Editor's Note
I'm cheating in this issue: I didn't write most of what follows. The heading on the page should really be "Readers' Notes" rather than "Editor's Note." That's because we got some feedback recently that contains as powerful a message as any column that I might craft.
About 1,500 copies of our Fall issue—those going to readers who have requested a subscription, rather than those who automatically get one—had a postcard attached to the cover that we asked the recipients to return if they wanted to stay on our mailing list. The card had a checkbox next to the statement "Yes, please keep me on ..." and an address block. To fill up the rest of the card, we invited people to share "any comments you'd like to make about the magazine."
We were blown away by the response! (And if that statement seems to smack of hyperbole, note the multiple exclamation points in the comments that follow.) Not only did 33% of the recipients return the cards—a stunning response to any mailing— but more than half of the 500 people who replied took the time to share a comment with us. Yet it was the quality as much as the quantity of the feedback that really took our breath away. Here's a small sampling:
"The magazine is great!! Don't stop—I'll have withdrawal!" South Royalton, Vt.
"My wife and I read and enjoy this wonderful magazine. It gives us insights into the many dimensions of medicine and continues to inspire us with compelling stories." Avon, Conn.
"Great magazine. Great medicine and school!!!" Princeton, N.J.
"I love receiving Dartmouth Medicine. It is intelligent and thorough, but also accessible, and it is always enlightening." Randolph, Vt.
"Thank you so much for continuing the subscription to our office. Dartmouth Medicine is one of the finest in our field." New York, N.Y.
"It's the best medical magazine that I've run across. I no longer live close enough to use your facility, but I have never been more impressed with a facility. I highly recommend you to anyone who is in your geographical area." Seattle, Wash.
"Grew up in Hanover, daughter in first year at Dartmouth, husband in health-care administration— and we all really enjoy your magazine! Articles are of interest and accessible to non-medicine types! Thank you!" York, Pa.
"Wonderful insight behind the scenes of modern- day medicine." Albany, N.Y.
"Enjoy the historical articles, plus the magazine in general." Greenwood, Maine
"Articles are well written and very informative. We really like the anecdotal stories on medical issues." Alexandria, Va.
"Even though I am retired, I enjoy trying to keep up—reading the BMJ [British Medical Journal], CMJ [Canadian Medical Journal], and Dartmouth Medicine, which I look forward to all the time." Corner Brook, Newfoundland
"Love, love, love this publication—thanks for keeping me on your list!" Fountain Hills, Ariz.
"It's always great—I wish the issues were more than four a year!" North Conway, N.H.
"I appreciate the magazine and put it in my waiting room after I read it." Wallingford, Conn.
"We read it literally from cover to cover and then give it to our sons (one is an M.D. and the other is an undergrad)." Floral Park, N.Y.
"It is an excellent magazine and is a credit to the institution—its teachers, professors, doctors, and staff." Old Greenwich, Conn.
"I so enjoy your magazine. Dartmouth Medical School and Medical Center are one in a million." Cranford, N.J.
"It is one of the best 'house organs' I have ever read. The 'heart and brain' of DMS are in every issue!" Gilford, N.H.
So, what's the message in these comments? Admittedly, I'm pleased that so many readers with only a peripheral connection with Dartmouth, or none at all, appreciate Dartmouth Medicine. But what really pleases me is that readers appreciate Dartmouth medicine—with a little "m." That is, the way medicine is practiced and taught and advanced here. The fact that medicine here has a heart and a brain. The fact that the "teachers, professors, doctors, and staff" are "one in a million." And they are. My colleagues and I don't make up what goes on these pages. I may have cheated in putting my byline on this column, but there's no prevarication anywhere else in this magazine. Dana Cook Grossman
EDITOR
Dana Cook Grossman
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Laura Stephenson Carter
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Matthew C. Wiencke
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Sandy Adams
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Barbra Alan
Nicole Ballew
Katharine Fisher Britton
Megan McAndrew Cooper
John Milne
Katrina Mitchell
Peter Ostendorp
Constance E. Putnam
Roger P. Smith, Ph.D.
Alan Smithee
Catherine Tudish
Laura Jean Whitcomb
PHOTOGRAPHERS/ILLUSTRATORS
Mark Austin-Washburn
Stephanie Carter
Suzanne DeJohn
Eline DeRuiter
Flying Squirrel Graphics
Jon Gilbert Fox
Joseph Mehling
Rob Strong
DESIGN CONSULTANT
Kate Siepmann
EDITORIAL BOARD
Joan Crane Barthold, M.D., '85
Robert D. Becher '05
James L. Bernat, M.D., HS '73-77
Lin A. Brown, M.D., HS '79-85
Theresa Bryant
Marta Hristova, Ph.D., '01
Nancy Price Graff
Malcolm W. Mackenzie, M.D., '90
Joseph E. Melton, Ph.D., '82
Maureen S. Micek, M.D., '90
Katrina Mitchell '06
H. Worth Parker, M.D., HS '75-83
Elmer R. Pfefferkorn, Ph.D.
Drew Remignanti, M.D., DC '75
David H. Rubin, M.D.
John H. Sanders, Jr., M.D.
Stephen H. Taylor
Hali Wickner
Charles R. Wira, Ph.D., '70
EDITORIAL OFFICES
Mailing address: One Medical Center
Drive (HB 7070), Lebanon, NH
03756
Office location & FedEx/UPS delivery:
21 Lafayette Street, #303, Lebanon,
NH 03766
Phone: 603/653-0772
E-mail: DartMed@Dartmouth.edu