When we began the process of conceptualizing LPN2005, we held a series of focus groups so that we could gain greater insights into the clinical and professional development needs of LPNs and LVNs. We asked all kinds of questions about the topics focus group participants thought we should include, and that helped us put together the editorial plan for the journal. The articles you read in each issue are a direct result of your colleagues' feedback.
The articles in a journal are only part of the equation, though. The other part is the editorial leadership that shapes the journal's direction. As RNs, we've had the privilege of working with some outstanding LPNs who've mentored and inspired us. When we were asked to start a journal especially for LPNs and LVNs, we were thrilled. But we realized that we needed a partner in this endeavor, one who understood the LPN/LVN experience from the inside.
That thought was solidified by our focus group discussions: Participants told us emphatically that the editor-in-chief of the journal should be an LPN or LVN. We couldn't agree more.
Finding the right person
The editor-in-chief of a journal needs to possess a unique mix of attributes: clinically skilled, politically savvy, editorially astute. Finding the right person to fit this type of position isn't always easy.
Fortunately, we've found the right person for LPN2005. So with very great pleasure, we announce that Richard R. Gibbs, LVN, has accepted the position of editor-in-chief of LPN2005, effective with this issue.
Richard is one of our charter editorial board members, and from the beginning, we were impressed with his passion for the profession, his willingness to share his ideas for building the best journal possible, and his commitment to his own practice (he already has his clinical schedule set for the rest of the year!!). Currently a staff nurse on a 10-bed rehabilitation unit at Mesquite Community Hospital in Mesquite, Tex., Richard primarily works with stroke patients and those who've undergone orthopaedic procedures, as well as some cardiac rehab patients. He also teaches a new employee guest relations class and serves on numerous hospital committees.
Richard has experience working on a 30-bed telemetry unit at the Medical Center of Mesquite, and he was an assistant director of nursing at The Meadowgreen Nursing Center in Dallas. He's a graduate of the Tyler Junior College Vocational Nursing Program in Tyler, Tex.
Besides his clinical practice, Richard represents LVNs in Texas as a board member of The Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas. For the past several years, he's also been an advocate for the Texas Peer Assistance Program for Nurses.
We're delighted and honored to have an LVN of Richard's stature as our editorial partner on LPN2005.
If you'd like to contact Richard, please write to LPN2005, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 323 Norristown Road, Suite 200, Ambler, PA 19002. Or send an E-mail message to [email protected].
Lisa R. Hathaway RN, BSN
Clinical Editor, LPN2005, Ambler, Pa.
Anne Woods RN, CRNP, APRN,BC, MSN
Clinical Director of Journals, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Ambler, Pa.