To achieve its goal of providing evidence-based information on a spectrum of critical topics for nurses, Nursing2023 is guided and supported by its editorial board (EB)-a diverse group of experts whose knowledge and judgment are instrumental in ensuring the journal's success. In this new Editorial Board Spotlight, get to know our EB member, JoAnn Mick, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, EBP-C, a nurse scientist at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, Tex.
Q: Please share your professional background. How did you start your career in nursing, and how did you get to where you are now?
I have served as an RN for 45 years. I am originally from upstate NY, but I have lived in El Paso, Texas for 18 years prior to moving to Houston in 2000. I worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center and became more involved in evidence-based practice (EBP) and nursing research. I'm like every other nurse who joined the profession to help patients achieve good outcomes and was not really looking to conduct EBP projects or research. I initially found research intimidating and challenging but I worked hard to understand it. Sharing the strategies I developed for my own understanding with other nurses led to a role in teaching EBP and nursing research. I moved to Harris Health System in 2008 to help build a strong foundation with nursing research and EBP. In 2015, I moved to my current role as a nurse scientist at Memorial Hermann. I continue to work to help nurses understand that EBP is not a "project"; it is how we practice every day as professionals. The EBP process is a skill set like any other that we learn as nurses. Once mastered, it becomes a normal part of our nursing practice.
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
My greatest passions are teaching and writing. In addition, I keep busy with my eight cats, which I know sounds like a lot! We have a lot of stray cats in my neighborhood, and new moms are always having their litter on my back porch. I have worked to find homes for them, but those that are not adopted stay with me. They each have unique personalities and have been my loyal coworkers while working from home during the pandemic. They all have names of blues artists-Janis J, Stevie Ray, Bo Diddley, Jagger, to name a few.
Q: What made you say "yes" to our invitation to join the Nursing2023> EB?
I'm a strong advocate of the dissemination of results of all of the great projects and studies that nurses work on. The duty to share new knowledge with colleagues is a longstanding norm in healthcare professions. In nursing, the responsibility is identified in the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses in Provision 7: "The nursing profession should engage in scholarly inquiry to identify, evaluate, refine, and expand the body of knowledge that forms the foundation of its discipline and practice... All nurses working alone or in collaboration with others can participate in the advancement of the profession through the development, evaluation, dissemination, and application of knowledge in practice."
Dissemination in the form of journal publication helps nurses fulfill a responsibility they assumed when they joined the profession.
Q: What piece of advice would you like to give our nurse readers?
If you conduct a project or study and have evidence for a strategy that really helps patients achieve a good outcome, please do not keep that information a secret on your unit. Nurses around the world manage similar patient circumstances. Share your information in a way that it reaches other nurses and helps with clinical decision-making. Nurses may share information as a poster at a conference (reaching a few hundred people) but often don't follow through to publish an article.
Don't let publication seem daunting. We all had to write papers in school. If you can get your thoughts outlined on paper, reach out to mentors who can help you format your work for journal publication. When you publish an article, nurses all around the world can search in scientific databases, such as PubMed, and read about your project or study. It is a lasting professional contribution. Plus, it is always fun to see your name in print as an author!