CBBS Seeks Applications for
Associate Editor/Moderators, e-Network Forum

The CBBS is currently seeking applications for Associate Editor/Moderators for the e-Network Forum. The position description follows below. Interested individuals should submit a current Curriculum Vitae (MS Word or PDF file) and letter of interest to the CBBS Central Office at cbbs@cbbsweb.org.

--- Position Description ---

History:

Dr. Ira Shulman created the e-Network Forum in 1998 as an email discussion group, with the purpose of encouraging collegial discussions among blood banking and transfusion medicine professionals. Emailed comments and queries were solicited from colleagues on a variety of topics. After considering the submitted information, Dr. Shulman would send to a list of subscribers’ emails that contained edited versions of the submitted questions and comments. Later that year, Dr. Larry Petz proposed the initiation of a CBBS website. It was decided that the e-Network Forum would become one of the integral features of this website, permitting the e-Network Forum to have a permanent home. With the talents of Dr. Laurie Naiman as Co-Editor and Webmaster, the CBBS website and now web-based e-Network Forum went live in early 1999. Eileen Selogie joined the team as Assistant Webmaster in 2003, and upon Dr. Naiman's retirement in 2005, became the sole Webmaster. Elizabeth St. Lezin, MD ha srecently joined us an an Associate Editor.

Qualifications:

The CBBS is seeking individuals with practical experience in Transfusion Medicine / Blood Banking science or practice, including technical or medical expertise. In addition, CBBS is seeking individuals with expertise in administration and management, nursing, quality management, or performing regulatory or accrediting inspections. Formal certification in applicable areas is optimal but not required. Preference will be given to applicants with a flair for writing.

Compensation:

This is a volunteer position within the CBBS organization. Associate editors will automatically be members of the Website and e-Network Committee, which reports to the CBBS Board of Directors. In- depth attention to and research on challenging questions in Transfusion Medicine / Blood Banking will enhance the expertise of participating editors, and will provide opportunities for extensive networking, visibility, and professional growth.

Duties:

• A small group of associate editors trained by the senior editor will establish a system to take turns sharing the workload. Initially, associate editors will submit their draft responses to the entire editorial staff for comment. An editor that has been signed off to function autonomously will, however, copy final responses to the entire editorial staff.
• All submissions are evaluated by the editors and sorted into the following categories: inquiries that turn into new discussions, responses to existing discussions, and inquiries that do not need to be posted on the forum. Occasionally, a question is most appropriately answered directly by the editor to the submitter if the inquiry may not result in a response that has applicability to other institutions or readers.
• If a submission is unclear the assigned editor will seek clarification from the submitter.
• If a question has been posed and a discussion already exists, the editor may direct the submitter to that discussion. If the new question adds to existing material, the editor may work with the submitter by email to develop it into an addendum. This type of submission possibly may entail extensive searches by the assigned editor of the previous discussions on this topic
• For new topics, the question will be worded by the editor to meet the customary editorial style of the CBBS forum, including rewording for anonymity, or with attribution, as requested.
• The editor may also solicit responses from experts in the field.
• Assigned editor will review replies and final edits as appropriate (and to ensure anonymity when requested). Upon approval by the original submitter, the eNF response will be sent to the Webmaster for posting.
• The editor will follow up to verify that posting occurred.

Possible future directions for e-Network Forum to be considered by the Editorial Team:

• Reshape the moderated and edited format to become more consistent with the peer review process, similar to a letter to the editor in a journal.
• Solicit individual and institutional intellectual support, i.e., institutional names, logos, or both, and include these in the acknowledgment section with the editor’s name and those contributors who request recognition.
• Consider a “respected contributor” section.
• Provide a platform in the letter to the editor format for residents and fellows in Transfusion Medicine to research a question and present an answer as a gateway to publishing his/her own work.