DECEMBER 2002, VOL 76, NO 6

E D I T O R I A L

What makes a good journal great?

ello to all AORN members &om your new Journal edi- n tor. As I take on this position,

I want to assure you that your AORN Journal will continue to serve your needs for information, guidance, and entertainment. It has been an award-winning jour- nal that recently was led by Brenda S. Gregory Dawes, and she set the bar high. As did my predecessor, I will write an edito- rial column each month-me that I hope will interest and stimulate you or at least irritate you. I invite comment, consent, and complaint to these columns.

lNlTlATlON AS A WRITER As I contemplated this new

task, I thought about good jour- nals, such as the AORN Journal, and the role they have played in my career. My first interaction with this journal came as I was finishing my bachelor of science in nursing program many years ago. An impressive nurse who was a perioperative supervisor unknowingly became a role model for me.

In my senior year, I was com- pleting a clinical rotation in the OR with this nurse as my precep- tor. She assigned me a project to complete a preoperative home visit for a patient undergoing cholecystectomy. I then would plan and implement the patient’s intraoperative nursing care according to my findings. This was when cholecystectomy called for a major open incision and included hospitalization for at

least five days. That she wanted me, a perioperative nurse, to go to a patient’s home that long ago demonstrates how progressive and ahead of her time she was.

I made the home visit, and then I wrote the report for her. She read the report and said, “Well, that’s fine, but now you need to send it to the AORN Journal.” I was not a member at that time and had not heard of the Association, let alone the Journal. Nevertheless, the thought of hav- ing my words printed for anyone to read sent stark terror into my heart. “I couldn’t possibly do that,” I whined. “Of course you can-and you will! I will help you,” she replied. Well, I did, and she did, and so my very first arti- cle was published in the AORN Journal. That was the beginning of my love affair with the Journal, with AORN, and with the power of the professional nurse to influence the career path of another nurse. The name of this fantastic nurse was Barba Edwards, RN, and she later became president of AORN.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE JOURNAL

With this reflection, I asked myself what makes a good jour- nal great, and I decided that it is the people. People such as the writers who sweat blood to get their words in print. They write, rewrite, and then worry that it still is not right. They worry whether it is too boring, too basic, or too difficult. They

worry that it is not good enough and will be reject- ed. If it is accepted, they worry that it

NANCY J. QIRARD now -kill be published, and people actually will know what they think. Writers are the heroes of the Journal. In spite of all the work and worry, they write.

Then there are the people who volunteer to share their valuable time and expertise by serving on the editorial board, as section edi- tors, and as reviewers. They pro- vide guidance about content, solic- it manuscripts, and ensure manu- scripts are accmte. You can rec- ognize these dedicated people because you will see them reading manuscripts on their lunch break. You also may see them reading while waiting for meetings to start, on airplanes, or anytime there are a few spare minutes. You may not see them on weekends because most of their spare time is spent reviewing manuscripts. They are the unsung heroes of the Journal.

There also are the people who actually produce the Journal. They take all the raw material and put it together into a cohesive whole. They make sure the quality of the print and the process remains intact. They work day in and day out, quietly and behind the scenes, to ensure that the Journal is on time and complete. They are the lifeblood of the Journal.

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Finally come the most impor- tant people of all-the readers of the Journal. Without people to read the Journal, all the rest of the people are inconsequen- tial. Readers decide what they want or need to see in print, what they will read, how much is read, and what is done with the information after it is read. They are the heart and soul of the Journal.

C. P. Scott wrote about the duty of a newspaper in the Manchester Guardian. I think his outlook also can apply to the AORN Journal. He said,

NOTE

[The newspaper’s] primary ofice b the gathering of news. At the peril of its soul it must see that the supply is not tainted Neither in what it gives, nor in what it does not give, not in the mode of presentation, must the unclouded truth sufer wrong. Comment kJi.ee but facts are sacred.‘

The AORN Journal has been great because it always has been true to its soul. I want to maintain that soul and continue the excep- tional service the Journal has pro-

vided. All the people who work to make this Journal great still will be needed, but we especially need the heart and the soul to help us. You, the readers, must let us know what you want, need, and think. Talk to us, e-mail us, or call us. I can be reached at 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, Tex, 78284- 7948, by telephone at (2 10) 567- 5841, by fax at (210) 567-1719, or by e-mail at girardn@uthscsa.edu. With the combined efforts of all of us, this Journal will remain great.

NANCY J. OlRARD RN, PHD, FMN

EDITOR

(New York oxford University Press, 1980) 41515. 1. The oxford Dictionary of Quotations, third ed

AORNJoumal Home Studies Available on AORN Online AORN Journal Home Study Programs now are available via AORN Online at http://www.aorn .orgljoumaVhomestudy/default.htm. Access the web site and print the article, examination, answer sheet, and learner evaluation, available in one PDF file. Atter reading the article and filling out the answer sheet and learner evaluation, submit the answer

sheet and learner evaluation with the appropriate fee by mail to AORN Customer Service c/o Home Study Program, 2170 S Parker Rd, Suite 300, Denver, CO 8023 1-57 11 or send via fax with credit card information to (303) 750-32 12. We hope hav- ing Home Studies available online will be of value and make completing them easier for you.

Optimists Experience Better Health and Quality of Life A positive outlook on life can result in a higher level of mental and physical functioning, according to an Aug 12,2002, news release fiom the Mayo Clinic. In addition, optimists may have improved quality of life in their later years compared to pessimists.

Researchers studied data fiom a group of 447 patients who completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) between 1962 and 1965. The MMPI is an assessment tool that helps researchers classify participants’ personality traits. Seventy-four of the study participants were classi- fied as pessimistic, 101 as optimistic, and 272 as a mixture of the two.

surveys completed by the same participants in the 1990s. Those participants classified as pessimistic reported poorer physical and mental health than

Researchers then reviewed follow-up health

their optimistic counterparts.

ty of life assessments and lower than the national average on five of the eight scales measured (ie, physical fimctioning, physical role limitations, bodi- ly pain, general health perception, vitality, social functioning, emotional role limitations, mental health). This research provides documentation for the widely held belief that attitude can affect well being. These results come two years after another Mayo Clinic study found that optimists live longer than pessimists.

Pessimists scored lower than optimists on quali-

Mayo Clinic Study Finds Optimists Report a Higher Quality of Life than Pessimists (news mlmse, Rochester, Minn: Mayo Clinic, Aug 12, 2002) hi/p:/!.maymlinic .or9/news202-~140himl (acoessed 16 Aug 2002).

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