I recently attended the Society of Trauma Nurses' (STNs') conference titled "Mosaic of Care." This title was very appropriate to the milieu of trauma nursing. Care of the trauma patient truly occurs in a variety of ways, in various environment, and at different times. Trauma care is well expressed via the metaphor of a mosaic. All the pieces have a place and, when put together, form a greater whole that makes the big picture of care visible to all.

The variety of topics at the conference did, indeed, cover the many environments in which the trauma nurse practices. The scope of the trauma nurse truly expands across the continuum of care. Every aspect of care provided to the trauma patient is important in its own way, time, and place. This multidimensional aspect of trauma nursing care is what inspired me to collaborate with some special guest editors for the next several issues of the Journal of Trauma Nursing (JTN).

Future issues of JTN are scheduled to contain themes. Guest editors will be working along with me to coordinate informative issues highlighting special topics. The list is as follows:

Issue 16.3 (third quarter 2009) will highlight the topic of "Pediatric Trauma," and the guest editors are Chris McKenna, MSN, RN, CRNP (Manager, Trauma Clinical Services, Benedum Pediatric Trauma Program, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC), and Lynn Schweer, MSN, RN, CPNP (Trauma Program Manager, Cincinnati Children's Hospital). Submit articles for this topic by May 22, 2009.

Issue 16.4 (fourth quarter 2009) will highlight the topic of "Prevention," and the guest editor is Karen E. Doyle, MBA, MS, RN, NEA-BC. Articles for this issue should be submitted by August 15, 2009. Ms Doyle is the Vice President Nursing and Operations at R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

Issue 17.1 (first quarter 2010) will highlight the topic of "Trauma Systems" and will be a collaborative issue between the STN and the National Association of State EMS Officials. The guest editors are Juliet Geiger, MSN, RN (Executive Director, Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation), and Jolene R. Whitney, MPA (Deputy Director, Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness, Utah Department of Health). Articles for this issue should be submitted by November 15, 2009.

Articles should be submitted to JTN via the Web site at http://www.editorialmanager.com/jtn.

If you have any questions regarding the submission process or JTN in general, feel free to contact me at [email protected].

JTN is always looking for articles on the following topics:

Utilization of the HRSA trauma systems model by state

The evolution of a trauma system

International trauma systems

Trauma system funding

Best practices by state

Innovations in trauma

Quality improvement

Special populations

Advanced practice

Prevention

Pediatrics

Research

Military

Magnet

Ethics

The STN conference this year was a wonderful experience. I was able to meet so many trauma nurses from all over the country and a few international attendees as well!! If you have never attended this conference before, I strongly encourage you to plan on doing so next year. You will not be disappointed!!