SAj Editorial Scholar Program

The Substance Use & Addiction Journal (SAj), the journal of the Association of Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction (AMERSA; www.amersa.org), seeks applications from multidisciplinary, diverse post-graduate trained fellows/scholars and junior faculty to be an SAj Editorial Scholar.

GOALS AND ACTIVITIES

The goal of the SAj Editorial Scholar Program is to engage early career clinical or health services scholars with SAj’s editorial team to learn about editorial decision-making and enhance skills in scientific communication. This opportunity will be of interest to those interested in becoming journal editors as well as those looking to learn more about journal review processes.

SAj Editorial Scholars will spend a minimum of 12 months working remotely as part of the editorial team at SAj. SAj Editorial Scholars will be assigned to a current SAj Editor for mentorship, peer review manuscripts, write and publish editorials, and participate in several meetings such as monthly, virtual, 1-hour meetings of SAj: (1) the ongoing SAj Associate Editor meeting; (2) a new SAj Editorial Scholar Curriculum meeting; and (3) 1:1 meeting with an assigned SAj Editor mentor. SAj mentors could be the Editor-in-Chief, a Deputy Editor, or an Associate Editor and will be matched based on SAj Editorial Scholar interests.

During the SAj Associate Editor meetings, the SAj Editorial Scholars will learn about achieving goals, managing activities, and stewardship of SAj. During the SAj Editorial Scholar Curriculum meetings, the SAj Editorial Scholars will participate in a curriculum, directed by the SAj Editor-in-Chief, involving publishing in addiction science. The core curricular material is based on “Publishing Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed” (Babor, T et al. (eds.) 2017. Publishing Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed. London: Ubiquity Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bbd). Each SAj Editorial Scholars will receive a digital copy of this book. During these sessions, the SAj Editorial Scholar will also learn about the knowledge and skills associated with ScholarOne, the SAj software application that helps with submission, review, and management of academic manuscripts.

In addition to the SAj Associate Editor and SAj Editorial Scholar Curriculum meetings, it is expected that the SAj Editorial Scholars will meet, virtually, at least 1 hour monthly with their assigned SAj Editor Mentor to discuss ongoing reviews and recommendations of articles that they are managing during the submission and peer-review process. The SAj Editor Mentor will also work the Scholar on any project developed from the Scholar’s Individual Development Plan (see below). The SAj Editorial Team is listed at https://amersa.org/about-the-journal/.

The SAj Editorial Scholar will also meet with the SAj Editor-in-Chief quarterly to review progress toward achieving the individual goals of the SAj Editorial Scholar and program goals of the SAj Editorial Scholar Program.

Guided by their SAj mentor and SAj Editor-in-Chief, SAj Editorial Scholars will participate in developing and executing SAj educational offerings to the public and scholars (e.g., participate presenting AMERSA workshops to members regarding the review, editorial, and publishing processes) and disseminating SAj products to the public (e.g., social media and/or blog postings).

Through meetings with the assigned SAj Editor Mentor and Editor-in-Chief, Scholars will be encouraged to seek and attain individual goals and activities for the Program outlined through an individualized development plan (IDP). With their SAj assigned mentor, SAj Editorial Scholars, early in the Program, will develop an IDP document that outlines their individual goals and development areas through the Program and the actions needed to achieve them. IDP projects must advance the mission of SAj (see below). Examples of potential projects could include (1) advancing SAj diversity, equity, and inclusion activities, (2) growing SAj’s dissemination activities, (3) developing criteria and be involved in selection of SAj annual award winners; (4) developing and implementing workshops involving authoring/editing/publishing academic writing for the AMERSA annual conference.

The IDP and any project planned will be iterative and reviewed regularly (at least quarterly) by the SAj Editorial Mentor and the SAj Editor-in-Chief.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

By end of the program (12-month period), the SAj Editorial Scholar will have:

Developed a broad understanding of the different editorial roles and responsibilities at SAj
Gained direct exposure to the SAj editorial review and decision-making process
Participated in mentored peer review of several manuscripts (at least 4)
With their mentor, authored and published at least one editorial for SAj
Participated in the dissemination of editorial educational, web, and social media activities, depending on the SAj Editorial Scholar’s individual interests

TIME COMMITMENT

It is expected that the time commitment is about 4 hours a week for a 12-month period. An additional 12 months of the SAj Editorial Scholar Program will also be considered (a second year). Typically, SAj Editorial Scholars will use their second 12 months to complete their IDP activities and teach/moderate the monthly SAj Editorial Scholar Curriculum meetings. Remuneration may not be offered for the second year.

REMUNERATION

If SAj Editorial Scholars are making progress and achieving the goals of the SAj Editorial Scholar Program, SAj Editorial Scholars will receive free AMERSA membership and free registration to the AMERSA Annual Conference (usually occurs in November each year). They will receive the book, Publishing Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed. SAj Editorial Scholars will receive a formal letter acknowledging the completion of the Program. SAj Editorial Scholars will be recognized on the SAj AMERSA webpages.

EVALUATION

The SAj Editorial Scholars will meet with the SAj Editor-in-Chief in 1:1 sessions at least quarterly to set individual goals and milestones and evaluate the progression of the SAj Editorial Scholar in meeting individual and program goals.

REQUIREMENTS

The SAj Editorial Scholar Program seeks to train a wide diversity of SAj Editorial Scholars. All disciplines are eligible to apply to the Program.

Applicants should have training (or undergoing training) in clinical or health services research (e.g., Ph.D., Sc.D.) or possess a professional degree (e.g., M.D., D.O., Pharm.D., R.N, M.S.W., P.T.) or possess an advanced, terminal degree, in their field (e.g., M.S.W., M.T.S., MDiv)
Applicants must be enrolled in a university-based advanced fellowship or post-doctoral program (e.g., T32, T90/R90) or within 6 years of a first faculty appointment at an allied health school within a university (e.g., School of Medicine, Nursing, Public Health)
Applicants must have authored a peer-review publication and been involved in a submission of the article for consideration of publication in a peer-reviewed journal
Applicants must be willing to participate from June to May (12-month period), including being able to attend regular virtual meetings (see above). These meetings are currently scheduled on Fridays,10:00 EDT.

SELECTION OF SCHOLARS

Applicants will be evaluated based on their demonstrated interest in medical publishing, clinical or health services research, and/or a career as a multidisciplinary scholar/clinician involving addiction related activities, as well as their communication skills, knowledge of medical research and study design, ability to work independently, and commitment to the duties listed below:

Completion of non-disclosure agreement and conflict of interest form that identifies responsibilities and confidentiality requirements
Undergo training in use of the SAj’s ScholarOne online system for managing manuscripts
Peer review at least 4 manuscripts under the supervision of a SAj Editor within 12 months
Attend monthly (SAj Associate Editor, SAj Editorial Scholar, and 1:1 mentor meetings) virtual meetings for at least 3 sessions/hours

After submission, each application will be reviewed by the SAj Editorial Team and selected candidates will be interviewed (virtually) for selection.

We expect that two SAj Editorial Scholars will be selected annually.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please submit via email bundled as a single PDF the following information to be considered for the SAj Editorial Scholar Program:

A letter of interest (no more than a 2-pages) that
- briefly introduces the candidate
- confirms that all SAj Editorial Scholar Program requirements are met by the applicant
- confirms commitment to multidisciplinary, addiction-related clinical, education, and/or research scholarship
- confirms a commitment to the SAj Mission (see below)
- discusses the goals the applicant wishes to achieve during the Program
A current CV (no page limits)

The packet should be submitted to Ms. Rachel McCart, AMERSA’s SAj Editorial Liaison, at saj@amersa.org.

The deadline for application to the SAj Editorial Scholar Program is midnight, the night of March 1, annually.

Questions regarding the SAj Editorial Scholar Program can be directed to Ms. McCart at saj@amersa.org and/or Adam J. Gordon, MD MPH FACP DFASAM, SAj Editor-in-Chief, at SAJEditorInChief@amersa.org

SAJ MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Substance Use & Addiction Journal (SAj) is to advance science through dissemination of high-quality, innovative research, and commentary related to substance use and substance use disorders by and for a broad range of stakeholders including clinicians, researchers, educators, policy makers, persons and advocates of persons who use substances, and public health and healthcare staff and leaders worldwide. SAj is committed to improving health, health care, and health equity for vulnerable populations.

SAj strives to obtain, publish, and promote high-quality, innovative research, and commentary regarding substance use and substance use disorder in the following thematic areas:

Substance use and substance use disorder prevention, identification, assessment, treatment, and recovery [clinical theme]
Innovations and evaluation of education and training modalities regarding substance use and substance use disorder for the community, students, trainees, and health care professionals [education theme]
The impact, influence, prevention, and treatment of substance use, and substance use disorders among vulnerable, marginalized, and/or populations that suffer health inequity [equity theme]
The impact, influence, prevention, and treatment of substance use, and substance use disorders within the international community [international theme]
Substance use and substance use disorder health policy and public health research [policy/public health theme]
Implementation of evidence-based prevention, identification, assessment, and treatment within health care, community, and geographic environments [implementation theme]
Innovative methods to evaluate substance use and substance use prevention, harm reduction, identification, assessment, treatment, and recovery [harm reduction theme]

In this mission and these themes, we underscore the importance of incorporating the lived experiences of persons who use substances and peer interventions—including peer recovery coaches and community-based participatory research approaches—to enhance knowledge, science, and impacts.