The Eighth International Congress on Peer Review and Biomedical Publication

The Eighth International Congress on Peer Review and Biomedical Publication will be held in Chicago, IL on September 10-12, 2017. This advance notice gives interested researchers plenty of time to develop and implement studies related to peer review and publication for possible presentation at the conference. This article in JAMA has suggestions for possible research topics that would be of interest to the audience.

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Shawn’s Poster

I attended the Seventh Congress in 2013. Other INANE members who were there included Suzie Kardong-Edgren, Shawn Kennedy, Francie Likis, Sarah Martin, and Charon Pierson. It was an interesting conference although a little doctor-centric. It would be nice to have a few INANE editors up at the podium! Kudos to Shawn (along with Jane Barnsteiner and John Daly) who did present a poster.

Here a chance to get something organized for the conference. If anyone is interested and has an idea and needs a research partner, I’d love to chat!

Leslie

Search for Editor: CIN Plus and ANI Connection

XLargeThumb.00024665-201501000-00000.CVSearch: Editor, CIN Plus and ANI Connection

After a decade of service, Dr. Linda Thede, Departmental Editor for CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing is stepping down. Thus a search is underway for a Dr. Thede’s replacement. The selected Editor will have primary responsibility for coordinating the CIN Plus and ANI Connection departments of CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing. The Editor will also be actively engaged in promoting CIN through social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter. This is an ideal opportunity for a nurse with an emerging interest in publishing and the editor role to have responsibility for journal and manuscript development while at the same time being mentored by an experienced Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Leslie Nicoll.

Activities related to this position include:

  • Soliciting manuscripts for both departments, typically two per issue (one for CIN Plus and one for ANI Connections).
  • Working with authors to revise and refine their manuscripts so that they are suitable for publication.
  • Providing on-time publication ready manuscripts to the editorial office according to established deadlines.
  • Participating in monthly conference calls with leadership of the Alliance for Nursing Informatics to discuss manuscript flow and the publication plan for ANI Connections.
  • Attending relevant conferences, schedule permitting, such as the annual meetings for HIMSS, AMIA, ANIA, and the International Academy of Nursing Editors (INANE).
  • Engaging audiences via social media.
  • Other duties as assigned by the Editor-in-Chief.

Applicants should note that this position requires a weekly commitment of time. Applicants can be located in any setting; the work is done remotely. Financial remuneration includes a monthly honorarium and payment of the registration fee to attend the annual meeting of INANE.  Ideally, the selected candidate will begin work on April 1, 2015.

Qualifications:

  • At least five years progressive experience in nursing.
  • A registered nurse with a master’s degree in nursing is required, but a doctoral degree and certification in informatics is preferred.
  • An established network of colleagues in informatics, nursing, and (to a lesser extent) publishing.
  • Experience in the publication process, either as an author, peer reviewer, or similar position.
  • Knowledge and ability to use technology effectively to streamline workflow.
  • Ability to work effectively as a team member as well as individually.

There is an online application process which can be accessed here. 
Applications will be accepted until February 28, 2015.
Questions should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief,
Dr. Leslie Nicoll at Leslie@medesk.com.

Truth in Reporting: Straight Talk for The Good Nurse

NB: The following resources grew out of the INANE presentation by Charles Graeber and Diana Mason at INANE 2014 in Portland, ME. Faculty, editors, and other interested colleagues are free to use these resources, with proper credit to Charles Graeber, author of The Good Nurse, Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN Co-Director, Center for Health, Media & Policy, Rudin Professor of Nursing, and INANE 2014.
~~
PART I: Editorial Notes Outline:

Takeaways:

  • In the book “The Good Nurse,” eight years of investigative journalism uncovers the shocking story of a serial killer nurse, and the hospital administrators who passed him on, hospital to hospital, for 16 years. It also highlights the attempts of several brave whistleblower “good nurses” to stop Cullen along the way.
  • Serial Killer Charles Cullen is in prison for what he did. Many of the administrators who passed him on got promoted.
  • New Health care employee reporting laws, designed to stop another serial killer like Charles Cullen, in fact treat truly “good nurses” like criminals.
  • Meanwhile it’s still business as usual for the health care executives.
  • We should know the truth and demand common sense laws that respect nurses, protect patients, and don’t force executives to choose between protecting their institution from lawsuits, and protecting patients from harm.

PART 2:

TALKING POINTS RE: LESSONS FROM THE GOOD NURSE

  • The book details how nurse Charles Cullen was able to selectively or randomly kill an admitted 40 patients, though expert estimates of the real number of Cullen’s victims to be closer to 400, making him the most prolific serial killer in United States history.
  • But as lurid as these details are, more troubling are the descriptions of how Cullen was able to go from hospital to hospital in Pennsylvania and New Jersey–often facilities with stellar reputations, including Magnet designation—without being reported to the police, the state boards of nursing, and state departments of health (until a coworker reported her suspicions to police, against the expressed wishes of her hospital’s administration and lawyers).
  • The book describes situations in which top executives and administrators stymied detectives’ investigations into the suspicious deaths, including misleading them about the medication system and record-keeping.
  • When Cullen’s actions (serious repeated nurse practice issues, delivery of non-proscribed meds, bizarre behavior, patient complaints) were uncovered by hospital authorities, he was either removed from the schedule, fired or allowed to resign. But never was he stopped.
  • Example: At one hospital, Cullen was the only suspect in a rash of insulin overdoses. He was removed from the schedule, and so applied for a job at another hospital, where he commenced overdosing patients. At another hospital, Cullen was caught red-handed by his fellow nurses, stashing empty vials of deadly paralytic drugs which he had used for murder during his shift. Outside council was brought in, and Cullen was allowed to resign, rather than be fired, so that he could receive a neutral recommendation.Cullen quickly found a new job, and began killing again.
  • Instead of opening themselves to outside scrutiny- at the risk of reputation, donor money and massive lawsuits- the hospitals, intentionally or otherwise, operated in a manner which protected the institution, but put their patients at risk.
  • When Cullen’s suspicious behavior was brought to the attention of the authorities by a whistle-blowing nurse, the hospital drove the nurse whistle-blower out of the state, and later, counter-sued families of patients who were suspected dying at Cullen’s hand, and have tried to intimidate the book’s author.
  • None of the hospital executives and administrators were held accountable for their actions or their failure to report Cullen in a timely fashion, if at all; several, including a risk management administrator who obstructed a police investigation, were promoted.
  • There has never been a criminal investigation into the actions of these administrators, but it’s not too late; nurse leaders and patient advocates can still demand the truth. (Somerset County NJ Police detectives also called for a Grand Jury).
  • New Jersey and Pennsylvania quickly passed broad laws (see below) in the wake of Cullen’s prosecution and life jail sentence, but there appears to be little enforcement of these laws requiring hospitals to report a dismissed employee.While ineffective at inspiring change at a corporate level, they appear to be overloading the nursing board review process, and can brand the career of an inexperienced nurse who makes a simple mistake.
  • Questions that this book raises include:
  1. How do we prevent another Cullen from going undiscovered in our midst?
  2. What policies and procedures are needed to ensure that health care organizations take the proper and ethical actions that are needed to prevent employees from continuing to do harm to patients?
  3. How do we tell nurses to blow the whistle on unsafe practices when their employers skirt doing so, even when required by law to report these?
  4. What are the local and national conversations that need to happen around institutional priorities (patient welfare versus financial health of the institution) accountability for patient safety in health care?
  5. What are the ethical dilemmas that nurse administrators face when becoming aware of potential criminal activity with their facilities, but are told by executive leadership that they must not investigate further, nor report it? How does this nurse weigh the legal requirement for reporting unsafe practitioners versus the institution’s interest in maintaining its fiscal health by preventing the information from becoming public?
  6. Exercise> CASE STUDIES: Students form groups to report and present case studies related to the practice and ethical issues raised.

PART 3:

A Closer Look: Systemic Issues Uncovered in The Good Nurse: The Enabling Patterns of Dysfunction

The investigation revealed several factors which contributed to perpetuating Cullen’s nursing/murder career for 16 years and 9 different health care facilities.

  • Hospitals were slow to react, understandably fearful of lawsuits, and repeatedly chose laborious and ineffective internal investigations, rather than outside attention from regulatory agencies and detectives. During these investigations, Cullen continued working, and killing patients.
  • Cullen exploited the space between the business of health care and the care itself.  In moving Cullen out of their employ and back into the job pool, many of the hospital administrators who dealt with the “Cullen problem” did their job as business people, but not their duty as patient advocates.
  • The trend toward outsourcing and use of staffing agencies increasingly allowed hospitals to treat nurses as disposable employees, and discouraged recognition or ownership of the Cullen problem.
  • Nurses who voiced concerns with Cullen’s behavior were marginalized, ignored or dismissed. Those who spoke up said they did so at the risk of their jobs. The whistle blowers identified in the book not only left the hospitals at which they had worked, and also the state.
  • Information flow was guarded, making problem solving slow, if impossible.
  • Outside investigators, who usually lacked familiarity with the healthcare setting and terms of art, were not given full information and didn’t even know what to ask for.
  • Family members of Cullen’s victims were sometimes not told of overdose levels of drugs found in their loved one’s bodies, and thus did not request autopsy.
  • Outside agencies, in the rare instances they were contacted regarding Cullen-related incidents, did not communicate with each other, or across state lines.
  • Penalties for non-reportage of sentinel events were rare and minimal, especially compared to  the perception that potential lawsuits would result from admitting to the problem.

The Good Nurse” is available in hardbook, paperback, and e-book versions, anywhere that fine books are sold.

Mentoring

XLargeThumb.01781601-201407000-00000.CVAs a member of Editorial Board for the Journal of Pediatric Surgical Nursing (JPSN) Editorial Board, my role is to mentor authors who ask for assistance. I enjoy working with colleagues on these projects and find (as always) that I learn much more than I offer. Most of the authors thus far are newer in the profession and have less clinical experience. This brings the challenge of helping them fill in the literature, clinical, and research gaps.

But, my most recent mentoring challenge is an expert clinical nurse who feels that she does not have anything “data driven” to write. This is despite the fact that for over 25 years, she has worked with a specific patient population, collaborated with the leading physician expert, earned two Master’s degrees, and is seen as the clinical expert by colleagues both novice and expert (as they tell me themselves).

When I asked her, “What do you want to say?” she was able to concisely tell me her thoughts on orthopedic pin care, take me through the full circle history of where we were, why it didn’t work, what they found worked, and now, frustratingly, a return to the original method of 25 years ago with little data to support this trend.

We strategized a bit and came up with a plan (any ideas you have are also welcome!)

But my question for the group goes beyond pin care…..my colleague brings up an interesting question in my mind.  How does JPSN capture her history?  Not for pin care (we’re working on that one) but her history of our profession.  In an hour of speaking with her…and then in speaking with another nurse who referred her to me from her institution, it is quite clear that this woman has a great story. She has lived, worked, and exemplified our nursing legacy. I am confident that we will capture what she wants to say about pin care.  I am worried that we will lose her story of a fabulous, devoted career when she retires.

So, my musing for all of you is how do we at JPSN document this era of nursing? And validate these nurses’ contributions? My “mentee” told me that she did not think she had anything she could write since she did not do formal research. Yet she knew her team’s infection rates (or lack thereof) from her infection control colleagues, supports data driven care, and supports nursing’s progress to maintain our place at any management table.

How do you capture these nurses’ special contributions and history at your journal? Thanks for educating me as a mentor!

Nancy

Guidelines for the Portrayal of Overweight and Obese Persons in the Media

It would be difficult to find a compassionate healthcare provider who would support bias and discrimination of their patient population. But, all too often, healthcare providers (as well as writers and editors) make choices that unfortunately do just that….reinforce obesity bias and discrimination. Bias and discrimination affect all of us; our consciousness has been raised in the way we speak, write, depict, and comment on many vulnerable groups in our society. Obesity discrimination unfortunately remains a prevalent issue for many of our patients and remains legal in all states except Michigan.

The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity is a data driven, policy oriented site which has several missions, one of which is to stop obesity bias and stigma through research, education, and advocacy. Dr. Rebecca Puhl has led a team of researchers at the Center in the study of obesity bias/discrimination. Her work is often cited, available to all through the site, and offers guidance on opportunities for advocacy and intervention.

Two areas on the Rudd Center website are of particular interest to the INANE membership.The first area features media resources for journalists, bloggers, editors, and film, television, and communication experts. The Rudd Center Media Gallery contains a repository of images and videos that are free for use by anyone visiting their site.  These images show people affected by obesity in a positive way, in a variety of work, school, and recreational settings. The second resource includes guidelines for the portrayal of overweight and obese persons in media or print (including professional posters and presentations). These guidelines remind us to respectfully put people first and the “condition” second. We are all familiar with the disrespectful videos that often accompany a newscast on some “obesity” news….often showing a video of a person affected by obesity walking from behind, focusing only on their body, not their shoulders and head.

As editors of nursing journals, we are in an ideal position to share this information through editorials and articles. Just as important, being mindful of modeling appropriate “people first; condition second” writing will encourage the elimination of bias and discrimination toward a population of our patients who need our support. I encourage you to visit the links above and if time permits, the entire Rudd Center site. Spreading the news of this valuable resource to your readership, students, staff, and community will go far to eradicate hurtful bias and discrimination of adults and children affected by obesity.

Linda Pierce Appointed Associate Editor of RNJ

Chicago, IL: (September 2014) The Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) has appointed Dr. Linda Pierce PhD RN CNS CRRN FAHA FAAN, Professor at the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, as Associate Editor of Rehabilitation Nursing Journal (RNJ), the official publication of the association. Rehabilitation Nursing, a bi-monthly publication, features in-depth articles on current practice issues, research and its implications, editorial features, andnews about products and services for individuals with disabilities or chronic illness.

LindaPierceDr. Pierce is a past-president of the ARN board and former chair of the Rehabilitation Nursing Foundation (RNF), the arm of ARN that funds research in rehabilitation nursing practice. She has served as a key contributor on a variety of national and chapter committees and task forces, including the Editorial Board of the journal. For more than 20 years, Dr. Pierce has exemplified the philosophy and goals of ARN and has spent her career as a role model for rehabilitation nursing. She has supported ARN’s organizational goals through her ongoing volunteer service to the organization, her teaching, and her sustained record of research funding and publications.

Congratulations to Linda!

Lillee Gelinas Appointed Editor-in-Chief

antlogoSILVER SPRING,MDAmerican Nurse Today, the official journal of the American Nurses Association (ANA), has announced Lillee Gelinas, MSN, RN, FAAN, has been appointed editor-in-chief effective June 1, 2014. Gelinas, a member of ANA and the Texas Nurses Association, has served on the journal’s editorial board since its inception in 2006. American Nurse Today is a peer-reviewed journal owned and published by HealthCom Media.

Gelinas succeeds Pamela Cipriano, PhD,RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, who served as American Nurse Today editor-in-chief since its founding in 2006.

lillee“We are excited to see Lillee assume this new role. She has demonstrated dedication and enthusiasm in her long service on the editorial board, and we are confident she will shape its future as editor-in-chief,” said ANA President Karen A. Daley, PhD, RN, FAAN. “We also gratefully acknowledge Pam Cipriano for her leadership in helping to launch and establish American Nurse Today as a respected and valued journal.”

ANA members receive a subscription to the award-winning journal as a benefit of membership.

“Lillee’s amazing passion for nursing and her in-depth understanding of the profession will be a valuable asset as American Nurse Today continues its focus on delivering information that nurses can use in their practice,” said Greg Osborne, HealthCom Media President. “Since her appointment to the editorial board in 2006, Lillee has contributed to shaping our award-winning editorial content. It is also very important to acknowledge Pam Cipriano, whose invaluable editorial leadership skills have helped establish American Nurse Today as the leading source of clinical and practical content in the nursing market.”

“I am humbled and honored to accept this appointment with American Nurse Today,” said Gelinas. “Pam Cipriano’s shoes will be very hard to fill, but with a talented editorial board and an engaged audience, I’m very confident of a successful future. I firmly believe in the journal’s role, which supports nursing practice through evidence-based, practical information, and the platform it provides to reinforce the fundamental role we as nurses play in transforming the health care system.”

Gelinas continued, “Nurses are vital to the care provided today, are well-positioned to help patients navigate the shifts occurring in care delivery, and serve as the hearts and hands of our health care system.  With such an important role, it is essential that we stay in conversation and connected as together we design the paths to our future. American Nurse Today provides an important outlet where the dialogue can occur.”

A nurse leader with more than 30 years of experience, Gelinas currently serves as system vice president and chief nursing officer of CHRISTUS Health, a system comprising more than 350 hospitals, services, and facilities in the U.S., Mexico and Chile. She is a well-respected thought leader and speaker on health care management, clinical issues, and patient safety and quality issues. She has served in various nursing leadership roles, including member of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services Nursing Steering Committee; member of the board of directors for the National Patient Safety Foundation; member of the Nursing Advisory Council of The Joint Commission; and many others. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a member of the Academy’s Nursing Informatics and Technology Expert Panel.

Lawrie Elliott Appointed as Editor for JPMHN

Lawrie Elliott has been appointed Editor for the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, succeeding outgoing editor, Dawn Freshwater.

Lawrie shares some of his background and expertise:

Career History

image001I trained as a mental health nurse in Glasgow (UK) in 1977 and qualified in 1980.  I moved into public health research in the 1990s, became a senior lecturer (and Director of Research) at the University of Dundee (UK) in 1997 and then reader in 2003.   I took up my present post as professor at Edinburgh Napier University (UK) in 2005.  I am an active researcher and have contributed to the strategic development of nursing research throughout my career, including research lead for a cross NHS/University ‘Centre for Integrated Healthcare Research’ (2005-2010) and more recently led the Research Excellence Framework 2014 submission for Nursing at Edinburgh Napier University.  

Areas of Expertise

1064_LargeI have a substantial track record in applied research in Public Health and published numerous high quality papers including a report with colleagues for the World Health Organisation on health inequalities (2006). My methodological expertise centres on the evaluation of public health interventions which range from needle exchange, methadone and sexual health programmes to community nursing. I served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing between 2005 and 2012 and became an Associate Editor in 2013. I have also reviewed for a number of international health journals and grant awarding organisations. I have worked on a number of public health nursing research studies commissioned by government including, The Public Health Contribution of Nursing: a Review of the Evidence (2001), and the Review of Nursing in the Community (2009-2012). I also led on the evaluation of Healthy Respect; a national health demonstration project designed to improve the sexual health of young people including vulnerable groups (2012).  I have obtained over £3 million of funding in collaboration with my colleagues including new studies on young people and families funded by the National Institute for Health Research and the Scottish Government which will run to 2017. I am currently collaborating with researchers from the USA, Australia, Ireland and Sweden and internationally recognised researchers from UK countries.

Contact information: Professor Lawrie Elliott
School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Social Care
Edinburgh Napier University, Sighthill Campus
Edinburgh, Scotland. UK
EH11 4BN
Tel: +44 (0) 131 455 5304
Email: l.elliott@napier.ac.uk

Mental Illness: My Personal Experience, Our Professional Responsibility

Ed note: Our INANE colleague, Francie Likis, wrote this editorial for the March/April issue of the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. I am grateful for her willingness to share it here.

Frances E. Likis CNM, NP, DrPH, FACNM, FAAN

cover (1)I was 17 years old the first time I was hospitalized for mental illness. After that, I spent more than a dozen years on a roller coaster of getting better and getting worse. I dropped into and out of care depending on how poorly or well I felt. I was willing to take medications or seek therapy when my symptoms interfered with my life, but I stopped them when I felt better. Finally, in my early 30s, I accepted the fact that having bipolar disorder is a chronic condition for which I will need medication for the rest of my life.

The next 10 years were more stable than the years that preceded them. I took my medication every single day. I tried to get adequate exercise and sleep, both of which help me feel better. That isn’t to say it was always smooth sailing. I had episodes that required adjusting the dosage of my primary medication and, at times, adding additional medications. But overall, my bipolar disorder was fairly well controlled.

Last spring, without warning, everything changed. I had a severe depressive episode. I had forgotten how consuming and awful depression is. I was constantly exhausted; it could take hours of napping to recover from a short period of activity. My brain felt like mud. I could not think or concentrate. I did things that I usually would enjoy, that I wanted to enjoy, but I found no pleasure in them. I cried for no reason. There are no words to adequately convey the horrific and overpowering darkness of depression.

In addition to feeling terrible, I was terrified. I had convinced myself that as long as I took my medication and went to my psychiatrist regularly, I would never be that sick again. But it happened anyway, and it was frightening. I was even more frightened that I would not recover. I relentlessly repeated a mantra in my head, “You have gotten better before, you will get better again,” as if my life depended on it. And it may well have. After a few months, with the help of new medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy, I did get better. I also benefitted from a great deal of love, support, faith, and grace.

During this time, I was often so sick and tired that I didn’t have the energy to put on a good face and conceal my illness, as I had in the past. While most of my close friends knew I had bipolar disorder, I had never been completely open about it beyond my inner circle. This time, when people asked why I wasn’t myself, I told them what was wrong. While many were empathetic, others commented, “Why are you depressed when you have so much in life going for you?” or “You just need to get up and out, go exercise, think positively, etc.” I know they didn’t mean to be hurtful, but their comments reflect a lack of understanding of mental illness that is pervasive.

As I began to feel better, I felt a strong need to be more public about having bipolar disorder. I was frustrated that there are still so many misconceptions about mental illness. I was reminded, yet again, that I have been one of the fortunate ones. Frequently I see individuals who are obviously mentally ill, and I know how thin the line is between me and them, and how much of that line is simply luck. I have always had health insurance and thus the ability to access care and get treatment. I have found medications that work for me as well as wonderful physicians and therapists. I have loving and supportive family and friends.

Last June, a close friend of my sister and her husband committed suicide after a long battle with mental illness. When my sister called to tell me, I told her how sad I was that we don’t have better treatments for mental illness in this country. She told me how mad she was that mental illness is so misunderstood and uncomfortable that we are often unwilling to discuss it. One of our friends referred to mental illness as a fatal disease; indeed, one-third of individuals with bipolar disorder attempt suicide.[1] Suddenly the idea of an editorial as testimony and a call to action was no longer optional, it was imperative. I wrote my first draft last August and have spent the months since deciding whether to publish it. I have had lengthy conversations with family and friends about the implications for my personal and professional life. Throughout this time, I have had repeated signs and increasing conviction that it is the right thing to do.

Why do I feel compelled to tell my story in this public and professional forum? First, I want to fight back against the stigma and fear that surround mental illness. Believing mental illness is shameful and should be kept a secret has to stop. People are not embarrassed or reluctant to say they have diabetes or hypertension or other common health conditions. I want to acknowledge and share my story.

Second, I stand to remind you that mental illness is widespread and the faces of those who are affected are not always the faces you might expect. I have a successful career and a life filled with family and friends, and I have a serious mental illness. And my face is only one of the millions of people in the United States experiencing mental illness. One-fifth of adults in the United States have a diagnosable mental illness in a given year, and 5% of US adults suffer from a serious mental illness that substantially interferes with or limits their life activities.[2]

Finally, I want to call my fellow midwives and other health care providers to action. More than half of US adults with mental illness are not getting mental health care.[2] As clinicians, we have a duty to ensure mental illness is recognized, accurately diagnosed, and treated. When women we care for have mental health needs beyond our expertise, we must help them access the care and resources they require. We have to educate patients and their loved ones that mental illness can be severe and even life-threatening. We can help remove the fear and shame about mental illness and increase understanding that mental illness is another health condition and not a special category. Each year, May is observed as Mental Health Month in the United States. This May and beyond, I hope my personal experience will encourage all of us to consider our responsibility in identifying and helping those who are suffering from mental illness.

REFERENCES

1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.

2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Findings. NSDUH Series H-42. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 11–4667. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 2012.

New Editor-in-Chief Appointed for Nurse Educator

marilyn oMarilyn Oermann, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF has been appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of Nurse Educator. This message from the publisher, Beth Guthy, was posted on the journal’s website:

Dear Nursing Educators and Researchers,

Please join me in welcoming  Marilyn H. Oermann, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN to the role of Editor-in-Chief of Nurse Educator.  As Director of Evaluation and Educational Research at Duke University School of Nursing, Dr. Oermann will bring her rich experience and voice to Nurse Educator.   A prolific author, speaker and mentor, you may also recognize Dr. Oermann as the Editor of the Journal of Nursing Care Quality.  We are delighted to welcome her to Nurse Educator and look forward to the leadership and expertise that she brings to the Journal and to the nursing education community.

At this time we would also like to offer our sincere thanks to Karen S. Hill, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, FAAN and Editor-in-Chief of JONA for her enormous efforts as Interim Editor of Nurse Educator over the last few months, and for the seamless transition to Dr. Oermann this February.  Thank you, too,  to the many board members, column editors, reviewers and authors who stepped in to offer strong support and ensure the ongoing success of Nurse Educator after the unexpected loss of our Editor, mentor and friend Suzanne P. Smith, RN, EdD, FAAN last Fall.

Please continue to share your ideas, contents and expertise with Nurse Educator.  We are looking forward to an exciting 2014 as Dr. Oermann takes the helm and works with the editorial board  to grow Nurse Educator, maintain relevance through outstanding evidence-based content and increase our reach in the education segment.

Beth L. Guthy
Publisher, Nurse Educator

Congratulations to Marilyn! Please leave best wishes or other words of encouragement for her in the comments.