72 New Challenges and Opportunities A LEGACY OF SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING: OFP JOURNAL In the early years of ACOFP, the association published various newsletters and scientific journals. Occasional newsletters were produced throughout the late ‘50s, and in 1959, the ACOFP Board of Governors formed the AGCP Newsletter, sharing association news, editorials, lists of new members, and even political cartoons. In July 1976, this was replaced by Osteopathic Medicine, which focused on more scientific articles, with J. Scott Heatherington as the editor in chief. When Donald Boxman, DO, FACOFP, was president from 1986–1987, he declared that one of his presidential priorities was to create a more financially beneficial arrangement for the journal, moving from the publishers of Osteopathic Medical News to the publishers of the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. Terry L. Nickels, DO, FACOFP dist., who was president 1997–1998, championed the production of an in-house journal that was professional enough to stand with the other specialty journals of the day. In March 1997, volume one of Family Physician was published, featuring Dr. Nickels’ picture on the cover. This publication would be the predecessor of the Osteopathic Family Physician News. With a mix of association information and scientific and practice management articles, Osteopathic Family Physician News began publication in 2000. While popular as a member benefit, it always operated at a substantial deficit. In 2009, as a way to mitigate the financial impact, ACOFP signed on with Elsevier, Inc., to take this publication and transform it into the scientific journal Osteopathic Family Physician. The first issue of Osteopathic Family Physician was published in late 2009 with Jay Shubrook Jr., DO, FACOFP, as the editor. The journal published six issues a year, featuring mainly peer-reviewed scientific articles along with advocacy news and updates from the ACOFP president. The journal moved back in-house in 2014, at which time the leadership team was headed by Editor Meredith C. Norris, DO, FACOFP, and Associate Editor Amy J. Keenum, DO, PharmD. Belinda Bombei provided staff support as the managing editor, a role she held until 2021. The journal name on the cover was also shortened to OFP. In 2015, Dr. Keenum became editor in chief, followed by Ronald P. Januchowski, DO, FACOFP, from 2018 to 2022. The current Editor in Chief Paula Gregory, DO, began her term in 2022, with Lindsay Tjiattas-Saleski, DO, MBA, FACOEP, FACOFP, taking on the mantle of associate editor. Beginning in 2023, the journal moved to a quarterly publishing schedule to allow for more robust issues. In 2024, as part of the move to a new ACOFP website, a new online version of OFP was unveiled with an updated look.
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