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International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (2014) 23, 477–478
doi: 10.1111/inm.12117
Editorial
Is it that time already? If I’d been told I’d be the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (IJMHN) for 10 and a half years when I was initially appointed, I might have run for the hills. Yet here I am writing my last Editorial and I don’t regret a minute of it, well not many minutes of it! What many don’t realize is it almost didn’t happen. At the time Mike Hazelton was leaving, I thought I was busy enough as a centre director, and didn’t want to commit to something as big and important as this, unless I devoted 150% to it. Steve Elsom was the College president, and I was supervising his PhD. He quietly accepted my ‘no’ when he asked if I were interested, yet I had a feeling the conversation wasn’t completely over. When I talked about the journal with my partner Steve, his response was something like: ‘Are you serious? This job is made for you’. I still wasn’t convinced, but thought one should always look (more of his wise words). One morning soon after, I sent Steve Elsom an email and asked him to drop around for a chat about the Editorship when it suited, no hurry. Moments later, he appeared in my doorway. He was encouraging, yet not pushy, so I applied, and the rest is history. I owe both Steves a great debt. They were right; it was the perfect role for me. For the most part of those 10 and a half years, I have loved the role, relished the challenges, and revelled in the growth of the journal’s success. It has been a busy job; in fact, busier by the year, as the quality and reputation of the journal have grown. It has been fantastic. I think and hope I have done it justice. As this is my last Editorial, I am seeking your indulgence with some reflection on my time in the role. Like many journals in 2004, the system was paper based. Authors posted three copies of the manuscripts; one was filed and two sent by snail mail to reviewers. Reviewers’ comments were compiled into a letter to author(s) with an editorial decision. The process was time consuming, confusing, and certainly not kind to the environment (so much paper). Job 1 as a new Editor?: an all-electronic system. A good start; it cut the work load per manuscript and shortened review times considerably, and then came Manuscript Central, fully internet based, meaning I could do journal work anywhere, anytime, the administrative burden lessened, and turnaround times were further reduced. © 2014 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.
The first manuscript I processed was 444 (cool, since 4 is my favourite number), the most recent was 1962, and likely to reach 2000 before I hand over the reins. Submissions have increased from approximately 50 to 300 per year. I am of course very proud of the achievements of the IJMHN. It is now truly recognized as an international journal, with more than 70% of manuscripts contributed from countries other than Australia (compared to 30%) in 2004. The measures of success have been many: increases in university subscriptions, downloads of individual articles, and of course, the impact factor. Since the first impact factor in 2011, the journal has not dropped below 1, and all but one year it has been the highest ranked mental health nursing journal. This year the impact factor hit 2 (meaning articles are cited an average of twice each within two years of publication), and the journal is now ranked as number 5 (of 106) nursing journal internationally. This is a fantastic achievement, as much for the research, scholarship, and practice of mental health nursing as for the journal itself. Such notable achievements do not come from solo efforts and so many people have contributed to what we can all now celebrate. Great achievements come from vision. The pioneers and early editors of the Journal of the Australian Congress of Mental Health Nurses believed in the importance of a journal for the discipline and the Congress, so despite them all having full-time jobs, they believed it could be done and they did it. From their success came our launch into the Australian Journal of Mental Health Nursing (and later the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Mental Health Nursing), led by Professor Michael Clinton as the inaugural Editor-in-Chief. The name change to International Journal of Mental Health Nursing was spearheaded under the leadership of Professor Mike Hazelton. This decision was not without controversy, with some concern that the ‘local’ flavour might be lost. On the contrary, since the name change and establishment of a strong international Editorial Board, IJMHN is seen as a quality international journal providing leadership to our professional, academic, and practice environments. The international focus had led to increased submissions of manuscripts, downloading of articles, and promotion of the journal through professional and
478
academic domains. This is not restricted to the mental health community; increasingly, submissions are interdisciplinary, almost unheard of at one time. Yet our southern content remains strong alongside the academic and clinical leaders of the rest of the world; we are recognized as partners and leaders within a strong international community. Without the internationalization of the journal, it is very unlikely we would be enjoying our current success. Thanking specific people is always fraught with danger and risks offending others; however, I’ll take my chances. Thanks to Mike Hazelton, not only for teaching me the ropes but for remaining supportive of my performance in this role to this very day. My sincere thanks to the Editorial Boards past and present, particularly those who willingly accepted reviews and could be called upon to undertake a quick review when needed. Special acknowledgement to Trish Martin, Tim Wand, Sue McAndrew, and Anthony O’Brien, always the first to offer to review when I called on the Editorial Board for urgent assistance. More heartfelt thanks to Trish Martin, the Deputy Editor for most of my time in this role, for her tireless work, her true collegiality, and of course, her offbeat humour, often exactly what I needed when the pressure was on. More thanks to Tony O’Brien for organizing and minuting the online meetings, a process more complex and time consuming than it might seem. My thanks of course to the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Board of Directors for their support, in particular the decision to increase issues from four to six, and the more recent decision to increase the size of issues. I particularly applaud the Board’s decision to approve and publically support the editorial independence of the Editor-in-Chief. This is crucial for scholarly integrity and the journal’s status within our academic and professional community. Such a step requires trust, and the Board has demonstrated that trust. Thanks to the many people I’ve worked with from Wiley for your contribution to a quality production and for accommodating my fastidious and pedantic ways. Of course the journal would be nothing without authors; my sincere thanks to those who chose IJMHN as a worthy place to publish their work. Thanks also to those hundreds of people who have undertaken reviews of manuscripts. I appreciate that email requests to review journal articles might sometimes be akin to taking calls from telemarketers. I’m sure I lost my place on some Christmas card lists by pointing out to those who declined requests to review (particularly repeatedly) that they were able to have their manuscripts reviewed in a quality and timely manner because busy people reviewed their work. I’ve gladly lived with that to achieve review times less than
EDITORIAL
a quarter of the average. The ability to review, make decisions about, and ultimately publish in a timely fashion is the hallmark of a quality journal. Finally, thanks to all who read the journal, download articles, and cite them in other works from all over the world. I would like to particularly acknowledge College members who receive the journal as a membership benefit. A special debt of gratitude to those who read the journal from cover to cover, select papers of particular interest, skim through the table of contents to see what is happening, and perhaps read the occasional Editorial. This is your journal, and no achievements would be possible if you didn’t read it, embrace it, and brag about it. The informal feedback I receive when I meet with nurses in various settings show the work is valued and the sense of pride at this being ‘ours’ is strongly evident. To conclude this, my last editorial as Editor-in-Chief, I want to take another opportunity to express how fortunate I feel to be mental health nurse. This has not been just a job to me; it hasn’t even been just a profession. Working as a mental health nurse in different roles has given me the opportunity to make a difference at an individual level, and more importantly, at a system’s level. This profession has enabled me to achieve many life goals, being a journalist and author, the opportunity to teach future generations of nurses, watch them develop intellectually and emotionally and completely change their attitudes to mental health nursing. I have been fortunate in the jobs I’ve had to see the impact of education and research on our practice base and vice versa. With the advances in technological communication and our ability to access information from throughout the world we are, in many respects, an international community. I certainly feel that sense of community as I travel to conferences throughout the world, where I meet people I know personally or through their work, and I meet new colleagues. I am always struck with how our similarities are greater than our differences. I always feel at home, part of a tribe, a collective that wants to make the world a better place for those influenced by mental health challenges as individuals or those they love. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my career. Thanks to you all. Over and out. Brenda Happell Editor-in-Chief Stop press: I am pleased to officially announce Professor Kim Usher as the new Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing and wish her all the very best in this role. © 2014 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.
Copyright of International Journal of Mental Health Nursing is the property of WileyBlackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (2014) 23, 477–478
doi: 10.1111/inm.12117
Editorial
Is it that time already? If I’d been told I’d be the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (IJMHN) for 10 and a half years when I was initially appointed, I might have run for the hills. Yet here I am writing my last Editorial and I don’t regret a minute of it, well not many minutes of it! What many don’t realize is it almost didn’t happen. At the time Mike Hazelton was leaving, I thought I was busy enough as a centre director, and didn’t want to commit to something as big and important as this, unless I devoted 150% to it. Steve Elsom was the College president, and I was supervising his PhD. He quietly accepted my ‘no’ when he asked if I were interested, yet I had a feeling the conversation wasn’t completely over. When I talked about the journal with my partner Steve, his response was something like: ‘Are you serious? This job is made for you’. I still wasn’t convinced, but thought one should always look (more of his wise words). One morning soon after, I sent Steve Elsom an email and asked him to drop around for a chat about the Editorship when it suited, no hurry. Moments later, he appeared in my doorway. He was encouraging, yet not pushy, so I applied, and the rest is history. I owe both Steves a great debt. They were right; it was the perfect role for me. For the most part of those 10 and a half years, I have loved the role, relished the challenges, and revelled in the growth of the journal’s success. It has been a busy job; in fact, busier by the year, as the quality and reputation of the journal have grown. It has been fantastic. I think and hope I have done it justice. As this is my last Editorial, I am seeking your indulgence with some reflection on my time in the role. Like many journals in 2004, the system was paper based. Authors posted three copies of the manuscripts; one was filed and two sent by snail mail to reviewers. Reviewers’ comments were compiled into a letter to author(s) with an editorial decision. The process was time consuming, confusing, and certainly not kind to the environment (so much paper). Job 1 as a new Editor?: an all-electronic system. A good start; it cut the work load per manuscript and shortened review times considerably, and then came Manuscript Central, fully internet based, meaning I could do journal work anywhere, anytime, the administrative burden lessened, and turnaround times were further reduced. © 2014 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.
The first manuscript I processed was 444 (cool, since 4 is my favourite number), the most recent was 1962, and likely to reach 2000 before I hand over the reins. Submissions have increased from approximately 50 to 300 per year. I am of course very proud of the achievements of the IJMHN. It is now truly recognized as an international journal, with more than 70% of manuscripts contributed from countries other than Australia (compared to 30%) in 2004. The measures of success have been many: increases in university subscriptions, downloads of individual articles, and of course, the impact factor. Since the first impact factor in 2011, the journal has not dropped below 1, and all but one year it has been the highest ranked mental health nursing journal. This year the impact factor hit 2 (meaning articles are cited an average of twice each within two years of publication), and the journal is now ranked as number 5 (of 106) nursing journal internationally. This is a fantastic achievement, as much for the research, scholarship, and practice of mental health nursing as for the journal itself. Such notable achievements do not come from solo efforts and so many people have contributed to what we can all now celebrate. Great achievements come from vision. The pioneers and early editors of the Journal of the Australian Congress of Mental Health Nurses believed in the importance of a journal for the discipline and the Congress, so despite them all having full-time jobs, they believed it could be done and they did it. From their success came our launch into the Australian Journal of Mental Health Nursing (and later the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Mental Health Nursing), led by Professor Michael Clinton as the inaugural Editor-in-Chief. The name change to International Journal of Mental Health Nursing was spearheaded under the leadership of Professor Mike Hazelton. This decision was not without controversy, with some concern that the ‘local’ flavour might be lost. On the contrary, since the name change and establishment of a strong international Editorial Board, IJMHN is seen as a quality international journal providing leadership to our professional, academic, and practice environments. The international focus had led to increased submissions of manuscripts, downloading of articles, and promotion of the journal through professional and
478
academic domains. This is not restricted to the mental health community; increasingly, submissions are interdisciplinary, almost unheard of at one time. Yet our southern content remains strong alongside the academic and clinical leaders of the rest of the world; we are recognized as partners and leaders within a strong international community. Without the internationalization of the journal, it is very unlikely we would be enjoying our current success. Thanking specific people is always fraught with danger and risks offending others; however, I’ll take my chances. Thanks to Mike Hazelton, not only for teaching me the ropes but for remaining supportive of my performance in this role to this very day. My sincere thanks to the Editorial Boards past and present, particularly those who willingly accepted reviews and could be called upon to undertake a quick review when needed. Special acknowledgement to Trish Martin, Tim Wand, Sue McAndrew, and Anthony O’Brien, always the first to offer to review when I called on the Editorial Board for urgent assistance. More heartfelt thanks to Trish Martin, the Deputy Editor for most of my time in this role, for her tireless work, her true collegiality, and of course, her offbeat humour, often exactly what I needed when the pressure was on. More thanks to Tony O’Brien for organizing and minuting the online meetings, a process more complex and time consuming than it might seem. My thanks of course to the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Board of Directors for their support, in particular the decision to increase issues from four to six, and the more recent decision to increase the size of issues. I particularly applaud the Board’s decision to approve and publically support the editorial independence of the Editor-in-Chief. This is crucial for scholarly integrity and the journal’s status within our academic and professional community. Such a step requires trust, and the Board has demonstrated that trust. Thanks to the many people I’ve worked with from Wiley for your contribution to a quality production and for accommodating my fastidious and pedantic ways. Of course the journal would be nothing without authors; my sincere thanks to those who chose IJMHN as a worthy place to publish their work. Thanks also to those hundreds of people who have undertaken reviews of manuscripts. I appreciate that email requests to review journal articles might sometimes be akin to taking calls from telemarketers. I’m sure I lost my place on some Christmas card lists by pointing out to those who declined requests to review (particularly repeatedly) that they were able to have their manuscripts reviewed in a quality and timely manner because busy people reviewed their work. I’ve gladly lived with that to achieve review times less than
EDITORIAL
a quarter of the average. The ability to review, make decisions about, and ultimately publish in a timely fashion is the hallmark of a quality journal. Finally, thanks to all who read the journal, download articles, and cite them in other works from all over the world. I would like to particularly acknowledge College members who receive the journal as a membership benefit. A special debt of gratitude to those who read the journal from cover to cover, select papers of particular interest, skim through the table of contents to see what is happening, and perhaps read the occasional Editorial. This is your journal, and no achievements would be possible if you didn’t read it, embrace it, and brag about it. The informal feedback I receive when I meet with nurses in various settings show the work is valued and the sense of pride at this being ‘ours’ is strongly evident. To conclude this, my last editorial as Editor-in-Chief, I want to take another opportunity to express how fortunate I feel to be mental health nurse. This has not been just a job to me; it hasn’t even been just a profession. Working as a mental health nurse in different roles has given me the opportunity to make a difference at an individual level, and more importantly, at a system’s level. This profession has enabled me to achieve many life goals, being a journalist and author, the opportunity to teach future generations of nurses, watch them develop intellectually and emotionally and completely change their attitudes to mental health nursing. I have been fortunate in the jobs I’ve had to see the impact of education and research on our practice base and vice versa. With the advances in technological communication and our ability to access information from throughout the world we are, in many respects, an international community. I certainly feel that sense of community as I travel to conferences throughout the world, where I meet people I know personally or through their work, and I meet new colleagues. I am always struck with how our similarities are greater than our differences. I always feel at home, part of a tribe, a collective that wants to make the world a better place for those influenced by mental health challenges as individuals or those they love. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my career. Thanks to you all. Over and out. Brenda Happell Editor-in-Chief Stop press: I am pleased to officially announce Professor Kim Usher as the new Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing and wish her all the very best in this role. © 2014 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.
Copyright of International Journal of Mental Health Nursing is the property of WileyBlackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
