Every once in a while, something happens with the journal that makes me very excited even after nearly 30 years of editing it. And that something appears in this issue.

Mary Schoessler, former co-editor of the Preceptorship Column, has written a series of columns applying the Tanner (2006) Model of Clinical Judgment to preceptorship. The first one in the series appears in this issue, and we'll publish one in each subsequent issue for four more issues. Thus, the series will end in the May/June 2014 issue (Volume 30, Number 3).

The columns could not be timelier as the nursing profession begins to move from a focus on critical thinking to clinical reasoning to clinical judgment. A recent article by Victor-Chmil (2013) describes how these three terms are used interchangeably although they do not mean the same thing. This author reviewed the literature, summarized her findings, and suggested methods of measuring each of these concepts. It's a worthwhile read[horizontal ellipsis].

I've found similar discrepancies among these terms in manuscripts submitted to the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development and believe it will take some time evaluating and applying these concepts in practice for the similarities and differences among them to become more apparent[horizontal ellipsis]and likely even more time will be required before nursing professional development specialists and others change their implementation, evaluation, and measurement of these concepts.

In the meantime, in her series of columns, Schoessler illustrates the process of clinical judgment through application of the Tanner model to preceptorship, thus enhancing the exposition of this concept of nursing practice. And its application to new graduate orientation as an essential component of the transition into practice makes it all the more valuable to nursing professional development specialists.

I certainly enjoyed reading and editing the columns[horizontal ellipsis]unlike my usual practice, I read them all at once, rather than as they were to appear in an issue. I hope you like them as well[horizontal ellipsis]and even more, that you find them a valuable addition to your understanding of the concepts of critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and clinical judgment. Finally, of course, I hope you find these columns applicable to your practice as a preceptor.

Thank you, Mary, for this outstanding contribution to the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development!

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