We find ourselves at the end of another year, and it is fitting to look back and review what accomplishments and events lead us to where we are today. We are now a full year post–COVID. While the pandemic has certainly left a mark on our individual and societal lives and memories, we can safely say that it is behind us. Nearly all of us have returned to pre–COVID clinical practice hours, an adjustment that is both happily awaited yet at times begrudgingly undertaken. COVID impacted the publication world in that we had a surge of submissions during COVID and now, with the return to normal clinical hours, journals across the board are experiencing a slight decrease in submissions, indicating that clinicians are back at full power and have less time to devote to research and writing. As we all adjust to the return to pre–COVID work hours, I would like to encourage everyone to not shelve any research they have started or ideas they would like to have published. Next to treating patients, our greatest obligation is to advance our field by researching questions, sharing techniques, and testing procedures. Please strive to find a balance between clinical work and clinical research. The one advances the other.

In 2023, both ASCRS and ESCRS were able to enjoy in-person Congresses, one in San Diego (ASCRS) and the other in Vienna (ESCRS). The pleasure of presenting papers, meeting with colleagues, asking questions live, and conversing with industry leaders was once again possible and more enjoyable than ever. Both meetings were well-attended, and it is inspiring to see many young physicians joining the societies. We were thrilled that the JCRS Symposium in Vienna on September 10, 2023, was attended by a packed audience with standing room only. The panel gave an informative and engaging perspective on the controversial topics of lenticular vs corneal, Scheimpflug vs optical coherence tomography, and intraocular lens calculation formulas vs artificial intelligence. We hope to continue to see this type of interest and engagement at future meetings. With JCRS as the joint publication of both the ESCRS and the ASCRS, the Editors encourage you to get involved in your respective society and encourage other physicians to join. Our societies cannot exist in a vacuum. We need young members to join committees and boards. Your society is also an excellent place to network, bring your ideas and thoughts to the forefront, and help shape our professional community.

In 2013, JCRS branched out and created JCRS Online Case Reports (JCRO). JCRO, which now includes Technique articles in its content, is in its 11th year of publication. This open-access, online-only interface lends itself well to digital media. If you encounter an interesting case or develop a useful technique that you would like to share, please submit it to JCRO. It is our hope that this digital platform will continue to grow into an online resource base that will aid clinicians in our field for years to come.

JCRS has been and continues to be a source of knowledge, an inspiration, and a community for our field. While we are a journal with a relatively narrow scope, we are becoming increasingly aware of the need for guidelines and standardization. JCRS has been a key player in shaping and standardizing the language and reporting of our field, and the need continues. In 2023, we saw a sharp increase in IOL calculation papers. We are pleased to see rigorous examination and comparison of the various calculation methods and online tools. The research and interest in this field may warrant a special section at some point. In a similar way, JCRS formed a committee to look at meta-analysis reporting standards and is working on putting together guidelines and standards for these manuscripts. The journal is also concluding a long project on astigmatism, which we hope will give some guidance and standardization to astigmatism reporting. We hope to have the results of these committees published early in 2024.

The JCRS Editors would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for our editorial staff: Managing Editor, Genie Baily; Peer Review/Publications Manager, Jackie Garcia; Editorial Assistant, Alison Jefferson; Social Media Manager, Laura Beard; and our Wolters Kluwer liaison, Shelley Withers. The journal would not be where it is without their talent, hard work, and commitment. We would also like to thank our invited Guest Editorial authors for 2023. Dr. David Chang challenges us to reduce needless surgical waste in his April 2023 editorial.1 In September 2022, Dr. Robert Osher began a series on clinical techniques that continued through 2023.2 We are always grateful for the input of fellow clinicians.

Before the year ends, we certainly want to thank all of our peer reviewers. With the volume of submissions JCRS receives, it is not possible for our two Editors and two Associate Editors to review every paper. We rely heavily on peer reviewers. Their work benefits the journal and the field at large. Papers that are accepted and published have been rigorously revised and improved, and rejected papers that received a peer review from JCRS are able to be improved, resubmitted, and ultimately published. We thank all our reviewers for sharing their time and knowledge, but especially those who have significantly contributed in a longstanding and ongoing way. In 2016, JCRS inaugurated the 100 Club as a way to recognize reviewers who have reviewed more than 100 manuscripts for the journal. The journal would not be where it is without them. Please take a moment to review the published list of names (page •••) of those who have achieved the JCRS 100 Club. Those who reviewed for the JCRS and JCRO in 2023 are listed in the online Reviewer Thank You pdf found on each journal's website.

We wish you all peace and joy this holiday season and in the New Year ahead!

Thomas Kohnen, MD, PhD, FEBO

William J. Dupps, Jr, MD, PhD

Sathish Srinivasan, FRCSEd, FRCOphth, FACS

Liliana Werner, MD, PhD

1. Chang DF. Guest editorial. Tackling the challenge of needless surgical waste in ophthalmology. J Cataract Refract Surg 2023;49:333–338 2. Osher RH. Guest editorial. Little pearls for routine cases. J Cataract Refract Surg 2022;48:985–986