There has been an explosion in the
volume of medical information related to clinical skills, which are essential in
our efforts to maintain
optimal patient care. The International Journal of Clinical Skills (IJOCS) aims
to disseminate this knowledge in an easily accessible form.
This will not only enhance our attempts to provide a quality health service, possibly
with some standardisation, but also provide a vehicle
for teaching and learning, hence the Journal’s motto – ‘docendo ac discendo’ (by
teaching and by learning).
The IJOCS will not only serve as an avenue for publication of research papers, but
will also act as a means of communication between
clinical skills professionals at an international level. Consequently, those involved
in the clinical skills field, can keep those in other countries
informed of their activities, as well as offering best practice guidance.
Alongside this valuable publication, a continually evolving online database (‘Clinical
Skills Lab’) will become available for students and
teachers to access – this will hold
extensive information on over 200 clinical skills.
The Clinical Skills Lab will be regularly updated by all
those involved in this field and provide a platform for discussion and debate.
The IJOCS also aims to present comment on items of specialist interest. For example,
the Launch Issue contains a paper by Professor
Harold Ellis CBE, on ‘Medico-legal consequences in surgery due to inadequate training
in anatomy’, and explores the potential niche for
anatomical clinical skills training within the newly developed medical Foundation
Years (F1 & F2). It is hoped readers will make use of the
Journal to comment on matters such as this – and on others relating to the subject
of clinical skills – by means of ‘Letters to the Editor’,
research based evidence and shared practice.
In order for IJOCS to become an exciting forum for clinical skills, the Journal
welcomes submission of innovative research, papers, reviews
and case reports. Of course, submissions are not only limited to these specific
publication types and your innovative ideas would be greatly
welcome by the Editor. I am confident that IJOCS will be appreciated by a variety
of health care professionals, at an international level. It
promises to be representative of an ever expanding field, and with the support of
all those able to contribute, it will, without doubt become
increasingly influential.
I wish those responsible for the production of the International Journal of Clinical
Skills, the success which their initiative deserves.
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