We experience many transitions in the course of our lives: from nursing student to expert clinician, from expert clinician to novice educator, from novice educator to master teacher, and from novice researcher to funded investigator. Transitions take time (Schlossberg, 2011) and can be stressful as we face new demands and challenges. Meleis (2010) defined transition as "a passage from one fairly stable state to another fairly stable state[horizontal ellipsis]characterized by different dynamic stages, milestones, and turning points" (p. 11). Meleis described these stages as a process related to change and development that can be empowering and growth producing but also accompanied by uncertainty - a time to reflect on where we have been and to consider future possibilities. She noted that the process of transition is essentially positive.
Nursing Education Perspectives (NEP) is in a time of transition. Reflecting the National League for Nursing's (NLN) dedication to excellence in nursing education, NEP, led by Dr. Joyce J. Fitzpatrick as editor, has long been at the forefront of disseminating topics of relevance to nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. But with the start of 2020, after 22 years in the role, Joyce stepped down as NEP editor. As we bid her adieu, let us reflect on the role Joyce has had in the journal's growth and maturation.
Joyce was named editor of the NLN journal, then titled Nursing and Health Care Perspectives, in January 1998. At that time, we published three to four main articles per issue, with a general emphasis on community health, service-learning, and nurse-managed academic clinics, and the size of the journal never exceeded 48 pages, including advertisements. To reflect the renewed focus in the NLN mission on nursing education, the NLN Board of Governors in 2001 renamed the journal Nursing Education Perspectives. The new title first appeared in the January-February 2002 issue. At that time, there was only an occasional article on research in nursing education - for example, that first issue with the new title included "A Comparison of Student-Centered Versus Traditional Methods of Teaching Basic Nursing Skills in a Learning Laboratory" by Dr. Pamela Jeffries and colleagues (Jeffries, Rew, & Cramer, 2002).
As the NLN clarified its mission and goals to advance the science of nursing education, the landscape of research in nursing education exploded, Joyce became more and more selective in soliciting manuscripts that reported on rigorous multisite research studies. She steered the transformation of the NLN official journal into what it is now, the research journal of the NLN and the premier nursing education journal for scholarship in nursing education.
In addition to Joyce's role as editor of NEP, she has experienced multiple noteworthy and highly acclaimed recognitions throughout her career, both nationally and internationally. When Joyce came to the NLN, she was on sabbatical from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, where she is currently the Elizabeth Brooks Ford Professor of Nursing, and was serving as president of the American Academy of Nursing (1997-1999). She was named a Living Legend by the Academy in 2016, and the Board of Directors of the Florence Nightingale International Foundation presented her with the 2019 International Achievement Award to acknowledge her international contributions in advancing nursing education through research, innovative conceptual models, and theory development. Joyce continues to be an influential nurse leader as the editor of Applied Nursing Research and Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Nursing Education, and author or editor of numerous books. She won the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award 20 times and has traveled the world to share her work and message at universities, conferences, and government agencies in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Importantly, she continues to teach and mentor doctoral students.
As you can see, Joyce brought to her role as editor of NEP a tremendous wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion. She captured the mission and core values of the NLN through her leadership of the journal with "purpose, power, and passion," which underpin everything that the NLN represents. She is an extremely accomplished scholar, theorist, educator, and mentor.
As of January 2020, I transitioned to the role of editor of NEP. While following in Joyce's footsteps will be not be easy, I believe my experience as editor of the Research Briefs section, the mentorship I have received from Joyce, and my passion and focus prepare me for the role. I firmly believe that we must continue disseminating robust, high-quality research and evidence-based innovations that challenge and expand our teaching practices to ensure that the next generation of nurses and nurse educators are well prepared and ready to educate students to improve global health. I welcome diversity of thought and perspective, as well as scholarly dialogue and debate, as NEP transitions into the next decade.
We must continue disseminating robust, high-quality research and evidence-based innovations that challenge and expand our teaching practices to ensure that the next generation of nurses and nurse educators are well prepared and ready to educate students to improve global health. I welcome diversity of thought and perspective, as well as scholarly dialogue and debate as NEP transitions into the next decade.
Transitions represent opportunities rather than losses. I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to working with the Editorial Board and the Peer Review Panel. NEP has been an important benefit for the members of the NLN for more than four decades and will continue to be. This transition is an opportunity for us, the authors, and the readers to build on Joyce's history to enable NEP, nursing education, and research in nursing education to thrive!
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