We are celebrating the 45th anniversary of consistent publication of the Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology, after overcoming several challenges with regard to its inclusion and positioning, striving to meet quality and technological requirements of other world class journals.

Notwithstanding its accomplishments, the journal faces today a number of new challenges in the area of scientific research; that is, financial pressure derived from being an open access journal, its indexation in the most renowned and extensively used databases, the impact factor positioning the journal at a world level, and the arrival of new stakeholders in the scientific arena-the so-called predatory journals, that publish low-quality articles without an adequate review process and paid for by the authors.^1,2

Furthermore, from the professional point of view, anesthesiology, and surgery have become increasingly safe through the adoption of the aviation industry practices, by performing in front of the patient,^3,4 using the best and state-of-the-art monitoring, as well as through the availability of technological breakthroughs that enable an improved performance of ever more complex surgical and anesthetic procedures. However, in addition to the challenges in research and scientific communication, there is the impact of the lengthy and even stressing work days on the quality of life of healthcare professionals and their families, as was recently published in an article in this journal.⁵

High-quality scientific communication demands robust and strong research processes that withstand peer review; hence, healthcare professionals exchange remunerated work hours for non-remunerated long research hours, so that they are able to position their research in the scientific arena.

Over these 45 years, we used the opportunity to extend an invitation to publish research papers in the Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology on the quality of life of healthcare professionals, that may make relevant contributions to change and improve this aspect over the next years, in addition to the classical and highly appreciated scientific and technological research articles on a range of topics including anesthesia, pain, critical care, palliative care, and perioperative care, inter alia.

Perioperative care, as mentioned before, is part of an emerging care language beyond the surgical-hospital environment,⁶ and is going to demand from healthcare professionals and specialists, changes in the way things are done, changes that may further increase the complexity of our practice or, if we get ahead of those changes, they will lead to improved quality of life of these practitioners that has not been thoroughly considered in scientific research. This is a challenge we must take on as researchers. Issues such as "burnout,"^7-10 depression, suicide, and the use psychotropic substances,^11-13 and probably a number of proliferative diseases,¹⁴ have been studied as factors associated to the profession; however, little has been said about any interventions and actions to prevent or manage such issues. Hence, there is a need to close this gap in our knowledge through research, for the benefit of the healthcare professionals that practice in surgical environments.

The Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology is now positioned in Latin America, as a top quality journal. Since the Journal was admitted to world renowned databases, it has gained visibility among researchers worldwide and we hope these researchers will continue to consider the journal for their publications, considering that it is an Open Access journal, bilingual (English and Spanish-and the translation costs are covered by the Journal itself); furthermore, the support given by Wolters Kluwer, ensures sound processes and high-quality articles published, subject to a double-blind peer review process and under the surveillance of the "International Committee for Medical Journal Editors"¹⁵ and the Committee on Publication Ethics.¹⁶

We are well aware that the peer review process is increasingly difficult, particularly for open access journals that depend on the voluntary-non-remunerated-contributions of other researchers. This difficulty of the peer review process creates a fertile ground for predator journals and makes them attractive for researchers who are not aware of their mode of operation. Hence, I want to express my deepest gratitude to our peer reviewers that ensure the quality of our processes and articles; to the members of the Scientific Committee, and the members of the Editorial Committee, for their significant contributions to pave the way for the future of the journal; to the researchers that trust the journal to submit their papers, to the million readers that visit us each year, and particularly to the Colombian Society of Anesthesiology and Resuscitation (S.C.A.R.E.) that has adopted the journal as a flagship project of the organization, and therefore has been financing its activities for the last 45 years.