"It's Like a Whole Set of Things That We Do": A Qualitative Study of the Roles of Journal Editors-in-Chief.

Introduction: Journal editors-in-chief (EICs) play a central role in shaping scholarly publishing, yet little is known about how they understand and enact their roles. We explored how medical education journal EICs describe their roles in shaping the publication process. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using thematic analysis of interviews with nine medical education journal EICs. The interviews were part of a broader investigation of publication timelines and explored editorial leadership and practices, including experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants' accounts also provided insight into the broader work of leading a journal, which became the focus of the present analysis. Results: Participants described their work not as a set of discrete tasks, but as five interrelated roles: Discussion: This study offers a practice-informed framework for understanding EIC work as relational, strategic, and system-oriented. By making visible the often-invisible labor that underpins academic publishing, our findings challenge reductive conceptions of editorial work and highlight the need for training, support, and systemic changes to better align expectations for rigor, inclusivity, and sustainability.