Good Times Ahead

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I have always found fall to be an exciting time of the year. As an educator, I find it is a time of new beginnings. Students usually are still excited about being back in school and are ready to learn (at least for a short time). As a professional, I enjoy the new knowledge, skill, and renewal of friendships that comes when associations and organization once again begin their regular meetings. To me, fall is as much a time of renewal as is spring. I find this fall especially exciting as I look forward to the good times ahead for this Journal. I would like to let you know about a few upcoming events.

The November/December 2007 issue of the Journal will be a special issue focusing on poverty and human development. We will be joining more than 200 other journals that are participating in the Council of Science Editors Global Theme Issue: Poverty and Human Development. Science journals throughout the world will be participating in a variety of ways, from publishing editorial pieces to research focusing on various aspects of this global problem area. In fall 2006, the Journal’s Editorial Board agreed to participate in this project, and a call went out soliciting both clinical and research articles on the general topic of poverty and human development. As a result, in the November/December issue, you will find articles written by nurses who have conducted research on the effects of poverty on children, both in the United States and in other parts of the world.

The effect of poverty on human development is a very important worldwide problem, and I hope you will find the content of the special issue both informative and challenging. Indeed, you may wish to address the problem of poverty’s impact on human development in your clinical setting, calling attention to this critical challenge the world faces. You might use a bulletin board or newsletter to note some facts about how world poverty is affecting children and families. Numerous Web sites give current updates on the challenges of poverty, hunger, and clean water issues, such as Action Against Hunger (www.actionagainsthunger.org), NewAid (www.netaid.org), United Nations Water for Life Decade (www.un.org/waterfor-lifedecade/), and Global Issues (www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Facts.asp). Such sites provide excellent ideas for projects that can be done by individuals or groups, such as a hunger banquet, which can make the impact of an often-abstract problem more tangible to those of us not directly facing such horrendous situations. We as health care providers for children have a big role to play as advocates for children around the world, working to optimize the development of each child.

Because the November/December issue will be the last one for which I will serve as editor, it is a bittersweet time for me. I know the Journal will do wonderfully under the strong leadership of its new editors: Editor-in-Chief Martha Swartz and Associate Editor Sarah Martin. Both have wonderful visions for the Journal, and I know you will see the Journal continue to evolve and improve as they take on these roles.

I also would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has made editing the Journal such an incredible experience for me: the Editorial Board members, department editors, manuscript reviewers, NAPNAP Executive Board, past and present executive directors of NAPNAP, Associate Editor Ruth Mullins Berg, who always has given me good advice and counsel, and good friend Margaret Brady, who always has been willing to do any extra Journal work I ask of her. Throughout my years as editor, these dedicated professionals and many others have given a great deal of time and effort to make the Journal the best possible, and I really appreciate all they have done. I have never ceased to be amazed at the creative ideas that have come from our annual Editorial Board meetings, and I continue to marvel at the comprehensive reviews the reviewers consistently produce, providing wonderful suggestions for authors in a very constructive manner.

I also would like to thank all the authors who have worked hard to make their manuscripts the best possible. Many have done revision after revision but finally were able to achieve their goal of publishing an article. It has been a wonderful experience working with new authors, especially the clinicians, who have been willing to take on the challenge of writing for their professional colleagues.

Yes, I have truly enjoyed being the editor of this Journal. It has been an awesome opportunity and privilege that has allowed me to contribute to the profession I love so much, pediatric nursing. I look forward to the wonderful times ahead for the Journal and hope you will enjoy the special November/December issue.