The Mission and Vision of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground. —Theodore Roosevelt What is the purpose of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS), and what is our ultimate goal? Vision and mission statements define core values and aspirations. These statements are used by businesses, professional societies, journals, and individuals alike to provide a detailed plan of the future and to create an environment that exemplifies the culture. Our Founding Fathers had a vision for a union with “rights … [to] life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Nelson Mandela strove to end apartheid. Although mission and vision statements are often combined or interchanged, there are some distinctions. A mission statement is actionable. It is what you do now, for whom you do it, how you do it, and what it achieves. In contrast, a vision statement looks to the future. A vision is where you are going and what you want your mission to ultimately achieve. To paraphrase Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” But where will you be? A vision is an overarching purpose that can inspire and guide actions. It provides direction and a clear path forward toward a defined destination. A vision may be a short phrase. For example, Apple aims “to make the best products on earth and to leave the world better than we found it.” Dow delivers its vision in two concise sentences: “We want to become the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive, and sustainable materials science company in the world. Our goal is to deliver value, growth, and best-in-class performance.” Businesses use vision statements to align employees and show how their work has impact. This helps build leaders from within the company to take it to the next level. Over time, vision statements can change as the company, world, and consumer needs evolve. Mission statements are equally as important. A mission statement delves further into the purpose and objectives of the company or entity, and who it is meant to serve, and further outlines an approach to achieve the vision. A good mission statement incorporates the company’s values, ethics, culture, and goals. Ikea states its mission in simple, clear terms: “To offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.” This statement offers a purpose for the company and a way to extend its outreach to a broad range of customers. Dunkin Donuts appeals to key American desires and needs in today’s fast-paced world: “We strive to keep you at your best, and we remain loyal to you, your tastes, and your time. That’s what America runs on.” Each of us immediately connects with the desire to perform our best and for loyalty, quality, and efficiency. Vision and mission statements are similarly used by journals to convey the core values to the editorial board, the editorial staff, the reviewers, and you, the reader. These statements are not always so clearly separated and may be phrased as objectives or purpose. In JAMA, the key objective is “to promote the science and art of medicine and the betterment of the public health.” This succinct statement is followed by 11 critical objectives outlining the vision and mission of the journal. In the world’s most referenced surgical journal, Annals of Surgery, the purpose is to “provide the international medical community with information on significant contributions to the advancement of surgical science and practice.” The editorial board of PRS and the editorial staff have undertaken a deep-dive examination of the purpose, culture, and aspirations of PRS. Who are we? In this issue of the Journal, we would like to share our purpose and ultimate goals. VISION STATEMENT The vision of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is to publish and promote the most impactful advances in the science, innovation, and practice of plastic and reconstructive surgery. The definition of the Greek word plastikos is “capable of being shaped or molded.” The practice of plastic surgery is continually shaped by scientific investigation and molded by technical innovations. The aspiration of PRS is to be at the forefront of advances in all of plastic and reconstructive surgery for the betterment of our specialty and our patients. MISSION STATEMENT The mission of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is to drive innovation and enhance patient outcomes by carefully cultivating and dynamically delivering breakthrough research, evidence-based studies, and impactful scientific discourse in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. Advances in the art and science of plastic surgery require creativity, determination, grit, and a desire to continually improve patient outcomes. At PRS, our mission is to discover and improve new technological advancements through peer review, and to encourage evidence-based medicine to perform clinical trials that affect the practice of plastic surgery. With the information garnered from innovations in plastic surgery procedures and the data acquired through clinical trials, we can provide an impact that advances the science and practice of plastic surgery. In addition, PRS aims to be on the cutting edge of medical publishing and to deliver each issue in a fashion that is as creative and innovative as the field it represents. We have one request. You, the readers and reviewers, are the future of PRS and our specialty. We would like to enlist your support to uphold the mission and vision of PRS. With you, we know we will continue to be the no. 1 plastic surgery journal in the world. More importantly, we strive to be the journal every practitioner looks to for providing the most up-to-date, evidence-based information to inform their clinical decision-making. With our mission and vision updated for a new era of medicine and publishing, we are confident that we, together, can continually create a medical journal of which the entire field of plastic and reconstructive surgery can be proud. DISCLOSURE Dr. Colwell receives funding from Wolters Kluwer as the plastic surgery section editor for UpToDate. Dr. Chung receives funding from the National Institutes of Health, book royalties from Wolters Kluwer and Elsevier, and has received research funding from Sonex to study outcomes of carpal tunnel surgery. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to acknowledge the attendees of the 2024 PRS and PRS Global Open strategic planning meeting for the open dialogue that helped shape these final mission and vision statements, especially Amir H. Dorafshar, MD, and Arthur Yu, MD, PhD, who, along with Dr. Colwell, prepared and led the group discussion on mission and vision statements. The authors also wish to thank the PRS and PRS Global Open editorial office team for their valuable feedback, especially Christina Carson, Darienne Miner, and Aaron Weinstein, who synthesized the feedback from the group discussions, provided additional perspective from the publishing side of the Journal, and word-smithed the final proposed versions. The final mission and vision statements were reviewed and adopted by the members of the PRS editorial board who attended the in-person editorial board meeting held on September 28, 2024, in San Diego, California.