The COVID-19 pandemic continues. Pandemic statistics have been beginning to slow the week I am writing this editorial, but only time will tell if these decreasing trends in infection rates, hospitalizations, and deaths will continue. What I think this probably means for many of us is that we are still not quite back to our old routines. And most experts are saying this is not something that will ever happen. Many projections indicate there will be a change to our habits, routines, and schedules and that there will be a "new normal." For me, this means I still am not quite in a comfort zone, of living my life and going about my normal routine. This means I continue to change my regular habits and activities in ways that are now becoming familiar but are not quite so. This may be true for many of you as well.
COVID-19 is not comfortable and nor should this infection or pandemic ever be so. The problem with this for me personally is that I enjoy a great deal of routine and stability. I like staying in my comfort zones professionally, personally, socially, and emotionally. This has not been possible with the new "normals" that have been established over the last year. Furthermore, my preference of the comfort zone can present a challenge because many great things can happen just at the edge of our comfort zones. I try to remind myself that it is important that I embrace the slight discomfort of changes in routines, habits, and practices so that I can grow. Hopefully, the small pushes that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented us with offer many opportunities for personal growth, on many levels.
This is what I hope the Journal of the Dermatology Nurses' Association (JDNA) does for you as well. I hope the articles give you just enough of the topics you are familiar with and you consider in your comfort zone professionally, but I also hope some of the articles push you toward the edge of your learning comfort. Although everyone is on a different learning curve, it is my intention not only to provide readers with articles that reinforce and update your practice knowledge and skills but also to occasionally provide articles about topics or treatments that help you push your professional boundaries. My intention is to offer readers articles that offer new information or ones that may cause you to alter your dermatology nursing practices because of updated science.
Has the JDNA been doing that for you recently? Encouraging you clinically and pushing the boundaries of your knowledge about diseases, treatments, and therapies? I hope so. Many of us change and grow when presented with no other option, and we need to do this out of necessity. However, I know some readers are cutting-edge and on the forefront of updates and changes with the state of the science. I applaud your ability to keep the rest of us, those of us who may be slower to change and respond, accountable. We need you holding the dermatology nursing profession, as well as dermatology nurses, accountable. I would invite you to help push dermatology nurses forward, toward innovative practices that impact our patient care. Furthermore, I invite you to tell us about your efforts. Would you consider writing articles about your groundbreaking practices, so that we can all benefit? We'd love to have you share your expertise.
Aside from COVID-19 and the JDNA, what else has helped you to push boundaries professionally? Has it been former colleagues or mentors? Or maybe it was an employer who also valued innovation and better ways of doing things? Maybe it was a patient whose clinical presentation and circumstances required you to look at different options? Would anyone be interested in sharing stories of how innovative change was beneficial for the patient, the practice, or the professional themselves?
I acknowledge that change can be quite frightening, but it often can lead to rewards not thought possible. Change can also be time consuming and take energy. When you are ready and have the energy, I would encourage you to leave your dermatology comfort zone and push the boundaries of your career. And then, I'd love to have you tell me all about it!
As always, looking forward to hearing from you.
Angela L. Borger
Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]