Over time, Dr. Helfgott did receive more excellent unsolicited submissions, making it far less challenging to assemble each issue. Just as Dr. Pisetsky enjoyed the opportunity to write a monthly column, so too did Dr. Helfgott relish this role. However, he explains, one must be organized and diligent to keep up with the demands of a monthly column, especially if that person (like Dr. Helfgott) hopes to continue life as a clinician, educator, fellowship program director, and husband and father. By the sixth year of his tenure, Dr. Helfgott was writing about six weeks ahead of schedule. He found the best time to write was on flights, and at the time he was traveling a great deal. He would often put on his headphones and just get things done.
Dr. Helfgott is proud that he never missed a deadline, and he specifically thanks Wiley, the ACR’s publishing partner, and Keri Losavio, editor of TR since 2014, for their outstanding work and assistance.
Ms. Losavio
Dr. Helfgott enjoyed hearing from readers about their response to his editorials. For his columns, he notes that the readership included many people whom he greatly respects and admires. Dr. Helfgott also notes that one of the best comments came from a rheumatology fellow in the Brigham and Women’s training program, who mentioned that his father—a hematologist—regarded TR as great bathroom reading material. “I take that as a huge compliment,” says Dr. Helfgott.
He also notes that much enjoyment was derived from receiving and publishing presentations of clinical cases from rheumatology fellows across the country. Dr. Helfgott sought to make these more regular features of the publication and, although it took a while to get things started, this became easier over time. He is pleased that TR served as a venue for these types of articles from fellows since few opportunities to publish in this fashion exist in medicine, and readers expressed that they enjoyed these case presentations.
