I joined the editorial team as a complete rookie in my first year, in time for the July 2000 edition, before taking over as student editor myself in October 2002. Four and half years and 18 editions later, Nucleus has had two managing editors, three student editors, and numerous committee members and reviewers all over the country. The journal has also had a complete facelift and carried 110 articles and 244 News Review stories.
Despite all this change, the vision has remained the same throughout: providing answers to the issues that matter to Christian medical students. This enables us to scratch the parts that other journals can only dream of reaching…! This edition is no exception, with articles addressing both ethics and Christian living. On pp20-26 Richard O’Dent examines our use of animals in research, asking whether this is good stewardship of God’s creation, whilst Jacky Engel (pp11-19) explores the lessons we should learn from the UK Abortion Act. Finally, on pp27-33 student editor-elect Gavin Ling outlines the importance and role of the church.
I was recently reminded by a Christian consultant how privileged we are, in contrast to his own generation, to have such a wealth of good, biblically-based ethical teaching at our disposal as we embark on our medical careers. One of the highlights for me of the recent ICMDA European Conference (see pp34,35) was meeting students from many countries who value the journal so highly. CMF resources, particularly Nucleus, have been instrumental in helping me ‘think Christianly’ about the challenges of the profession I will enter next year. My prayer for us all is ‘that he who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus’. (Philippians 1:6)
As I’ve already hinted, I’m going to be handing over the baton to Gavin Ling, a clinical student at St George’s Medical School in London. I am confident he will carry on the tradition well. Publishing a journal is a team effort, so all that’s left for me to do is to thank all those without whose help Nucleus wouldn’t reach your doormats. Most notably these are the journal’s committee and reviewers, all our authors and the staff in the CMF office, particularly Mark Pickering and Jacky Engel. It’s been great fun, and I shall miss it terribly!
