Pediatrics is an official peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics

American Academy of Pediatrics

The American Academy of Pediatrics is the major professional association of pediatricians in the United States. The AAP was founded in 1930 by 35 pediatricians to address pediatric healthcare standards. It currently has 60,000 members in primary care and sub-specialist areas...

. In the inaugural January 1948 issue, the journal's first editor, Hugh McCulloch

Hugh McCulloch

Hugh McCulloch was an American statesman who served two non-consecutive terms as U.S. Treasury Secretary, serving under three presidents.-Biography:...

, articulated the journal's vision: "The content of the journal is... intended to encompass the needs of the whole child in his physiologic, mental, emotional, and social structure. The single word, Pediatrics, has been chosen to indicate this catholic intent."

Pediatrics has been continuously published by the American Academy of Pediatrics

American Academy of Pediatrics

The American Academy of Pediatrics is the major professional association of pediatricians in the United States. The AAP was founded in 1930 by 35 pediatricians to address pediatric healthcare standards. It currently has 60,000 members in primary care and sub-specialist areas...

 since January 1948. Pediatrics has the second highest impact factor

Impact factor

The impact factor, often abbreviated IF, is a measure reflecting the average number of citations to articles published in science and social science journals. It is frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field, with journals with higher impact factors deemed...

 (4.473, 2007 Thompson Journal Citation Reports

Journal Citation Reports

Journal Citation Reports is an annual publication by the Healthcare & Science division of Thomson Reuters. It has been integrated with the Web of Knowledge, by Thomson Reuters, and is accessed from the Web of Science to JCR Web. It provides information about academic journals in the sciences and...

) among all journals in the field of pediatrics. It is among the top 2% most-cited scientific and medical journals (38,973 total citations in 2007) and is the most-cited journal in the field of pediatrics.

Editors

• 1948–1954 Hugh McCulloch
  Hugh McCulloch
  Hugh McCulloch was an American statesman who served two non-consecutive terms as U.S. Treasury Secretary, serving under three presidents.-Biography:...
  
  
• 1954–1961 Charles D. May
• 1962–1974 Clement Smith
• 1974–2009 Jerold F. Lucey
• 2009–present Lewis First