We will see many best-of, top ten, and end-of-year lists in upcoming weeks. Here at the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development (JNPD), we wanted to follow suit with a look back over our shoulder in this final issue of 2018. Much like our readers, we've had a busy and productive year here at JNPD. We published excellent articles on nurse residency programs, using technology to enhance our teaching, academic partnerships, and interprofessional educational efforts among other hot topics. We've encouraged authors to evaluate their programs and use return-on-investment data to demonstrate the value of nursing professional development (NPD) practice. We received strong submissions from both veteran and emerging authors and had the pleasure of mentoring many new and novice writers as well. One of the highlights of my year was when a JNPD author introduced herself to me at a conference last summer. We had worked together closely as her first professional manuscript went through the publication process but had never met. She shared with me that when she finally saw the article in print, she proudly called her family and friends to share the good news. Since then, this work has been read, shared, and hopefully applied in various settings (Gomez & Brostoff, 2018).

JNPD Co-Editor Kari Schmidt and I have also worked intently with our hardworking Editorial Board members, whose names appear in the Journal's masthead-both in print and online. We thank them for their service and steadfast support as editorial advisors and ambassadors of the Journal. We have said goodbye to some wonderful column editors and welcomed others' new ideas and perspectives. We have been honored to feature nursing leaders Susan Hassmiller, Dora Bradley, Norma Lang, Beth Ulrich, Kathy Gaberson, and Mary Beth Kingston in our "Ask an Expert" column this year. We thank them for their leadership and generosity in sharing their wisdom with JNPD readers. We encourage you to revisit their columns at http://jnpdonline.com.

We kept our peer reviewers busy this year as the Journal's presence and visibility grows. We added several new reviewers to our panel and want to recognize and sincerely thank these hardworking volunteers for their efforts, expertise, honesty, and ongoing commitment to the quality of JNPD.

Personally, I've enjoyed watching my daughter's first year as a registered nurse unfold as she completed a nurse residency program, successfully precepted her first orientee, and became comfortable in her identity as a "real nurse." It's been a joy to share this experience as a mother, a nurse, a faculty member, and an NPD practitioner. I offer a heartfelt thank you to all the NPD colleagues, nurse leaders, and preceptors who supported her and the thousands of other new and returning nurses who experienced role transitions this past year.

Professionally, I began a new role as director of a doctoral program at a school of nursing this year. I have been simultaneously excited and overwhelmed, exhilarated and exhausted, confident and full of questions. As I experience my own role transition, I'm reminded how essential it is to have the support of caring and experienced others.

Of course, we thank our JNPD readers and the Lippincott publishing team for a successful year. We wish you all a safe and enjoyable holiday as we look forward to more growth and learning in 2019!

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