President’s Message
March 15, 2019

 

As most of you have heard by now, it is with pleasure (and some trepidation!) that I am accepting the appointment as editor of Nursing History Review.  I thank the search committee and the Board for their confidence in me and my new team: Christine Hallet (Associate Editor) and Doris Rikkers (Managing Assistant).

I have also assured the Board that I will complete my term as President (ending in September 2020) but will not seek re-election.

First published in 1993 when AAHN was in its 10th year as an of organization, the Nursing History Review has, for now a quarter of a century, provided scholars of nursing history a space in which to “shape the past.”1  As editors of this high impact journal, both Joan Lynaugh and Pat D’Antonio have done just that, working with the editorial staff, reviewers, and authors to shape manuscripts into interesting, analytical, and meaningful articles. Their legacy is a great one, and I welcome the opportunity to continue in their footsteps, working with colleagues from around the world to document nursing’s diverse and multifaceted histories.

As for my vision for the journal, I will continue to (1) welcome the submission of the best scholarly manuscripts from the global community of historians researching nursing and health care history; (2) solicit manuscripts on methodology for a section on “Doing the Work of History,” and (3) include the section on book and media reviews.  (As for those reviews however, in consultation with the Book Review editors, I would like to set a word count limit of 500-600 words. This would allow us more room in the journal for original articles.) In addition, I would like to initiate a section in the journal that is based on Dr. Barbra Wall’s recent emphasis on “Hidden Nurses.”  It will be called: “Hidden in Plain Sight.”  To do so, I am sending out a call for papers related to histories of minorities in nursing history – those whose voices have been silenced in the past. And, since there is often less available data on these nurses, I am thinking that we would welcome shorter manuscripts, (perhaps 10-12 pages).

Other ideas will of course be considered as I meet with Pat D’Antonio  (we had our first transition meeting yesterday), the other editors, and AAHN’s Board.  This weekend the Board is participating in an all day strategic planning session. Their discussions will no doubt include suggestions for future directions for the journal.  

Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] for ideas, suggestions you may have for the Review.  I welcome your input!  

Arlene


1 Joan Lynaugh, “Editorial,” NHR, 10 (2002): n.p.