A Look Back, A Look Ahead
This issue marks the end of the 25th year anniversary celebration. It's been fun to mark the success of the Journal for Nurses in Staff Development (JNSD) during this past year. From its proposed beginning as a newsletter to its becoming a full-fledged nursing journal, from its initial launch to its adoption as the official publication of the National Nursing Staff Development Organization, from the advent of online only publication of manuscripts to its own highly interactive, customized Web site, JNSD has had tremendous success. That success is due to the efforts and dedication of many individuals, and while as editor, I'm the "face" of JNSD, I am by no means solely responsible for its accomplishments.
The publisher, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, is the key player: the representative from the company who serves as publisher, currently Beth Guthy, is the guiding hand. Always responsive, the publisher provides advice and assistance while consistently honoring the autonomy of the editor. Terry Materese is responsible for the development and implementation of the JNSD Web site. Other staff at Lippincott Williams & Wilkins including those from circulation, marketing, sales, and production do their work unobtrusively, yet without them the journal would not exist. The current production editor, Donna Cox, is an amazing person who is always at the ready to assist me as well as authors and contributors to JNSD. Donna keeps track of the manuscripts throughout the publishing process and has an amazing recall.
The editorial board members are wonderful individuals from all areas of staff development, at all levels of education and expertise. These dedicated individuals volunteer to review manuscripts and make recommendations for publication as well as suggestions to authors for improvement of their work. Editorial board members have estimated it takes 3 hours to review a manuscript thoroughly and most of them receive 15 to 20 to review per year. In addition, some of them serve as column editors, an added responsibility but one which is important to readers who want quick, easy-to-read tips to enhance their practice. Editorial board members attend annual meetings, during which there's a working lunch and plans are made for the journal for the future. Editorial board members also respond to queries from me about plans for the journal as they arise through the year. For example, the board members voted on the new "tag line" that you will see on the newly designed cover of the journal, beginning with the January/February 2010 issue (Volume 26, Number 1).
In addition to the changes-and I hope you will agree they are improvements-to the outside of the journal, there will be a significant change inside the journal as well. Michele Deck, the author of the Instant Teaching Tools column, has agreed to expand the column's focus and content to include the staff development stories. The new department will provide just-in-time ideas for professional development educators to implement in their practice with the aim of improving outcomes. Look for the inauguration of this new feature in the January/February 2010 issue (Volume 26, Number 1).
All of us are anticipating many more successful ventures with JNSD as we embark on the next 25 years. We hope you will let us know how we are doing.