As International Orthopaedic Nurse Day approaches, we should all think of those colleagues who have gone "above and beyond the call of duty" to help foster our profession as orthopaedic nurses. In many instances, these nurses work behind the scenes and receive no accolades or even a thank you. Some volunteer their behind the scenes efforts; others are sought out because they always come through in a pinch and get the job done. I have never thought it was a good idea to start thanking people because for sure someone will be missed. However, this year, I must say thank you to several people who have really helped Orthopaedic Nursing and made a difference.
The Safe Patient Handling Supplement was published in the spring after much work from the Safe Patient Handling Task Force. With every article that is published in Orthopaedic Nursing comes the peer review process to assure that what is being published is accurate and well done. While many reviewers were utilized for the peer review process, the two main reviewers were Sue Baird Holmes and Cathy Smrcina. They reviewed every page and every figure of the supplement. Without their commitment and timely reviews, it would not have been possible to meet the tight deadline that we were dealing with. I am very grateful to both Sue and Cathy for once again "stepping up to the plate" and committing a significant amount of time to seeing that what is published in Orthopaedic Nursing is the quality that we strive for in every article. Thank you.
During this past year we also saw a couple of very important members leave the editorial board after a decade of service to the journal. Connie Whittington and Kathy Geier resigned from the board after years of mentoring authors, identifying new trends and manuscript ideas, as well as being authors themselves. Being part of the editorial board is a commitment of both time and talent. I am grateful for their legacy of commitment to Orthopaedic Nursing.
I must also thank someone who is leaving the Orthopaedic Nursing editorial team at the end of this year. Dee Schoen has been the Research Update columnist for the last few years. This was not the first position she has had with Orthopaedic Nursing. Dee joined the editorial board in 1983 and served for many years. She continues as a content reviewer for the journal today. When it was decided that Research Update was a column that would be developed, Dee joined the team and has done an exceptional job in this position. Over 26 years of service to Orthopaedic Nursing!! Thank you Dee.
And finally, thank you to every author and reviewer of Orthopaedic Nursing. Without the continuing support of our journal by our colleagues, we would not be able to be the mostly widely recognized orthopaedic nursing journal in the world.