CELEBRATING OUR 25TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION

This issue marks the 25th anniversary of the Journal for Nurses in Staff Development (JNSD). The first issue (Volume 1, Spring 1985) was launched by the J. B. Lippincott Company under my direction as editor and several of my closest colleagues and friends as members of the Editorial Board. You'll recognize the names of some of the first Editorial Board members: Karen Kelly, the founding president of the National Nursing Staff Development Organization (NNSDO), now Karen Kelly Thomas, chief executive officer of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners; Sandra Holmes, first treasurer of NNSDO and now retired; Helen Tobin, author of the first book in staff development and contributor to the development of the initial standards of staff development practice, also now retired; and Kathleen Fischer, member of the steering committee that developed NNSDO and now director of educational services at University Hospitals in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Others included representatives of the military, hospitals, and other healthcare settings from various geographic areas of the country.

The journal was envisioned as "a resource" for continued growth and development of staff development educators as well as "a valuable ally" for their professional practice. The first issue of JNSD included articles on cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, tape recording educational activities, defining the role of staff development in acute care hospitals, a mock trial experience, and teaching nurses to design and implement patient education programs. In addition, a section titled "Focus" contained short articles on the forgotten staff development needs of nursing support staff and a word search puzzle to teach public health nursing staff about epilepsy, as well as a description of a hospital-based diabetes education program and an abbreviated documentation system for patient instruction as well as guidelines for teaching preceptors. A book review on staff development completed the issue.

This first issue was prepared about 6 months in advance of its launch and followed an intensive period of development of about a year's duration. In addition to obtaining the content for the issues, decisions had to be made about the journal's appearance; the cover, color, design, and interior layout all had to be decided upon, and the publisher developed marketing campaigns and the subscription price and devoted time to the business aspects of a new publication.

Initially, the journal was published four times each year. The journal has changed over the years, in many ways, large and small. In future issues, I'll share some of those changes with you. I'm pleased that you're with us to celebrate this milestone in our publishing history-25 years!