Charting our course

Nurse Practitioner, Jan 2002 by Pearson, Linda

NPs continue to advance the goals we've set for our patients and ourselves. Still, I never thought I'd see the day when a national news magazine would print "The appeal of NPs as primary-care providers isn't hard to fathom. Well schooled in medicine, they also possess the kind of nurturing and educational skills that too many doctors lack" (W. Guglielmo, Patient power: Above and beyond just doctoring, Newsweek, November 5,2001,72; http://www.msnbc.com/news/648847. asp).

This quote summarizes what many NPs and advanced practice nurses (APNs) have said for decades. I've watched and participated in our struggle to achieve national prominence, and though we can celebrate our successes, we can't rest for long. The nation's health care delivery system needs revamping, and APNs must play a prominent role.

As editor-in-chief of The Nurse Practitioner journal (NPJ) for the past 19 years, I'm proud of the role NPJ has played. One of the journal's contributions has been the "Annual Legislative Update: How Each State Stands on Legislative Issues Affecting Advanced Nursing Practice. The latest legislative gains (and frustrations) are featured in the 14th Annual Update in this issue.

In our continuing effort to support APNs, NPJ strives to provide the latest in evidence-based clinical information and health issues that impact your practice. For us, meeting that goal means constantly reevaluating the information we present and how we present it. Responding to your comments and suggestions, we continued to adapt to your needs in 2001:

* Recognizing your need for pharmacology credits to maintain licensure and certification, we now delineate pharmacology credit hours (with the RA symbol) as part of the ANCC contact hours.

* We've started bringing you my Editor's Memo each month, so that I can stay in closer touch with readers and address topics that directly affect us, such as intraprofessional issues. This close contact allows us to alert each other to important issues and strengthen our profession's stature in the health policy arena.

* We know you're busy with your patients, your careers, and your lives, and we freshened the journal's design to help you quickly and efficiently extract the information you need. We also now feature a picture on the cover to highlight one of the featured CE artides.

* NPJ continues to sponsor the National Conference for Nurse Practitioners (NCNP) to give APNs the opportunity to network, learn about new products, and experience cuttingedge practicums and lectures from expert clincians. I hope to see many of you at next year's conference in Nashville, Tennessee (November 6-10).

Look for more exciting NPJ contributions in 2002. I promise that we'll continue to meet your needs in a comprehensive and timely manner. As always, I welcome your comments, questions, and concerns (1-303-986-- 8344 or lpearson@lww.com). I'm proud to say that I'm available 24 hours a day to talk with you, dear colleague.

Linda Pearson, RN, FNP, MSN, DNSc(c) Editor-in-Chief