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Welcome to IJAHSP!

It is a rare privilege to be part of the creation and birthing process of a new journal. I have recently had such a privilege with this first issue of the Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice or, as we fondly call it, the IJAHSP. This certainly was not an easy process for Dr. Guy Nehrenz and myself, but we did have lots of help and support to get to this point in time.

Thanks! First, I'd like to thank Dr. Richard Davis (Dean, College of Allied Health) for his support of this project and his guidance in allowing the journal to come to life; Dr. Patrick Hardigan (Associate Dean, College of Allied Health) for his support and contributions and insight into the scholarly activity of publication and research and his support of such activities; Dr. Guy Nehrenz (Director, Doctor of Health Sciences Program) for his camaraderie and assistance in putting this first issue together. His experience and knowledge with online journals was invaluable to the process and will continue to be a guiding force as our chief editor and coordinator; Dr. Ronald Chenail (Vice President, Office for Academic Affairs and Chief Editor for The Qualitative Report) for his advice and the resources he supplied when we first conceived this project; Drs. Cheryl Hill (Physical Therapy), Carol Reed (Occupational Therapy), Barry Freeman (Audiology), and Bill Marquardt (Physician Assistant) for their support of the project and commitment to quality education and clinical practice; Lastly, thanks to our other founding IJAHSP members - Drs. Teri Hamill (AUD), Shari Rone (PT), Dawn Brown-Cross (PT), Mary Blackinton (PT), Harvey Feldman (PA), and Hugh Rappa (PA) - thanks for sharing the vision.

And thanks to everyone else who has and will contribute to the journal now and in the future.

This first issue highlights the diversity of our professions and issues in allied health sciences, education and practice today. We hope that this representation for our first issue will encourage the scholars and researchers in our diverse fields to search deeper in an effort to improve patient, client and student satisfaction and clinical outcomes. Because, down deep, that is the intention of this or any other scholarly work...continuous quality improvement.

In this issue, Sandra Dunbar discusses the implications of motivational factors in health care management with "Perceived Motivational Factors Among Allied Health Managers and Subordinates" in our "Applied Research" section. Additionally, Patrick Hardigan and Stan Cohen challenge the health care clinician educator to consider student learning styles in the design of educational processes with "A Comparison of Learning Styles Among Seven Health Professions: Implications for Optometric Education." Drs. Hardigan and Cohen are experts in this area of study and application.

In our "Educational Perspectives" section, Todd McLoda introduces and discusses the possibilities surrounding "Problem-based Learning in Allied Health & Medicine". Many programs are looking at or have implemented PBL in an effort to have student think like clinicians. Additionally, allied health educators are constantly striving for better outcomes and quality curriculum design in clinical education. In this issue author Jeff Seegmiller presents "A Model for Clinical Education in Athletic Training" that may have implication for other health care education programs.

In our Book Review section, Neil Kenney reviews "Fear Less: Real Truth about Risk Safety, and Security in a Time of Terrorism" by Gavin De Becker. During this period of time in our country, the psychological impact of life around us needs to be considered. Kenney's review allows us insight into the perspective of DeBecker on this timely subject. Our conference review section highlights the Glimpse of the Future 2003 Conference on Healthcare Access as viewed by Ron Pace. Ron's perspective, as a medical professional organization president, is thought provoking and insightful.

Lastly, we invite you, our readers, to submit articles and letters for consideration and possible publication. The richness of our professions and this journal is predicated on people, like yourself, having something to say and the will to say it. Say it to us and help the IJAHSP become a valuable venue for information exchange toward continuous quality improvement in education, and clinical practice. Welcome! These are exciting times in health care.

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