This year, I'm not making any resolutions. Instead, I'm going to commit myself to living in the moment-a concept that I'm sure many of you are all too familiar with. Sometimes, all you can do is work in the here and now, whether that means dedicating your full attention to the patient in front of you, deciphering the health record you've just been sent, or thinking on your feet during a code that seemingly came from nowhere.
Our content this month reflects this need to focus and be truly present, no matter where you find yourself. This is perhaps illustrated best by our Pearls story (p. 48), about a patient who wasn't ready to let go until his nurse and his family came together to show their support. Innovations in Practice (p. 38) discusses something common: dehydration in pediatric patients. In an effort to avoid knee-jerk prescribing and take the time to research evidence-based solutions, this nursing team developed a protocol that has decreased lengths of stay for children and their families.
Some of our features also cover subjects that are best tackled right in the moment, such as traumatic brain injury (p. 20) and nursing fatigue (p. 6). Although these topics seem unrelated, they have one thing in common: time. A fast, expert response to traumatic brain injury can save lives. And there's no time like the present to start addressing the very real problem of nurse fatigue with practical interventions such as napping policies, better sleep hygiene, and stress reduction.
We're excited to continue our series on serum electrolytes with a feature on Magnesium (p. 15). Next up, we'll cover calcium and phosphate, sodium and chloride, and bicarbonate, with accompanying background material and all the latest evidence-based information you could want.
This issue is bittersweet for me because it's my last. Although I am sad to see my time on this journal come to a close, I am thrilled to be passing the torch to my friend and colleague, Associate Editor Haley McKinney. I am confident that she will continue to help push and shape the journal into the best resource it can possibly be. Welcome, Haley!
Chloe Falivene, MA
Managing Editor Nursing2018 Critical Care Health Learning, Research & Practice Wolters Kluwer Philadelphia, PA