In Transition

I am no longer the editor of (a Journal) and shall always try to do right and be good, so that God will not make me one (again)!-Paraphrase, Mark Twain Actually, Mark Twain did not express my feelings as I complete my six years as editor of Health Services Research.But it was simply too good a statement to pass up.For some reason, I have always liked transitions.Perhaps it is because they imply a sense of progress, while at the same time maintaining a sense of continuity.Part of the past is brought into and reflected in the future while at the same time being replaced by or transformed by the future.Thus, I choose to view completing my six years as the editor of HSR as a transition.A transition from being very actively involved in all affairs of the Journal to being much less actively involved.A transition from the enjoyment of working with an outstanding group of people (from senior editors and board members to our authors) to watching others experience that enjoyment.A transition from taking personal pride in what the HSR team has achieved to date to, in the future, experiencing that pride in a more vicarious fashion.During the past six years, the Journal has achieved a number of milestones.These have included growth in the number of subscriptions, an almost doubling of the number of manuscripts submitted, significant expansion of the editorial board, the introduction of new features (e.g., the Public Policy Impact section and Research Translation Commentaries), the publication of ten special issues, electronic publishing of the Alice Hersh Memorial issue, increased media coverage, and, most recently, a significantly expanded number of pages.As evidence of the Journal's quality, eight HSR articles have received ''Article of the Year'' awards from several national associations over the past six years.Further evidence of the Journal's standing is reflected in a recent national survey that ranked HSR second only to the New