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Transition—Omnipresent, never easy
Guest Editorial
Transition--Omnipresent, Never Easy
It is almost a cliche to observe that all of us working in direct care, healthcare planning, and policy or educational environments are in the midst of tremendous transition. So too the treatment issues in HIV/AIDS care, and our understanding of the very disease upon which this association was formed, are also in transition. Amazing new understanding of the immune system and infectious processes has come forth as well as the explosion of new anti-retroviral agents and other life-extending and life enhancing drugs. Whereas a decade ago a diagnosis of HIV-infection was perceived as an imminent death sentence, now it is becoming reasonable to expect that with timely and appropriate care, people infected with HIV can anticipate years of life. Nurses are finding that they are working with their patients around the issues of the challenges of living with a chronic disease. Within our profession, keeping up with the transition leaves us breathless. All of us have been forced to become more bottom line-oriented over the last 10 years. The locus of care is increasingly home~community and outpatient~clinic-based. The very sick are ever more reliant on personal networks of their own creation, with nurses often functioning more as consultants. This Congress believes that less is more, and as this editorial is being written, the Pew Foundation has just recommended the closure of 10 percent of the nation's nursing schools to reduce a 300,000 nurse surplus. "What
JANAC Vol. 7, No. 2, March-April, 1996
surplus?" you may ask as you attend to five tasks at once. Faced with these challenges, nurses are creatively evolving once again, and devising new models of healthcare delivery. We recognize that our history, especially the early years of this century, has much to offer us about home-and communitybased care. Finally, transition challenges JANAC as we look back over the last year and bid farewell and offer profound thanks to our founding editor, Jeanne Kalinoski. While the search for a new editor continues, the editorial board has made a commitment to the membership that the presses will continue to roll. Guest editors will work on each issue to ensure uninterrupted service to the association. But it is only fitting to reflect, at this juncture, that it was Jeanne's vision, creativity, diligence, and scholarship that made this journal what it is today. JANAC, a refereed journal, is included in major indexes of current nursing and medical scholarship. It is the only publication focusing on H I V disease from a nursing perspective. These accomplishments over the past years result from Jeanne's commitment and determination. The association and the editorial board salute you, Jeanne. Suzanne Willard Gregonis, M S N , C R N P Nancy C. Sharts-Hopko, P h D , R N , F A A N
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Transition--Omnipresent, Never Easy
It is almost a cliche to observe that all of us working in direct care, healthcare planning, and policy or educational environments are in the midst of tremendous transition. So too the treatment issues in HIV/AIDS care, and our understanding of the very disease upon which this association was formed, are also in transition. Amazing new understanding of the immune system and infectious processes has come forth as well as the explosion of new anti-retroviral agents and other life-extending and life enhancing drugs. Whereas a decade ago a diagnosis of HIV-infection was perceived as an imminent death sentence, now it is becoming reasonable to expect that with timely and appropriate care, people infected with HIV can anticipate years of life. Nurses are finding that they are working with their patients around the issues of the challenges of living with a chronic disease. Within our profession, keeping up with the transition leaves us breathless. All of us have been forced to become more bottom line-oriented over the last 10 years. The locus of care is increasingly home~community and outpatient~clinic-based. The very sick are ever more reliant on personal networks of their own creation, with nurses often functioning more as consultants. This Congress believes that less is more, and as this editorial is being written, the Pew Foundation has just recommended the closure of 10 percent of the nation's nursing schools to reduce a 300,000 nurse surplus. "What
JANAC Vol. 7, No. 2, March-April, 1996
surplus?" you may ask as you attend to five tasks at once. Faced with these challenges, nurses are creatively evolving once again, and devising new models of healthcare delivery. We recognize that our history, especially the early years of this century, has much to offer us about home-and communitybased care. Finally, transition challenges JANAC as we look back over the last year and bid farewell and offer profound thanks to our founding editor, Jeanne Kalinoski. While the search for a new editor continues, the editorial board has made a commitment to the membership that the presses will continue to roll. Guest editors will work on each issue to ensure uninterrupted service to the association. But it is only fitting to reflect, at this juncture, that it was Jeanne's vision, creativity, diligence, and scholarship that made this journal what it is today. JANAC, a refereed journal, is included in major indexes of current nursing and medical scholarship. It is the only publication focusing on H I V disease from a nursing perspective. These accomplishments over the past years result from Jeanne's commitment and determination. The association and the editorial board salute you, Jeanne. Suzanne Willard Gregonis, M S N , C R N P Nancy C. Sharts-Hopko, P h D , R N , F A A N
15