Happy New Year 2022! I am thrilled you are including the Journal of the Dermatology Nurses' Association (JDNA) in your reading for 2022! Whether you have been reading the JDNA for a while, or whether you are newer to being a JDNA reader, we are glad to be part of your educational plan. I keep returning to the question of how has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your dermatology needs, your dermatology practice, and your dermatology plans-for work, school, or patient interactions. How have you, dear readers, found the pandemic to be influencing your professional career? I'd be interested to know if there are local or regional differences in how you have been practicing dermatology nursing as a result of the pandemic. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like to share how your professional practices have changed as a result of COVID-19.
I am hoping by now you have all had ample opportunity to be vaccinated and that you were thoughtful about making this decision. There have been rich discussions about vaccines, vaccine updates, and vaccine hesitancy. I presume that, by this time, you have been able to make an informed choice and have had the opportunity to stay healthy. Nurses, in particular, have needed to be quite flexible and resilient over the last 2 years, but I am confident that dermatology nurses were up to the challenge. Please know I have been thinking about you all, and I will continue to do so as we move forward with a new normal.
Speaking of new, you will find that the Dermatology Nurses' Association (DNA) will be hosting their 40th annual convention with a hybrid model, with the annual educational activity being offered both in-person in Las Vegas, Nevada, from February 22 to 25, 2022, but also with the conference being offered virtually to off-site attendees, in a hybrid model that allows for flexibility of participation. This annual event provides an opportunity for knowledge sharing to enhance our professional knowledge in an effort to provide excellent patient care. Presentations will focus on six main categories including research, education, community initiatives, international collaboration and processes, culture and diversity, and health policy and advocacy (Table 1). I would strongly encourage readers to consider participation in this year's conference. The DNA has a history of providing engaging, relevant, and up-to-date information for attendees, and I am sure this year will be no different. So, if you haven't yet had the opportunity, please consider joining us at the 40th annual DNA convention, in Las Vegas, NV, or virtually. I am confident you won't regret the decision to participate.
As mentioned in earlier communications, the JDNA has been busy updating documents and procedures to make your involvement with the Journal a bit easier. In 2021, the Information for Authors resource was updated, and more recently, the Journal leadership has been in the process of gathering helpful resources for peer review. The JDNA is dependent on peer reviewers to give feedback on manuscript submissions before their acceptance into the Journal. We know this process may be new to many volunteers and wanted to bring resources together, in one spot, so that you can have a good starting point if you are interested in learning more about being a peer reviewer. We are just working on the final details so we don't have an official hyperlink yet, but it's our hope that the resources will be featured on the JDNA's website. Please be sure to be alert for these resources as they are made available.
Finally, part of why we are trying to update and streamline resources is to help celebrate our upcoming 15th anniversary of publication. Our 15th year of publication is coming up next year (2023), and much like the person who gets their hair done before a party or interview, the JDNA wants to look as good as possible for our year-long celebration. So, that brings me to asking you if any of you have memories of the JDNA that you'd like to share in anticipation of 2023? Any stories you think might need sharing about the Journal? Maybe some of you would like to share a particular article that has been particularly clinically helpful or meaningful to your practice? I invite you to think about the JDNA and what role it's played in your dermatology nursing education or care of dermatology patients. I'd love to hear your feedback; don't hesitate to reach out if you have a story to share. We'll be collecting and collating information over the next several months and would love to have your input.
As always, looking forward to hearing from you,
Angela L. Borger
Editor-in-Chief
mailto:[email protected]