The year 2021 continued to be a very challenging and busy year for nursing professional development (NPD). I was so impressed with the commitment and dedication of our readers and authors to our specialty. We received over 161 manuscripts. Many of the manuscripts addressed the impact of COVID-19 on the nursing workforce and the development of innovative programs. Over 51 peer reviewers volunteered their expertise to support our authors and promote quality articles. The Journal for Nurses in Professional Development Board continued to work hard mentoring our authors, leading our columns, and soliciting NPD work from around the country despite the challenges they were addressing in their own work settings.
Our plans for Journal for Nurses in Professional Development going forward include some exciting changes. We are changing the title and focus of the Transition to Practice Column. Column editor Kelly Gallagher explains, "As healthcare is ever evolving, there is a need to broaden the scope of the Transition to Practice column in 2022 to a new, more inclusive title: Transitions in Practice. The transition to practice from nursing school to professional nurse is extremely important and has been the focus of this column for many years. However, nurses experience many transitions throughout their professional careers. Expanding the focus of this column will provide our readers with a more diverse collection of publications to keep pace with the changing healthcare landscape." Please reach out to Kelly Gallagher via e-mail mailto:[email protected] if you have ideas for the new focus of the column.
Starting in the March/April, we will be including a new column addressing Research. Our new Column Editor, Paula Roe-Prior, PhD, RN, an experienced clinician, educator, and researcher, will address topics on types of research, interpreting and designing research and highlighting NPD research. If you have suggestions for topics for this new column, please contact Patrick Wall at mailto:[email protected].
On October 26, 2021, I attended a webinar hosted by the Association for Nursing Professional Development titled "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Session: The Future of Nursing-NPD Implications." This session provided a very informative discussion on the American Academy of Medicines Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity report and the implications for NPD. The nine recommendations in this report describe the role of nurses in bridging health inequities, promoting a culture of health, and identifying social determinates of health. I think this report provides a guide for future work in NPD. The challenge for us is how we, as NPD practitioners, can take actions to implement the recommendations from this report. I look forward to receiving manuscripts addressing how NPD practitioners address these recommendations and the challenges you are facing.
As we attempt to meet the continued challenges and develop and implement new innovative educational programs and processes to help achieve the recommendations of the Future of Nursing report, I am reminded of a quote by Vincent Van Gogh, "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything[horizontal ellipsis]."
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