A tribute to David Warfield Stires, JFP’s founding publisher

Editor’s response

Dr. John Geyman’s tribute to The Journal of Family Practice’s founding publisher, David Warfield Stires, provides me with the opportunity to do 2 things.

First, to thank John for his visionary leadership in founding and guiding the successful development of the first research journal for family medicine in the United States. (In 1970, family medicine was called “family practice,” hence our name The Journal of Family Practice—a name we have maintained over the years because of its “recognition factor.”) Much of the original US family medicine research of the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s was published in JFP. I still remember the thrill of having my first research study published in JFP in 1983.¹

Second, I want to remind our readers that although our focus has changed to mostly evidence-based clinical reviews, we remain firmly rooted in practical research that informs the everyday practice of family medicine and primary care. We still publish (albeit a limited number) of original research studies that have high practical value to primary care, such as a recent article on the use of medical scribes.² This is largely due to the foresight and vision of pioneers in this field like David War­field Stires and Dr. John Geyman.

John Hickner, MD, MSc