Our thanks to all those who took the ALN reader survey a few months back. It was hard to miss the thread that ran through the survey responses. One reader summed it up neatly by writing in “shrinking staff, shrinking budgets, higher demands!” It seemed apparent that most if not all of the survey respondents were sending an SOS about funding and doing more with less.

Moving into 2012, we’ll keep this in mind as we plan articles for the upcoming issues. The “work smarter, not harder” mantra often sounds smug but perhaps, in the current economic reality for most facilities, no facet of operations can go unexamined. “Can this be done more efficiently?” may become the slogan of the new year.We hope that we can provide practical information to make this a little easier to accomplish.

In this issue: As we wrap up 2011, we featured Dr. Marty’s column, “A Procrastinator’s Guide to Planning,” on the cover. The survey told us, yet again, that Ask Dr. Marty is one of the most popular sections of the magazine. Taking his quick quiz can give you a gauge on how close a relationship you have with your inner procrastinator.

In its third installment, the new Infusion Tips column offers a look at “Non-surgical Approaches to Pre-clinical Infusion and Sampling.” Be sure to also read, “Optimization of Ventral Tail Artery Catheterization in the Rat Ensures Timely Collection of Blood Samples.” The two articles complement each other and offer user friendly content.

See you next year.
-PG