In this issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing we highlight our new affiliation with the American Heart Association (AHA) Council on Cardiovascular Nursing. Through this relationship, JCN will work with the Council to provide Council members not only an excellent educational medium, but also Council news and a forum for publication of AHA scientific statements relevant to our readers.
The agreement between the AHA and JCN provides a 30% discount from the normal annual subscription rate for Council members. In addition, a new, continuing feature will be the Council News Column edited by Dr Mary Caldwell. Mary is an excellent choice for this role because she has been a member of the AHA since 1975 and has actively participated on a number of committees at the local, affiliate, and national levels. At the local level, she chaired the Board of Directors for the North Bay Region. She has been a member of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing for 10 years and is a member of the Communications and Membership Committee as well as the Nominations and Awards Committee.
Dr Caldwell brings a strong and unique clinical background to her new role as column editor and liaison. After receiving her BSN, Mary practiced in a cardiovascular intensive care unit. After receiving her certification as a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) from the Arizona Heart Institute, she practiced as a cardiovascular CNS at Stanford University Medical Center. She later returned to school to obtain her MSN from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Mary spent several years in private industry after completing a MBA degree, first in research and marketing management positions, and later as a healthcare strategist and venture capitalist. In the mid-1990s she returned to UCSF, completed a PhD degree, and joined the faculty in 1998. At this time, Dr Caldwell teaches classes in cardiovascular disease and medical economics. Her program of research focuses on cardiovascular patients with acute coronary syndromes or heart failure, with a special emphasis on delay in seeking care for symptoms. She has received funding to test interventions to improve responses to worsening symptoms in heart failure patients.
We think you'll agree that Mary's clinical, research, AHA volunteer, and business backgrounds prepared her well for her new role as the liaison between the AHA Council and JCN. We know that she will be adept at bringing us news that is relevant to all our diverse readers. Please read Mary's inaugural column, which outlines recent events sponsored by the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing at the AHA annual Scientific Sessions held in November 2003, and the many personal and professional benefits of membership in the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing. Please join us in welcoming Dr Mary Caldwell and the AHA Council on Cardiovascular Nursing to our readership.