As I announced at the International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA) conference in Denver, CO, October 2018, I will be retiring from the Journal of Addictions Nursing effective, December 31, 2019, after 30 years serving as your Editor-in-Chief; commencing from 1989 for the National Nurses Society on Addictions (NNSA) as Editor of NNSA News (February 1990 issue contained first original article) and, shortly thereafter for Perspectives on Addictions Nursing. I continued in the role as Editor after the Society's name changed to IntNSA (officially announced at the Chicago conference in 2000).
Perspectives on Addictions Nursing and Addictions Nursing (Madeline Naegle, Editor) merged to form the Journal of Addictions Nursing (JAN). The first issue was published in 1996 with Madeline Naegle and me serving as your Editors until she retired in 1998.
In addition to upcoming publications and presentations on the evolving history of the development of JAN, Dr. Janice Feigenbaum and I will be writing a history of events, transitions and experiences during my role as Editor over the years. It has been an unforgettable wonderful journey and I look forward to sharing that with all of you.
In the meantime, over this year, I will slowly be transitioning from my role and training a new Editor-in-Chief and three assistants. During the first part of this transition, I will continue as Editor-in-Chief and Dr. Ann Mitchell will serve as Co-Editor until July 1, 1019 when we will switch roles and I will serve as Co-Editor until I retire. My goal is to maintain a seamless transition and we have a plan in place to ensure this outcome.
It is with great pleasure therefore that I introduce, Ann M. Mitchell, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FIAAN, FAAN, Professor of Nursing and Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. She received her BS in Nursing from Pennsylvania State University and her PhD from the University of Pittsburg in 1987. She is a former Fulbright Scholar and an exemplary clinician and researcher. Ann has served as Project Director (PI) on two HRSA-funded projects and as Project Coordinator on one HRSA-funded project related to screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for alcohol and other drug use for students, nurses, and interprofessional groups of healthcare professionals. She is currently funded by SAMHSA to integrate SBIRT education into the Nurse Practitioner curriculum, addressing substance use across the lifespan. She is committed to community health, addictions nursing, and the continued success of the journal. I am confident that Ann will continue to expand the Journal to address the everchanging needs of the global community.
On a final note, I am pleased to announce that the Editorial Board of JAN approved the recruitment of non-nurse experts in research, statistics, pharmacology, and addictions to serve as members of the Editorial Board. Our initial two new non-nurse members bring valued dimensions to JAN and additional expertise to our peer reviewer panel. The first, Sean Esteban McCabe, PhD, MSW, Professor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is Co-Director, Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health. Dr. McCabe brings expertise not only in addictions but in statistics and research methods. Our second new member, Robert Reid Kaufman, Pharm D., is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kaufman brings expertise in pharmacology and has extensive experience teaching pharmacology to nurses and nursing students.