Interview with Susan Aiello, President, Board of Editors in the Life Sciences

Susan Aiello
President
Board of Editors in the Life Sciences


Interview conducted by
Sandi Mcintyre
Account Director
Editage

We had the pleasure of speaking with Susan Aiello, President, Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS), which developed a process for testing and evaluating proficiency in editing in the life sciences according to internationally recognized standards.

Susan told us that the BELS exam was started in 1991 because previously there was no measurable way to assess editorial proficiency and to standardize guidelines. She said that as far as she is aware, BELS is one of only two organizations that specifically certifies editors in the life sciences. Over the years, the BELS exam has been administered in a variety of places worldwide, including the U.S., Canada, Europe, India, Australia, and Japan. BELS is always considering new locations for the exam to make it accessible to life-sciences editors worldwide. The majority of BELS editors are in the U.S., but it is a growing and diverse group, with BELS editors now in over 20 countries.

There are currently about 1000 BELS-certified editors worldwide, with an increasing number of applicants taking the test, which is given at least four times a year. To even qualify to take the test, Susan explained that "applicants are screened to be sure that they have at least two years of editing experience, as well as the appropriate educational background. We don't want to exclude people from taking the test, but because of the varying backgrounds of those applying, the screening is part of the certification process."They don't want people who are not qualified to begin with to take the exam and fail.

When asked how BELS determines what questions to include on the exam, Susan said that it's an evolving process. The exam was originally created by the 10 founding members of BELS, and the Certification Examination Development Committee continually adds or changes questions to refresh the exam. New questions are tested in the field before they are incorporated into the actual test. When asked whether there are plans to modify the current requirements by changing it, or making it more stringent, Susan replied that "We are always trying to keep it in balance and include the full scope that editors need to know."

Susan said that the BELS test "is a very difficult test and is designed to be that way; it’s weighted so that there are some easy questions and some that are more difficult." Someone who gets all the easy questions right and none of the harder ones is not going to pass.

We asked Susan about the advantages of being BELS certified. She said "It is the only standardized measure of editing proficiency and indicates a defined level of editing skill. As it is becoming more well known, more employers are saying that while it may not be a requirement of hire, it's preferred. It will definitely give someone the edge over an applicant without BELS certification." We also asked Susan what advice she would give authors when choosing an editor for their manuscript; what are the qualities she would recommend in a good editor? Not surprisingly, she replied "The first thing is BELS certification! Also, familiarity with the life sciences, besides just medicine; experience with the particular types of documents that an employer is working with."

We wondered whether there would be any advantage for people outside the life sciences - for example, in engineering or the humanities - to take the BELS exam, and Susan replied "Probably not, first because they wouldn’t qualify to sit for the exam without life sciences experience, and the exam wouldn't be recognized in those fields anyway."Right now, she said, there are no plans to expand BELS beyond the life sciences.

To learn more about the BELS exam, visit the BELS website: http://www.bels.org/