Nursing Outlook Annual Report 2003-2004

Abstract

This has been an exciting year for me as editor of Nursing Outlook. The major accomplishments were: •Smooth transition: I assumed the editorship January 1, 2003. At that time there were a number of manuscripts out for review, 6 accepted for the January/February issue, and a special issue on technology underway. The transition was handled very smoothly by the previous editor, Dr Carole Anderson, and her assistant. By early February, most of the official transition was completed.•Editorial Board: In February, a 10-member editorial board was constituted, representing a variety of constituencies (eg, policy, clinical practice, research, academe). The board met by conference call in April 2003 and at the annual American Academy of Nursing meeting in November.•Reviewer database: In April 2003, a special mailing was sent to all subscribers of NO asking for input and including a “Call for Reviewers.” About 150 subscribers returned their input survey and 111 responded to the call for reviewers. We have expanded the database of active reviewers by 48% for a total of 342.•Manuscript Submission Process: Most of the first quarter of 2003 was spent further developing the existing reviewer database as well as a paperless submission and review process. The entire submission and review process is now electronic, from manuscript submission, to queries to reviewers, through communication with authors. From the time a manuscript is initially submitted to us electronically until a decision is communicated back to the authors (eg, revise or reject), the process takes about 8 weeks. Beginning in June 2004, this entire process will be Web-based, using the Elsevier system, which will allow authors, reviewers, and editors to track manuscripts more efficiently.•Manuscript submission rates: By October 2003, the number of manuscripts submitted was 72, a 20% increase over the total for 2002. The overall rejection rate is approximately 34%.•Special Issues in 2004: Two special issues are planned for 2004. The one in which this report is published (January/February) is on the topic of Quality in Health Care. The second, planned for mid-year, will be on the topic of Faculty Practice.