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EDITORIAL

Prof. Dr. René Mendes: creator, mentor and driving force behind Brazilian Journal of Occupational Medicine along its first 15 years of existence

Prof. Dr. René Mendes: idealizador, mentor, propulsor da Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Trabalho, em seus 15 anos de existência

Vera Lucia Zaher-Rutherford1; Frida Marina Fischer2; Elizabeth Costa Dias3; Antonio de Sousa Uva4; Camila Helaehil Alfredo5; João Silvestre Silva-Junior6

DOI: 10.5327/Z167944352018v16n3ED

Fifteen years after the creation of Brazilian Journal of Occupational Medicine (Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Trabalho — RBMT) of which he was chief editor as member of the National Association of Occupational Medicine (Associação Nacional de Medicina do Trabalho — ANAMT) board, Professor René Mendes chose to hand over the baton for other colleagues to continue the work started in 2003. The seeds sown in his first editorial1 denoted ANAMT's first attempts to publish a journal of national and international reputation of excellence, which could serve as "permanent forum for discussion of ideas on the major topics related with health and work." The seeds gave their fruit through continuous sharing of up-to-date scientific knowledge on this field.

Prof. Mendes is one of the outstanding authorities on occupational medicine in Brazil and the Americas. Along these 15 years, he reunited colleagues, university professors, professionals from governmental and non-governmental institutions and the private sector to develop together a journal designed as a "deliberate strategy for continued education on occupational medicine1."

As part of the current ANAMT board (2016-2019) RBMT chief editors were Prof. Mendes and Prof. Frida Marina Fischer, who further had the support of associate editors and an editorial board composed of respected representatives of the science and technology community, thus keeping with the tradition started with the first journal issue1. In the past two years, the evaluation, submission and publication criteria were revised, the frequency of publication increased, universal free open-access was improved via the digital version, internationalization grew together with the establishment of bilingual publication (Portuguese/Spanish and English) and the journal was included in relevant indexing and abstracting databases2. These and other initiatives evidence our permanent desire to increase the number of readers and consolidate RBMT as a means of divulgation of high-quality research.

Although he resigned his position of scientific coeditor two months ago, Prof. Mendes remains an active collaborator. By decision of ANAMT president, and with RBMT Scientific Board and Executive Board's agreement, Prof. Mendes was appointed the first Honorary Editor, a lifelong position and a symbol of recognition of his historical contribution to science and technology divulgation in the health and work interface. Prof. Mendes' contributions to RBMT were and are priceless.

The dream of 15 years ago materialized. The journal created new means for authors to share their studies and present ideas, in addition to divulgating important documents by national and international expert committees, thus increasing the knowledge on occupational medicine and related fields. Creating and participating in a scientific journal have implications beyond immediate visibility. Countless numbers of people benefit from accurate scientific information to contribute to the development of a more equitable and fraternal society.

 

REFERENCE

1. Mendes R. Quando uma Especialidade Médica se Torna Adulta. Rev Bras Med Trab. 2003;1(1):3.

2. Mendes R. "Passando em revista" o ano que se finda. Rev Bras Med Trab. 2017;15(4):295-6.


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