Newswise — The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) announced today that David P. Sklar, M.D., will be the next editor-in-chief of Academic Medicine, the AAMC’s monthly peer-reviewed, scholarly journal. An associate dean of graduate medical education and a distinguished professor at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, he will succeed Dr. Steven Kanter, vice dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who has served as editor-in-chief since 2008.

Dr. Sklar will begin his five-year term as the journal’s editor-in-chief on January 1, 2013. He has worked closely with Academic Medicine’s editorial staff for more than a decade, serving as a member of the editorial board since 2001 before being named associate editor in 2009.

For the past year, Dr. Sklar has been a Robert Wood Johnson health policy fellow on Capitol Hill. Previously, he held leadership positions at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, including serving as the academic chair of the department of emergency medicine and as senior associate dean for clinical affairs. Dr. Sklar also has served on the boards of directors of the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Council on Residency Directors of Emergency Medicine, and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. Widely published across a variety of disciplines, he has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed medical journal publications and brings a history of scholarly research in medical education, including selection of applicants, diagnostic reasoning, medical error, systems design, humanities, and health policy.

“We are delighted that such a distinguished physician and academic medical leader as Dr. Sklar will lead our journal and continue the standards of excellence established by Dr. Kanter. Dr. Sklar’s experience in both undergraduate and graduate medical education, as well as the challenges facing today’s academic medical centers, faculty, staff, and learners, will be a tremendous asset to the journal,” said AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D.

Academic Medicine occupies a unique niche in meeting the scholarly needs of the nation’s medical schools and teaching hospitals. I am honored to succeed Dr. Kanter as editor-in-chief, and I look forward to the journal bringing new perspectives into the discussions about how to improve medical education, health care, and medical research,” said Dr. Sklar.

A board-certified physician in emergency medicine and internal medicine, Dr. Sklar earned his medical degree from Stanford University Medical School, followed by two years of residency training in internal medicine at the University of New Mexico and a two-year emergency medicine fellowship at the University of California at San Francisco.

The most widely cited journal in its field, Academic Medicine publishes articles on the pressing challenges facing the leaders of medical schools and teaching hospitals today. For more information, go to www.academicmedicine.org.