Spring is often a time of renewal and restarts, and certainly a time of professional stimulation for critical care nurse as the convention season begins. This issue of DCCN begins a period we may refer to as "after"-after the pandemic, after a workforce shift, after the great resignation, and after a realignment in work-life balance. Health care is forever changed, but we have grown and learned.
Over the past 3 years, the pandemic spurred many new publications. Our journal received many new submissions with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 articles as many professionals wrote during the solitude provided by the pandemic. Authors were eager to share lessons learned during the pandemic. Others found new energy and perhaps time in lockdown to address a publication goal that is often obscured by the cadence of work-life imbalance. Conversely, authors and peer reviewers were challenged on many fronts. Sadly, some found that their new schedule, personal and family illness, and other pandemic-related challenges forced them to decline invitations to write, review, or revise existing manuscripts. Throughout, we forged new partnerships as authors served as co-first authors, and coauthors assumed the role of corresponding and first author to complete production tasks. Our peer review force grew as we extended invitations, education, and information about the peer review process. In the absence of in-person meetings and conventions, new relationships forged on digital platforms such as Zoom and Teams-and by traditional telephone.
SPRINGING FORWARD
This issue elucidates a new start. The scope of scholarly inquiry is well represented in research, quality improvement, and implementation of evidence-based practice. Family presence is reestablished and redefined by Dudeck and colleagues who explore and reconceptualize the patient-family experience during and beyond the pandemic. Tennyson and colleagues describe pathways that guide patient- and family-focused care. Dr Lina Kurdahi Badr and her team share a quality improvement approach to implementing a rapid response team led by nurses in a low- to middle-income country. Drs Coyer and Carlucci illustrate how to implement an evidence-based, nurse-driven protocol to guide a common challenge, peripheral infusion of vasopressors. To provide an international focus, Ali Al-Jaafreh's team explores variation in the implementation of guidelines to manage chest trauma. A unique slant is provided by Dr Rosa's team as they take a deep dive into the literature of early mobilization through the lens of intensive care unit-cquired weakness.
RESOURCES AND SUPPORT FOR SCHOLARLY PUBLICATION
DCCN continues to guide new authors and writing teams by sharing some of what we have learned. In this issue, and throughout the year, we will add information, resources, and advice through DCCN's Writing for Publication Series, currently offered within our closing word section. During this busy time, profession publication remained at the forefront of practice, but many articles suffered from desk rejection, because of technical problems, submission errors, formatting challenges, and communication problems. We recognize that publication conundrums and manuscript preparation difficulties continue to persist and often require significant resources.
Our March/April issue published updated information on formatting and guidelines for authors (https://journals.lww.com/dccnjournal/Citation/2023/03000/Resources_for_Effective).
In this issue, we discuss the task of revising a manuscript as we provide new resources and encourage authors to reach out to us for more information and support. Our Writing for Publication Series will continue throughout 2023. In our July/August Issue, Dr Bowen-Brady will address the complexities of the authorship and provide insights into early preparations that make the author/coauthor relationship a success. We invite writers to share their expertise and experience in this section. If you are interested in contributing to this series, contact me directly at mailto:[email protected].
Throughout the pandemic, our journal was quite selective, yet we are thrilled that many articles completed the publication cycle and achieved publication within a year of submissions. We are grateful for the commitment and energy of all who make DCCN a success.