Both the quality and credibility of a professional journal are largely contingent on the integrity of its peer review process. As a peer-reviewed nursing publication, Nursing2018 derives great value from the critical reviews provided by our diverse panel of volunteer content experts from the professional healthcare community who review all of our features and continuing-education articles. When a manuscript is sent to us to be considered for publication, I select the peer reviewers based on criteria such as specialty area, credentials, experience in the field, and content knowledge. Their feedback enables me to not only decide whether to accept or reject submissions, but also to work with authors to revise their work in a way that will improve the overall academic quality and readability of the articles we publish.

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I recently learned about an experimental and quite innovative manuscript review process implemented by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).1 Its editors established a panel of well-selected patients and family caregivers to review certain submissions along with the professional content experts. Although this practice may seem quite strange at first, consider that many hospitals now recruit patients and family members to serve in an advisory capacity on various hospital committees. I've attended several interdisciplinary educational conferences over the years where patients and family caregivers have been invited to share their perspectives on stage with the healthcare professionals. This unique way of partnering in clinical and educational settings can help drive a patient-centered care culture.

I wonder how much of our advice on managing health issues is of limited value because some interventions aren't helpful or feasible for patients and family caregivers who actually live with the condition? What if they have better, more effective ideas? Those who are knowledgeable about their health needs have a lot to teach us-their feedback can make a professional article more accurate and realistic.

I believe a patient's perspective as a reviewer could offer a real benefit for many types of articles. Reading about this experiment has certainly given me much food for thought. I applaud BMJ for breaking new ground!

Until next time,

LINDA LASKOWSKI-JONES, MS, APRN, ACNS-BC, CEN, FAWM, FAAN

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, NURSING2018 VICE PRESIDENT: EMERGENCY & TRAUMA SERVICES CHRISTIANA CARE HEALTH SYSTEM, WILMINGTON, DEL.

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