A statement by nurse editors in response to the American Nurses Association's decision to discontinue its affiliation with the American Journal of Nursing
Article Outline
Since it began publishing over a century ago, the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) has enjoyed a close relationship with the American Nurses Association (ANA). For the past decade, that relationship has included designating AJN as ANA's official journal and providing AJN as a benefit of ANA membership. Recently, however, ANA announced its decision to launch a new publication as its official journal and to distribute that publication to its members in place of AJN. Although many of us who are members of ANA count on AJN as a benefit of our membership, we all are seriously concerned about the implications this decision holds for ANA, AJN, and the nursing profession.
ANA has characterized its move to launch a new publication as a business decision. Member subscriptions had been financed by the proceeds of ANA's sale of AJN to a large publisher 10 years ago. As these funds approached exhaustion, ANA was confronted with the need to determine how to finance continued member subscriptions, if at all. Ultimately, it decided to launch a new, more modest publication that surely cannot be expected to substitute for the reputation, history, leadership, educational value, and practice-changing capacity of AJN.
We understand that balancing fiscal and programmatic priorities can be a challenging process, but hard-nosed budgetary decisions, no matter how well intentioned, can have unintended consequences that reach well beyond the financial. Certainly, our profession has ample recent experience that illustrates this point.
AJN is a living link between nursing's history, its present, and its future. Maintaining a close relationship between ANA and AJN has served both of them well—and has served the profession well since the dawn of organized nursing in the United States. It is also recognized internationally as an important voice for nursing. AJN provides ANA members and nonmembers with authoritative, credible, reliable, peer-reviewed, evidence-based, and useful content, including information, research, news, and analysis of issues in nursing practice, education, and policy. And by virtue of its stature as a long-established, highly respected, widely read and cited professional journal, AJN is able to bring nursing's perspectives to a wide audience that extends beyond its readership and beyond nursing. In fact, AJN was one of the first nursing journals to be indexed by the National Library of Medicine and is one of the few nursing journals included in the Institute of Scientific Information's Journal Citation Report.
The value of such a journal as a critical asset to the profession and to ANA's image throughout the world should be apparent to ANA's leaders, as should the importance of supporting the journal and maintaining a close relationship to it. Simply put, the profession is poorly served by separating the professional journal from the professional association.
It may well be too late for ANA to reconsider its decision, at least for now. But we hope that the concerns of many members and nursing leaders in the United States and internationally can draw the attention of ANA's leadership to the adverse implications of that decision. Moreover, in the coming months, both parties should act to mitigate the damage to ANA, AJN, and the profession by ensuring that this separation, however unfortunate, does not become a complete rift. ANA should explore with AJN any and all avenues for ongoing support and collaboration, including continued linkages between the journal and the ANA's membership.
We respectfully call upon ANA's current and incoming leaderships to make this a high priority.
(Signers listed in alphabetical order)
Mary Alexander, MA, RN, CRNI, CAE
Editor, Journal of Infusion Nursing, official publication of the Infusion Nurses Society
Donna L. Algase, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA
Editor, Research and Theory for Nursing Practice
Elizabeth A. Ayello, PhD, RN, APRN, BC, CWOCN, FAPWCA, FAAN
Executive Editor, Journal of the World Council of Enterostomal Therapists (WCET)
Judith Gedney Baggs, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor, Research in Nursing & Health
Susan Bakewell-Sachs, PhD, RN, APRN, BC
Neonatal Editor, Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing
Jane Bliss-Holtz, DNSc, BC
Editor, Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing
Pamela J. Brink, RN, PhD
Editor, Western Journal of Nursing Research
Marion E. Broome, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor, Nursing Outlook, the official journal of the American Academy of Nursing
Barbara J. Brown, EdD, RN, FAAN, FNAP, CNAA
Editor-in-Chief, Nursing Administration Quarterly
Editor-in-Chief, MODRN Nurse
Rose Mary Carroll-Johnson, MN, RN
Editor, Oncology Nursing Forum, an official journal of the Oncology Nursing Society
Editor, International Journal of Nursing Terminologies and Classifications, the official journal of NANDA International.
Mary W. Chaffee, ScD(h), MS, RN, CNAA, FAAN
Guest Editor, Nursing Clinics of North America
Former Managing Editor, Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice
Peggy L. Chinn, RN, PhD, FAAN
Editor, Advances in Nursing Science
Phyllis G. Cooper, MN, RN
Editor, Nursing Forum
W. Richard Cowling, III, RN, PhD, APRN-BC
Editor, Journal of Holistic Nursing
Patricia D'Antonio, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor, Nursing History Review, the official publication of the American Association for the History of Nursing
Donna Diers, RN, PhD, FAAN
Former Editor, Image—Journal of Nursing Scholarship
Editorial Board Member, American Journal of Nursing
Nancy Donaldson, RN, DNSc, FAAN
Founding Coeditor, Online Journal of Clinical Innovationnancy.donaldson@NURSING.UCSF.EDU
Molly Dougherty, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor, Nursing Researchmdougher@EMAIL.UNC.EDU
Marsha Dowell, RN, PhD
Senior Editor, Research in Healthcare Financial Management
James A. Fain, PhD, RN, BC-ADM, FAAN
Editor-in-Chief, The Diabetes Educator, official journal of the American Association of Diabetes Educators
Harriet R. Feldman, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor in Chief, Encyclopedia of Nursing Leadership
Joyce Fitzpatrick, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor, Applied Nursing Research
Editor, Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, official journal of SERPN
Annette Flanagin, RN, MA, FAAN
Managing Deputy Editor, JAMA—Journal of the American Medical Association
Annette.Flanagin@JAMA-ARCHIVES.ORG
Debbie Fraser Askin, MN, RNC
Executive Editor, Neonatal Network
Margaret Comerford Freda, EdD, RN, CHES, FAAN
Editor, MCN: The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing
Nancy Girard, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor-in-Chief, AORN Journal
Roslyn M. Gleeson, RN, APN, MSN
Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Laurie N. Gottlieb, RN, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Journal of Nursing Research (CJNR)
laurie.gottlieb@staff.mcgill.ca
Joyce P. Griffin-Sobel, RN, PhD, AOCN, APRN, BC
Editor, Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, an official publication of the Oncology Nursing Society
Kathleen A. Gross, MSN, RN, BC, CRN
Editor, Journal of Radiology Nursing, official journal of The American Radiological Nurses Association.
Jane Hokanson Hawks, DNSc, RN, BC
Editor, Urologic Nursing
Coeditor, Medical–Surgical Nursing (6th–8th ed.)
Sue Thomas Hegyvary, PhD, FAAN
Editor, Journal of Nursing Scholarship
Barbara J. Holtzclaw, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor, Southern Online Journal of Nursing Research, official research publication of the Southern Nursing Research Society
Carolyn Humphrey, RN, MS, FAAN
Former Editor, Home Healthcare Nurse
cjhumphrey@bellsouth.net
Mansour Olawale Jumaa, DProf, RN, FWACN, CMgr, FCMI, FRSA, FRSH
International Editor, West African Journal of Nursing
Anne Katz, RN, PhD
Contributing Editor, American Journal of Nursing
David M. Keepnews, PhD, JD, RN, FAAN
Editor-in-Chief, Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice
Louanne Lawson, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Forensic Nursing, official journal of the International Association of Forensic Nurses
Cynthia Lewis, MSN, RN
Editor, Journal of Vascular Nursing
Judith A. Lewis, PhD, RNC, FAAN
Founding Editor, NAP Forum
Former Associate Editor, JOGNN
Nancy K. Lowe, CNM, PhD, FACNM, FAAN
Elnora Thomson Distinguished Professor of Nursing
Oregon Health & Science University
Tina Marrelli, MSN, MA, RN
Editor, Home Healthcare Nurse, the Journal for the Home Care & Hospice Professionals
Maria Helena Palucci Marziale, RN, PhD
Editor, Latin American Journal of Nursing, Brazil
Sandra Nettina, MSN, APRN,BC, ANP
Editor, Medscape Nursing's Topics in Advanced Practice ejournal
Leslie H. Nicoll, PhD, MBA, RN, BC
Editor-in-Chief, CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing
Editor-in-Chief, JHPN: The Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, the official journal of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
Marilyn Oermann, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor, Journal of Nursing Care Quality
Ellen Olshansky, DNSc, RNC, FAAN
Editor, Journal of Professional Nursing, official journal of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing
Carol A. (“Pat”) Patsdaughter, PhD, RN, ACRN
Coeditor, Journal of Cultural Diversity
Associate Editor, Journal of Multicultural Nursing and Health
Deanna Persaud, MSN, RN
Editor, SCI Nursing, the official journal of the American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Nurses
Belinda E. Puetz, PhD, RN
Editor-in-Chief, Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, the official publication of the National Nursing Staff Development Organization
Mary F. Rodts, MS, MSA, CNP, ONC, FAAN
Editor, Orthopaedic Nursing
Suzanne P. Smith, EdD, RN, FAAN
Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Nursing Administration
Editor-in-Chief, Nurse Educator
Shirley A. Smoyak, RN, PhD, FAAN
Editor, Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services
Chris Stewart-Amidei, RN, MSN, CNRN, CCRN
Editor, Journal of Neuroscience Nursing
camidei@surgery.bsd.uchicago.edu
Christine A. Tanner, RN, PhD, FAAN
Editor, Journal of Nursing Education
Linda Q. Thede, PhD, RN, BC
Editor, CIN Plus
Sue Turale, DEd, RN, RPN, FRCNA, FRANZCMHN
Editor-in-Chief, Nursing & Health Sciences
M. Terese Verklan, PhD, CCNS, RNC
Associate Editor, Nursing and Health Sciences
Christine Vourakis, DNSc, RN
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Addictions Nursing, official journal of the International Nurses Society on Addictions
Connie Henke Yarbro, MS, RN, FAAN
Editor, Seminars in Oncology Nursing
Susan Yox, RN, MSN, EdD
Editorial Director, Medscape Nurses
April 30, 2006
PII: S0897-1897(06)00088-7
doi:10.1016/j.apnr.2006.07.002
© 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
