The Amazing World of Global Plastic Surgery and Global Medicine

1 " Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. " Mahatma Gandhi W hen we set out to attend the first meeting of the World Association of Medical Editors in India, we intended to represent Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open and present the Journal and our programs to editors from all over the world. We also knew we would have the microphone a lot: a premeeting workshop on the editor's perspective and either moderating or serving as a panelist on more than 5 sessions combined. We aimed to share what we knew about working with publishers, using digital media to promote journal content, setting up and administrating a journal, and more. But, and looking back it certainly seems so myopic, we did not anticipate that we would learn 10 times more than we were sharing. But, pleas-antly, that was the case: we learned from our global colleagues in the lecture halls and at the dinners, breaks, and receptions; we learned from other pan-elists and moderators on the stage, and we learned lessons about life and publishing in the streets of Agra and New Delhi. When visiting abroad, the first thing that West-erners typically recall is the food. Indian cuisine is rich, flavorful, aromatic, and delicious. Food is a cornerstone of so many cultures worldwide. But with fruit vendors peddling their coconuts and nuts at every market and the smells of curries, tikkas, pan-eer, and sweet desserts permeating the air before, during, and after mealtime, Indian culture seems to embrace food even more than we expected. We did not leave the country hungry. The corollary lesson we learned was that-as Westerners-our appetite for knowledge is so small. Everyone we met had a true and insatiable appetite for knowledge. From the anecdotes relayed, questions asked, and general state of medical journalism around the world, it is obvious that the one thing that people want more of in this information-rich age is more knowledge, especially when it comes to their health. That is why the global open access journal is such an incredible epiphany worldwide. Open access is becoming the byline for how physicians learn, communicate, and enhance patient safety outcomes and patient care. The depth and breadth of true validated open access journals like PRS Global Open, PLOS Medicine, and countless open access journals from MedKnow and other publishers are really positively …