A Description of the Process by which Editors are Selected

Editorial Board at JoHS

The philosophy and values underpinning recruitment and selection for the JoHS Editorial Board is set out below. The strategy reflects the aim, target audience and breadth of simulation applications.

• Mission: To provide a forum to share scholarly practice for advances in simulation across diverse applications in health and social care. 

• Target audience: A wide range of practitioners - health and social care professionals and educators, psychologists, sociologists, engineers, information technologists, economists, program evaluators, policy makers, and researchers. 

• Breadth: Publish papers relevant to simulation that include the study of healthcare practice, human factors, psychology, sociology, anthropology, communication, teamwork, human performance, education, learning technologies, economics, biomedical engineering, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, therapeutics, scientific computation, modelling, population studies, theatre, craft, film, program evaluation, and more. 

Composition

The Editorial Board composition will reflect the breadth of the target audience. Additionally, the diverse research approaches used to study healthcare simulation requires a Board with methodological diversity too. From the outset of JoHS, gender diversity has been valued. However, we take a wider view of diversity also considering at minimum country of work, ethnicity and professional discipline. As an international journal, it is important that our board truly reflects an international audience. We may also invite JoHS sponsoring societies as members.

Structure of the Editorial Board

There is one Editor-in-Chief (EIC), four Senior Editors (SE), up to 15 Associate Editors (AEs) and up to 15 Editors (Es). 

Roles of Editorial Board Members

• The EIC will be a highly experienced researcher with wide experience of the discipline. The EIC has ultimate responsibility for the academic standards and practices including the review process.
• Other Editorial Board members will usually be of high academic standing in their community and will have a record of published research in the discipline, have substantial experience in reviewing manuscripts and a willingness to drive the mission of JoHS.
• Editorial Board members will likely hold a masters or PhD level qualification, and many also hold a qualification in a healthcare professional discipline.
• SEs work more closely with the EIC than AEs. Both make recommendations to the EIC on manuscripts.

The role of Editorial Board members entail:

• Committing to adopt ethical standards for peer reviewed publishing (https://publicationethics.org/)
• Working with the EIC on editorial content and journal strategy
• Making recommendations for commissioning of papers
• Managing manuscripts through the journal management system
• Undertaking peer review
• Working with other Board members relative to journal matters
• Promoting the journal within their professional community
• Contributing to the development of a reviewer database
• Attending regular meetings as and when required (Meeting times rotate to accommodate time zone variations)
  • EIC & SE meet approximately every six weeks and as required via TEAMS
  • All Board Members are invited to meet twice annually via TEAMS 

Nominations and Applications

• All Editorial Board members are welcome to nominate new Editorial Board members. While individuals can apply to be an Editorial Board member by contacting the EIC, the most usual strategy is through nomination from existing members as they reach into their diverse professional networks. As gaps are identified in our Board, we target individuals with relevant expertise.
• Appointments are made for either two or three years. The composition is reviewed annually.
• Editorial Board members are expected to act as ambassadors for JoHS.
• Applications should be sent to the EIC and include a CV and cover letter. Applications will be considered based on the following criteria:
  • Will the applicant’s qualifications benefit the strategic direction of JoHS?
  • Is there a vacancy and/or need on the Editorial Board for the applicant’s expertise?
  • Does the applicant have peer review and other relevant publishing experience?