New Year, New Features in the Journal

As Issues in Mental Health Nursing begins its 37th year, I am pleased to announce some new features. The journal has entered a collaborative relationship with the Cochrane Nursing Care Field (CNCF), which will provide us with monthly summaries of Cochrane reviews that are relevant to psychiatric-mental health nursing. In the “Cochrane Corner” column, readers will have easy access to the research that has identified best practices in patient care.

Another new feature of the journal will be establishment of two author awards, to be given annually: one for best research paper and one for best clinical paper. Members of the editorial board will discuss award criteria and selection procedure at our meeting in Minnesota in April, which is being held during the 2016 conference of the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses.

Joining us in Minnesota for the editorial board meeting will be our newest Associate Editor, Dr. Della Derscheid. Della is an Associate Professor of Nursing at the Mayo Medical School as well as a Clinical Nurse Researcher and Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Mayo Medical Center. She earned the Bachelor of Arts degree, with nursing and psychology majors, at Augustana College in South Dakota; her Master of Science degree, with majors in psychiatric/mental health nursing and public health nursing, at the University of Minnesota; and her PhD at Rush University. She has practiced in psychiatric inpatient units for both adults and children and conducted research on predicting and evaluating violent events in inpatient settings. She has made presentations in India, South Africa, and England in addition to numerous regional and national conferences. Since 2014, she has been an advisory committee member for the American Nurses Association on its issues panel on workplace violence and incivility.

When I reviewed her CV, I was impressed by her willingness to share her expertise in talks with consumers, their families, high school students, and the general public. Dr. Derscheid has faithfully served this journal as a reviewer for more than a decade, and I know that she will fulfill her new duties as Associate Editor with enthusiasm and dedication.

Another “new face” on the editorial board is Dr. Janna Lesser of the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Janna is becoming the co-editor of our excellent Cultural Competence Column. She has already contributed several columns during the years of Dr. Jacquelyn Flaskerud's editorship (see issue #8, Lesser, De La Rosa, & Ramirez, 2015 for a recent example). Going forward, Drs. Flaskerud and Lesser will share responsibility for the Cultural Competence Column.

I would like to thank Dr. Geoffry Phillips McEnany for his years of service as a reviewer and Associate Editor. Geoff served as guest editor for an excellent special issue on the DSM-5, (IMHN, Volume 33, #9, 2012) that attracted widespread attention and accolades. Through the years, Geoff provided many thoughtful reviews of manuscripts about sleep problems, depression, women's health, psychiatric and medical comorbidities, and cognitive behavioral therapy. He retired as Professor Emeritus from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. We wish him well in his retirement.

An exciting achievement for the journal is acceptance for inclusion by Thomson Reuters in its indexes, and we are looking forward to the announcement of the journal's first impact factor, which is expected in June. Watch for future publicity about this announcement.

Also notable in the month of June will be publication of our special issue on Patient-Centered Care, guest edited by Associate Editor Donna Neff. Each year, IMHN publishes one or more special themed issues. It is not too late to suggest topics for a December special issue. I need your help in continually identifying and addressing the issues that are most germane to clinical practice, administration, and research in psychiatric-mental health nursing.

I look forward to working with you and continuing to serve as your editor in 2016!