As summer comes to a close, and with it lazy hazy vacation days, it can be refreshing to look forward to the new start September often brings. Whether you are starting a new semester (teaching or taught) or just enjoying the cooler weather of autumn on your way to and from work, there is something invigorating about the change of seasons and the let's-get-down-to-business feel that this time of year inevitably brings. And you know those larger initiatives, surveys, and quality improvement projects you have been dreaming about? Now is the best time to get started.
Our departments in this issue cover a wide range of nursing quality improvement topics, in case you need some inspiration. For example, Tamara Zupanc aims to make nursing competencies more relevant to nursing practice in this issue's Professional Enrichment (p. 6). And much like the change of seasons, our current and upcoming features showcase beginnings and endings. In an upcoming issue, we plan to launch a several-part series on serum electrolytes, beginning with a feature on potassium. Future articles will cover magnesium, calcium and phosphate, sodium and chloride, and bicarbonate, with accompanying background material and all the latest evidence-based information you need to refresh your knowledge. In the meantime, however, we end our complex, two-part series on Managing burn injuries in the ICU (p. 26), which details fictional patient Abe's unfolding case scenario and conclusion, helping to illustrate important treatment modalities for patients with severe burns and cultural considerations for Amish patients. We had a lot of great feedback about the first article, and we hope you enjoy Part 2 just as much.
And for our next big project, we anticipate sending out our first-ever readership survey this fall-all because we want to get to know you! We want your feedback to make the journal better than ever, and of course, those of you who take time out of your busy schedules to help out will be entered to win a prize. So keep an eye on your e-mail and our social media accounts for a link to participate.
In the meantime, get your freshly sharpened bouquet of pencils ready, take some notes, and let us help you start the season off right!
Chloe Falivene, MA