Updates for the Journal of Pediatric Nursing Readership

Abstract

We wish to inform the readership of several recent developments initiated and about to be implemented at the Journal of Pediatric Nursing (JPN). These new changes reflect the global reach and widespread recognition of the prominence of JPN as a publication resource for not only pediatric nurses and practitioners but also our interdisciplinary colleagues as well.Since the inception of JPN over 25 years ago, we have been keenly sensitive to the international issues regarding the care of infants, children, youth, and their families. As many of you will remember, under the very able oversight and professional commitment of Dr. Bonnie Holaday, a JPN Editorial Board member, for many years, we published the International Pediatric Nursing column. Over the years, especially the last few years, which coincided with the application of our online submission system, the Elsevier Electronic Submission, the number of submissions international authors has dramatically increased. Therefore, it became incumbent to expand the JPN Editorial Board to include more international members. We have expanded our editorial board to include two new European members—Dr. Veronica Swallow of Great Britain and Dr. Philip Moons of Belgium.Dr. Veronica Swallow is the Senior Lecturer of Children's Nursing at the University of Manchester, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Work. Her research efforts have been directed to the application of theories of learning to family management of children's chronic conditions, especially children with kidney conditions. Dr. Swallow's prominence as an international pediatric nursing expert is evidenced by her prolific writings and professional contributions to the field.Dr. Philip Moons is Professor of Nursing Science at the Center for Health Sciences and Nursing Research at the Catholic University Leuven. Dr. Moons is also a guest professor at the Heart Center at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark. His area of research and clinical expertise is in the field of health care transitions of adolescents with special health care needs. He serves as a fellow of the American Heart Association, the European Academy of Nursing Science, and the European Society of Cardiology. Dr. Moons' contributions to nursing science are widely recognized as evidenced by his extensive record of achievements.We are very pleased that these two eminent nursing scientists accepted our invitations to join the JPN Editorial Board. We anticipate additional appointments to the Board from other continents worldwide in the future to fully represent our global influence.In addition, we have added Kathryn Smith, RN, DrPH, as a new Editorial Board member. Formerly, Dr. Smith served as the Editor of the Child Health Policy column. The last column appeared in the 2011 November/December issue. In addition to her expertise with child health policy, Dr. Smith's clinical and research expertise is focused on clinical issues involving children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and spina bifida.In response to the ever-increasing numbers of submissions received by JPN and to publish manuscripts received in a more expeditious manner, we are adopting two new publication options. The first, and more noteworthy option, is the implementation of the new submission category of Brief Reports. Henceforth, we will direct authors who plan to submit papers of pilot studies, clinical innovations in the development stage, or studies with small samples as brief reports. Publishing these papers as brief reports will enable JPN to be more timely with the publication of larger research studies and quality improvement projects. The criteria for Brief Report submissions can be found in the Information for Authors listed in each issue and on the JPN Web site. In addition, to a more limited degree, we have begun and will continue to publish selected articles online. Online articles will be listed in the table of contents as are the hard copies articles of the issue. The distinction with online articles, as you may have noticed in the 2011 November/December issue, was the designation of “i” next to the article title to indicate it was an online publication.We are confident that these recent changes will enhance our ongoing efforts to have JPN continue to be a timely and respected publication resource for our colleagues. As always, we are aware of our responsibilities to foster and uphold the highest standards in publishing manuscripts that contribute to the pediatric nursing and health care literature with the goal of improving the health outcomes of infants, children, youth, and their families. We wish to inform the readership of several recent developments initiated and about to be implemented at the Journal of Pediatric Nursing (JPN). These new changes reflect the global reach and widespread recognition of the prominence of JPN as a publication resource for not only pediatric nurses and practitioners but also our interdisciplinary colleagues as well. Since the inception of JPN over 25 years ago, we have been keenly sensitive to the international issues regarding the care of infants, children, youth, and their families. As many of you will remember, under the very able oversight and professional commitment of Dr. Bonnie Holaday, a JPN Editorial Board member, for many years, we published the International Pediatric Nursing column. Over the years, especially the last few years, which coincided with the application of our online submission system, the Elsevier Electronic Submission, the number of submissions international authors has dramatically increased. Therefore, it became incumbent to expand the JPN Editorial Board to include more international members. We have expanded our editorial board to include two new European members—Dr. Veronica Swallow of Great Britain and Dr. Philip Moons of Belgium. Dr. Veronica Swallow is the Senior Lecturer of Children's Nursing at the University of Manchester, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Work. Her research efforts have been directed to the application of theories of learning to family management of children's chronic conditions, especially children with kidney conditions. Dr. Swallow's prominence as an international pediatric nursing expert is evidenced by her prolific writings and professional contributions to the field. Dr. Philip Moons is Professor of Nursing Science at the Center for Health Sciences and Nursing Research at the Catholic University Leuven. Dr. Moons is also a guest professor at the Heart Center at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark. His area of research and clinical expertise is in the field of health care transitions of adolescents with special health care needs. He serves as a fellow of the American Heart Association, the European Academy of Nursing Science, and the European Society of Cardiology. Dr. Moons' contributions to nursing science are widely recognized as evidenced by his extensive record of achievements. We are very pleased that these two eminent nursing scientists accepted our invitations to join the JPN Editorial Board. We anticipate additional appointments to the Board from other continents worldwide in the future to fully represent our global influence. In addition, we have added Kathryn Smith, RN, DrPH, as a new Editorial Board member. Formerly, Dr. Smith served as the Editor of the Child Health Policy column. The last column appeared in the 2011 November/December issue. In addition to her expertise with child health policy, Dr. Smith's clinical and research expertise is focused on clinical issues involving children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and spina bifida. In response to the ever-increasing numbers of submissions received by JPN and to publish manuscripts received in a more expeditious manner, we are adopting two new publication options. The first, and more noteworthy option, is the implementation of the new submission category of Brief Reports. Henceforth, we will direct authors who plan to submit papers of pilot studies, clinical innovations in the development stage, or studies with small samples as brief reports. Publishing these papers as brief reports will enable JPN to be more timely with the publication of larger research studies and quality improvement projects. The criteria for Brief Report submissions can be found in the Information for Authors listed in each issue and on the JPN Web site. In addition, to a more limited degree, we have begun and will continue to publish selected articles online. Online articles will be listed in the table of contents as are the hard copies articles of the issue. The distinction with online articles, as you may have noticed in the 2011 November/December issue, was the designation of “i” next to the article title to indicate it was an online publication. We are confident that these recent changes will enhance our ongoing efforts to have JPN continue to be a timely and respected publication resource for our colleagues. As always, we are aware of our responsibilities to foster and uphold the highest standards in publishing manuscripts that contribute to the pediatric nursing and health care literature with the goal of improving the health outcomes of infants, children, youth, and their families.