database that reflects the GME community.
5. Continuously improve the peer-review process to help select the highest-quality articles, and to optimize submission-to-publication timelines.
Editorial Board Leadership1. Lead recruitment of and sustain a high-performing, Editorial Board across specialties, academic seniority, geography, settings, and GME experiences.
2. Provide orientation and ongoing guidance and feedback to senior and associate editors.
3. Oversee educational materials and work with JGME staff members on instructions for authors and reviewers.
4. Support a culture of responsibility, mutual support, and recognition.
Editorial Independence1. Ensure that JGME's scope aligns with the ACGME mission, while preserving an independent editorial board, peer-review process, and publication decisions.
2. Ensure that the Journal Oversight Committee, which oversees the scope of the journal and the Editor-in-Chief's performance, is informed of journal activities, directions, and policies at regular meetings.
3. Lead recruitment of the JGME Editorial Board, including senior editors, associate editors, resident editors, visual media editor, and statistics editor.
Ethical Standards1. Uphold high standards for integrity, transparency, and ethical publishing, such as through following COPE (Committee on Publishing Ethics) and ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) guidance.
2. Oversee processes for conflicts of interest, authorship questions, and corrections or retractions.
Growth of JGME1. Strengthen JGME's position as a leading journal in medical education.
2. Support strategies to broaden readership, engagement, and international reach.
3. Encourage thoughtful innovation in content, format, and dissemination while maintaining the focus on quality and usefulness.
QUALIFICATIONS - MD, DO, or PhD degree required.
- Established leader in GME and education scholarship.
- Demonstrated editorial and peer review experience.
- Deep understanding of GME systems, including accreditation, program leadership, and educational practice.
- On-the-ground experience as a GME leader, such as program director, associate program director, designated institutional official (dean for GME), or equivalent position.
- Ability to travel and present at key medical education meetings , such as ICRE (International Conference on Residency Education), ACGME Annual Educational Conference, and others.
- Experience in a variety of settings (e.g., different program sizes, university/state-federal/community, health care systems) is beneficial, but not essential.
- Excellent communication and leadership skills.
- Creativity and innovation demonstrated through prior published work.
- Ability to adapt to the evolving nature of journal publishing practices.
- Outstanding writing skills.
- Demonstrated ability to attract talented editors, authors, and reviewers, and to sustain collaboration and consensus.
- Computer proficiency with Microsoft Office, specifically Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
WORK ENVIRONMENT / CONDITIONS The work of the Editor-in-Chief will be done remotely.
