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The journal looks forward to your E-mail or call in 2002
EDITORIAL
The Journal Looks Forward to Your E-mail or Call in 2002 Gail Pisarcik Lenehan, RN, EdD, FAAN, Boston, Mass
With this first issue of the 28th volume of the Journal of Emergency Nursing, I would like to take a moment to express our gratitude to all of the editors, section editors, editorial board members, consulting editors, and other reviewers for volunteering countless hours to make this the Journal of record for emergency nursing during the past 27 years. I would also like to acknowledge the work of the authors. No one is more important to the Journal than a single author, and this entire issue is almost a poster child for what is valuable for authors to write about. For example, May gives us documentation of the facts of violence against nurses—the danger from families, and even hospitals, which may be placing patients’ rights ahead of nurses’ rights to a safe workplace. Zimmermann shares savvy pearls of wisdom from triage. Cavouras reports a successful nursing staffing formula. Frank explains EMTALA’s 250-yard rule. Gilboy offers a form that could save hours of committee work. Hohenhaus outlines an important pediatric educational program. Henderson announces new pediatric care guidelines. Howard raises our consciousness about a crucial trauma issue: medically impaired drivers. An author paints a vivid picture of one person’s experience giving testimony against another emergency nurse, and Steinmann records a case review and reminds us that isoniazid overdoses are back.
The Journal always needs more compelling, practical clinical material, and more research1—studies that report information that can make a difference, change the practice and the specialty, and are written in a way that is meaningful. Many of the manuscripts in this issue were unsolicited. Some of the authors ended up writing because someone said, during the course of a conversation, “You know, you really should write that up!” or because they knew someone involved in the Journal. Connecting with the Journal to see if material would be welcomed is always easier when we know someone and can casually pick up the phone or send an E-mail message. However, the good news is that it isn’t who you know, it’s what you know that is important.2 Even if you don’t know anyone, an E-mail message or call would be welcomed by the colleagues listed in the Author Guidelines (in every single issue of the Journal). I know that the number of E-mail messages I receive ([email protected]) has risen dramatically, and it has been a great way to communicate. It is always good to check before writing something. Discussing the focus of a potential manuscript (narrow and specific, with examples, is always better), or in which section it might fit best, can save you valuable time and ensure, early on, that your work will not be in vain, so do call or E-mail. As we begin to work on manuscripts for the year 2002, we invite emergency nursing colleagues from across the globe to join in creating testimony to a most important specialty by making your own contribution. REFERENCES
J Emerg Nurs 2002;28:3. Copyright © 2002 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/2002 $35.00 + 0 18/64/122350 doi:10.1067/men.2002.122350
1. Lenehan GP. This Journal needs more research. J Emerg Nurs 1991;17:187-8. 2. Lenehan GP. Writing for the Journal: it’s not who you know, but what you know. J Emerg Nurs 1989;15:1-2.
February 2002 28:1
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
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The Journal Looks Forward to Your E-mail or Call in 2002 Gail Pisarcik Lenehan, RN, EdD, FAAN, Boston, Mass
With this first issue of the 28th volume of the Journal of Emergency Nursing, I would like to take a moment to express our gratitude to all of the editors, section editors, editorial board members, consulting editors, and other reviewers for volunteering countless hours to make this the Journal of record for emergency nursing during the past 27 years. I would also like to acknowledge the work of the authors. No one is more important to the Journal than a single author, and this entire issue is almost a poster child for what is valuable for authors to write about. For example, May gives us documentation of the facts of violence against nurses—the danger from families, and even hospitals, which may be placing patients’ rights ahead of nurses’ rights to a safe workplace. Zimmermann shares savvy pearls of wisdom from triage. Cavouras reports a successful nursing staffing formula. Frank explains EMTALA’s 250-yard rule. Gilboy offers a form that could save hours of committee work. Hohenhaus outlines an important pediatric educational program. Henderson announces new pediatric care guidelines. Howard raises our consciousness about a crucial trauma issue: medically impaired drivers. An author paints a vivid picture of one person’s experience giving testimony against another emergency nurse, and Steinmann records a case review and reminds us that isoniazid overdoses are back.
The Journal always needs more compelling, practical clinical material, and more research1—studies that report information that can make a difference, change the practice and the specialty, and are written in a way that is meaningful. Many of the manuscripts in this issue were unsolicited. Some of the authors ended up writing because someone said, during the course of a conversation, “You know, you really should write that up!” or because they knew someone involved in the Journal. Connecting with the Journal to see if material would be welcomed is always easier when we know someone and can casually pick up the phone or send an E-mail message. However, the good news is that it isn’t who you know, it’s what you know that is important.2 Even if you don’t know anyone, an E-mail message or call would be welcomed by the colleagues listed in the Author Guidelines (in every single issue of the Journal). I know that the number of E-mail messages I receive ([email protected]) has risen dramatically, and it has been a great way to communicate. It is always good to check before writing something. Discussing the focus of a potential manuscript (narrow and specific, with examples, is always better), or in which section it might fit best, can save you valuable time and ensure, early on, that your work will not be in vain, so do call or E-mail. As we begin to work on manuscripts for the year 2002, we invite emergency nursing colleagues from across the globe to join in creating testimony to a most important specialty by making your own contribution. REFERENCES
J Emerg Nurs 2002;28:3. Copyright © 2002 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/2002 $35.00 + 0 18/64/122350 doi:10.1067/men.2002.122350
1. Lenehan GP. This Journal needs more research. J Emerg Nurs 1991;17:187-8. 2. Lenehan GP. Writing for the Journal: it’s not who you know, but what you know. J Emerg Nurs 1989;15:1-2.
February 2002 28:1
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
3