In January 2022, I became the second Journal of Physiotherapy editorial fellow. 

As an early career physiotherapy researcher, I felt it was extremely important to work with, learn from and build collaborations with world-leading physiotherapy researchers. 

The editorial fellowship provided the perfect opportunity.

Before starting the fellowship, I had already had experience handling manuscript submissions and making decisions on papers as an associate editor for several physiotherapy and musculoskeletal journals. 

However, I was extremely interested in learning about and understanding the editorial processes of the leading physiotherapy journal.

I knew it would give me skills and experience that would make me a suitable candidate for the editorial boards of prestigious physiotherapy journals and, I hope, put me in a position to join the Journal of Physiotherapy editorial board in the future.

There are differences in how Journal of Physiotherapy operates compared to other journals, mostly because it has a range of different article types in addition to original research and systematic reviews. 

These include summaries of clinical practice guidelines and commentaries on influential physiotherapy research. I was interested to learn how the editorial process differs between article types in order to have a more complete understanding of how a journal operates. 

Journal of Physiotherapy also has a strong presence on X (formerly known as Twitter), which aligns with my interest in the dissemination of research on social media. 

To receive mentoring and upskilling in this area was another factor that drew me to the fellowship.

As well as gaining experience across several portfolios of the Journal, I contributed to writing articles and promoted Journal of Physiotherapy on social media. 

The Clinical Practice Guidelines portfolio involved writing brief summaries of recommendations from new guidelines relevant to physiotherapy practice, while Research Notes and Clinimetrics were mostly a matter of finding authors to write summaries of methods or questionnaires commonly used in physiotherapy research or practice. 

The Critically Appraised Papers portfolio involved writing a brief synopsis of the findings of a new clinical trial and finding an expert in the field to write a commentary on the paper.

I was also able to contribute to the Journal of Physiotherapy X page, help create a guide for infographics summarising research published in the journal and write two editorials—one summarising the journal’s papers on advice and education for spinal pain and one on how physiotherapy researchers can engage with the mainstream media.

Both personally and professionally, I have gotten a lot out of the editorial fellowship.

Personally, I have been able to work with, learn from and build collaborations with world-leading physiotherapy researchers, many of whom I have admired for many years. 

Professionally, the fellowship has helped me to better understand how a leading journal operates and how it ensures that the research articles it publishes are of high quality and valuable to researchers, clinicians and the public. 

Because Journal of Physiotherapy operates quite differently from the other journals I’m familiar with, it has given me a broader perspective on how a journal can handle its manuscript submissions and engagement on social media.

During this two-year fellowship, I have been given the opportunity to write several articles for the Journal across a range of portfolios. 

This has further grown my CV and given me experience in writing articles that require quite different writing styles.

If anyone is considering applying in the next round, I would strongly encourage them to do so. 

The experience, skills and connections I have gained over the past two years have been extremely valuable and will have a very positive influence on my career trajectory.

APA members considering a Journal of Physiotherapy editorial fellowship should head to journal.physio to read the expressions of interest announcement in the latest issue of the Journal.

>>Dr Josh Zadro APAM is a physiotherapist and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for
Musculoskeletal Health at the University of Sydney, investigating strategies to improve access to and uptake of high value care for musculoskeletal conditions.