Time flies when you are having fun-especially when you are building a body of literature intent on humanizing and improving nursing and healthcare. This year marks the platinum anniversary of Holistic Nursing Practice (HNP), a journal that evolved from its parent journal, Topics in Clinical Nursing (TCN), 20 years ago.
Using a single-topic format, TCN launched its first issue in April 1979 with the theme stress management. This self-care focus firmly established the holistic philosophy from which the journal has never strayed. In 1986, the journal took on a new look and title that more clearly reflected its holistic leanings. The clinical green and black cover of TCN was replaced with the pink and white yin-yang symbol on a background of gray. The symbol reflected healthcare's growing interest in multicultural, alternative, and complementary healthcare interventions, which have become an increasing focus of the journal's content in recent years.
In 2000, HNP was acquired by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, who gave it a new size, look, and format, and changed it from a quarterly publication to a bimonthly publication. A suggestion of the original yin-yang symbol remains on the lavender cover, and each issue contains various holistically oriented articles instead of articles focused on a single topic. So the journal's look has gone through 3 iterations, but what about its substance? Articles have changed to a more research- and evidence-based approach, although exploring practice issues and holistic interventions remains the journal's mainstay. The Healing Journey, a new column, gives nurses and others the opportunity to reflect on the nature of their own personal healing journeys. Integrated Healing, another column that was added, conveys how complementary and alternative therapies are being applied in acute care. And, more articles generally reflect how our society is increasing its use of alternative and complementary therapies.
Perhaps the most enduring characteristic of HNP has been its ability to change with the times while maintaining holistic nursing's core beliefs such as the potential of individuals to significantly influence their own health through self-care practices; the resilience of individuals through healing processes; and the power of caring human interaction among individuals, families, and communities to promote health and healing.
Anniversaries bring memories of those who have contributed to the success of HNP throughout the years: Doris Sutterley, MSN, RN, my coeditor until her retirement more than 10 years ago; the outstanding nurses who helped shape the journal through their participation as manuscript reviewers and members of the editorial advisory board; and authors who shared their perspective, modalities, and research findings in HNP's many articles.
I invite the loyal readers of HNP to celebrate this 20th anniversary with the editorial advisory board, its publisher, and me. A journal cannot endure without a loyal readership. And the readers of HNP have partnered with us to not only change and improve the journal but also to broaden the acceptance and use of holistic nursing practices to improve overall healthcare delivery. Happy anniversary to us all!!
Gloria F. Donnelly, PhD, RN, FAAN, Editor-in-Chief