Dr. Heather Fritz, PNWU’s founding program director of occupational therapy, was recently named as a top two reviewer of 2020 by “OTJR: Occupation, Participation, and Health,” the official journal of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF).
“Peer-reviewed publication is the bedrock of science,” explained Timothy J. Wolf, OTD, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, who serves as the Editor-in-Chief for OTJR. “For 300 years it has been the process that has been used to help ensure quality and veracity in the scientific literature. This process is completely reliant on the volunteer efforts of scholars/experts in an area of science taking the time to provide scrutinous reviews of research manuscripts submitted for consideration for publication. To this end, Dr. Fritz’s dedication to provide these high-level quality reviews of manuscripts submitted for publication in OTJR has been invaluable.”
As an associate editor for the national journal, Dr. Fritz helps to screen submitted manuscripts for quality and identify reviewers that have the appropriate skill and expertise to review said manuscript. She then reaches out to those experts to request reviews. “What sometimes happens,” she explained, “is that we cannot secure enough reviewers in a timely manner. When we fall short of reviewers, we ask each other to fulfill this role so as to not delay the process.”
By reviewing these manuscripts, as well as those assigned directly to her based on her expertise, the OTJR named Dr. Fritz as one of two national leaders in review timeliness and quality.
“Reviewing manuscripts is something scholars do for free,” said Dr. Fritz. “It is a service to the larger scientific community. I know how hard it is to secure reviewers, so I typically say ‘yes.’”
“Having someone like Dr. Fritz who is as dedicated to OTJR in this role is truly a treasured resource,” added Wolf.
“Reviewing manuscripts is such an integral part of building the science,” Dr. Fritz added. “The work that many unsung heroes do is what allows us to put our faith in what ultimately ends up in scientific journals. Anything that helps raise awareness of those invaluable efforts is fine by me.”