The Myanmar Journal of Current Medical Practice (MJCMP) was founded in 1999 by a group of senior academics who felt the need for a journal that would enable practitioners in the periphery to keep abreast with the latest trends in clinical practice. In those days, accessibility to the internet was limited, and the overworked doctors had little time to visit libraries or attend CME courses organized in Yangon or Mandalay. A journal for practitioners, by practitioners, delivered to the GPs in the periphery for perusal at their convenience, was the answer to fill that void. Furthermore, knowledge is meant to be shared. As the Dalai Lama said, “Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality”.
A number of reasons necessitated stopping publication and the MJCMP ceased to exist for three years. However, in early 2018, Prof. Aung Than Batu got together a group of people who were willing to work at rejuvenating the journal in the capacity of Editors, Referees, and Reviewers. In addition, Regional Editors (from the States & Regions) were also recruited. They have been very effective, getting members to submit papers and distributing the journals. Prof. Thein Aung gave his full support in the form of meeting venue, secretarial support, and – most importantly- finances. The first issue that resulted from the efforts of this group was the July 2018 issue of the MJCMP, although the names of the old Editorial Board were retained.
The subsequent issues (October 2018, January 2019, April 2019, July 2019, October 2019) were published with the names of the new Editorial Board. The cover was not changed because it is the identity of the journal. But the contents had changed, with new features like “Reflection”, “Abstracts of theses” added. Some issues addressed a theme e.g. “Obesity” for the April 2019 issue; “Sleep” for the July 2019 issue and ”Hypertension” for the October 2019 issue.
Just as the neonatal period is where the most careful nurturing is crucial, the survival of a journal depends on the nurturing by a dedicated Editorial team, excellent secretarial support and adequate funds. The MJCMP has survived that turbulent first year and the First Anniversary was celebrated on the 20th of October with a Symposium titled “GPs: the Backbone of Healthcare Delivery” organized in collaboration with the GP Section of the MMA. The Proceedings are published alongside this issue of the MJCMP.
The Editorial Board is committed towards maintaining the quality and upholding the ethos of knowledge- sharing.
Hla Yee Yee, MBBS(Rgn) ; MSc(Mdy);PhD(Lond);FRCP(Edin)(Hon); Cert.in Leadership for Physician Educators (Harvard Business School)
