This current issue of Medical Science Educator marks my final regular issue as Editor-in-Chief. After almost 14 years of duty, I am stepping down to take up the new challenges and responsibilities within the IAMSE organization as President.

When I started as Editor-in-Chief in 2010, the Journal of IAMSE was still relatively small. It had a long history as one of the first online-only journals in the field, but the volume of submissions and the international reach were very modest. First, the IAMSE Board of Directors renamed the journal from JIAMSE into Medical Science Educator to be more representative of who we are: a journal for and by educators in the field of the medical sciences, who want to share their scholarship and learn from each other. Next, I expanded the Editorial Board to include more international editors to better demonstrate the journal’s ambitions. I also wanted to indicate that education is a global issue and that sharing experiences worldwide will benefit all of us in what we are trying to achieve for our students.

After a few years we were able to bring the journal to Springer. Being part of one of the largest publishers in the world has been very beneficial and they provided us with support in technical quality assurance, ethical issues, plagiarism checks, production, and distribution. This change allowed the Editorial Board to focus more on working with authors to publish high quality articles that move the field of medical education forward. In that process, the reviewers have always had my special attention. A journal cannot deliver high quality output without the constructive feedback of our reviewers. To offer opportunities for capacity building and skills development, we introduced two reviewer workshops and a series of Master Classes. We also introduced the MSE Outstanding Reviewer Award and the MSE Distinguished Reviewer Panel to further recognize their dedication and hard work.

Over the years the number of submissions continued to grow, and now we receive close to 800 submissions each year. Looking back there are two achievements that I am especially pleased with. In 2018, the journal was indexed in Scopus, an important database for educational literature. Then in 2021 we were listed in PubMed Central. Medical Science Educator is now included in 21 databases worldwide, and we continue to work towards more. Being indexed is of major importance for the journal and for the authors who choose to share their work through us. The second milestone was in 2022 when the journal received, for the first time in its history, more submissions from outside of the United States than from within. All the hard work that went into promotion and outreach paid off and has made Medical Science Educator a true international journal with authority.

Over all these years it has been a real pleasure and privilege to work with over 25 very talented individuals in their role of Associate Editor, and with almost 400 enthusiastic and dedicated IAMSE members in their role as reviewer. Many of these colleagues I had the pleasure meeting in person at conferences all over the world. I also want to thank our IAMSE Editorial Assistant, Amoritia Strogen-Hewett, and IAMSE’s Association Manager, Julie Hewett, for their strong everlasting support of the Editorial Board. I leave the journal in the capable hands of Dr. David Harris, PhD from the University of Central Florida, and I am confident that he will continue to lead the journal on the exciting journey that we started so many years ago.

All the best to you all, and I look forward to meeting many of you on future occasions!

Peter G.M. de Jong, PhD

Editor-in-Chief 2010–2023