How many shopping days?

HULL, United Kingdom—This entry finds me after significant breaks from blogging—at least in “Hanging Smart”—and travel. I take the title of this post from the UK obsession this time of year, when summer is ending and people are looking forward to their next major holiday, Christmas—especially the constant reminders from the retail sector of how many shopping days and weekends we have left in our spending spree.

Over summer, the long-suffering Mrs. Watson insisted we take a break, and that led to a few days in London doing things we never did when we lived there many years ago. On the scholarly side of things, two major research-grant proposals have been submitted to potential funders, and several manuscripts have been revised and resubmitted to journals.

We are now at that time in the academic year when our modules have to be revised for the coming semester and dissertations from final-year students marked. People often ask if, with all my travelling, I actually teach and mark students’ work. The answer is yes. I must admit that my incredible colleagues at Hull carry a heavier load than I of these things and, without their support, I could not maintain my international work. However, I like to think I am still engaged with students at all programme levels.

Since my last entry, I have been to Oxford, UK, to attend the management team meeting of Journal of Advanced Nursing. This is the best two days of the year in terms of discussion and decision-making, and I keep reminding myself how lucky I am to work with a superb publishing team at Wiley—I have known and worked with at least one of its members for 25 years—and a highly professional team of editors.

Immediately prior to that meeting, I attended the 2016 meeting of INANE (International Academy of Nursing Editors) at the headquarters of the Royal College of Nursing in London. There I had the privilege of listening to Ben Goldacre, MB, BS, MA, author of Bad Science (the book and the blog), Bad Pharma, and now I Think You’ll Find it’s a Bit More Complicated Than That. He signed a copy for me. Goldacre initiated the AllTrials campaign, which aims for total transparency in reporting clinical trials. I reflect on this meeting and what he had to say in a post titled “Being Ben Goldacre” in my blog “Publishing Standards.”

Eric Chan addresses colleagues at
Napier University on global health.

The break from travel ended last week. I have just returned from Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland, which has launched a new School of Health and Social Care. The launch event took place over two days and was attended by colleagues from Hong Kong and Singapore. Of those colleagues, I was especially pleased to see my good friend Eric Chan, MSc, RN, dean of Caritas Institute of Higher Education in Hong Kong, former deputy chief nurse of the Hong Kong Health Authority, and one of the founding members of GAPFON (Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing & Midwifery).

I suppose I ought to be counting the time to Christmas by air miles and how many weekends I will actually spend at home. This week, I’m spending three days at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, at the 2016 NET (Nurse Education Tomorrow) conference where I am providing early-morning consultation sessions on writing for publication.

Looking further ahead, between now and the end of the year, in addition to another visit to Edinburgh and at least three to London, I will make two visits to Spain (Madrid and Pamplona); one to Maribor, Slovenia; one to Rotterdam, Netherlands; and one to Istanbul, Turkey. I will also visit Washington, D.C. for the annual meeting of the American Academy of Nursing. A visit to Egypt is also being arranged but is not yet finalised. I am sure these visits will have their high points and their low points. Either way, you’ll read all about them here.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

Humidity and humility in New York

HULL, United Kingdom—Unusually, I’m at home in the UK. My holiday with Mrs. Watson (Debbie) in New York was one of the highlights of my life. Debbie, an experienced New York visitor, impressed me with her understanding of how the avenues describe latitude on Manhattan and the streets longitude, with Broadway doing its own thing at an obtuse angle. I loved everything we saw and did. I will spare you most of the details, but running in Central Park was a particular highlight that also provides the title for this entry.

On the way to New York, I said yes to everything that British Airways had to offer in first class, most of which came with champagne. Suffice to say I had no problem sleeping the first night. I woke at 6 a.m. and ran to Central Park, ran around it and then ran back to the hotel, a total of nine miles. I would not recommend this as a training regime, but it seemed to work.

Two days later, I tried to repeat this heroic feat—without the champagne—and had to stop after five miles. The humidity and temperature had spiked, and I discovered I was not Superman. It was a long walk back to the hotel followed by a long talk from Debbie, a much more experienced runner than me, about overdoing things. I’m glad to say I rallied for our last morning, got up at 5 a.m., walked to Central Park and completed the six-mile run without incident. I really felt like I was in a movie and expected to see Woody Allen or the cast from Home Alone at any point.

Our holiday started and finished in the Concorde Lounge at London Heathrow Airport, so it was fitting that we paid Concorde a visit in New York at the Intrepid Sea, Air &  Space Museum. Mrs. Watson in foreground.

Journal matters

I am glad to say that authors submitting to Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN) and Nursing Open were not all on holiday, nor were my editors and associate editors. More than 50 manuscripts, at the various stages I engaged with them, awaited my attention, so I did not have to wonder what to do first. One of the proofs awaiting correction for JAN was an article by Snowden et al. (2015) on which I am second author. When I am the author of a JAN manuscript, I have no editorial involvement with the manuscript until it is accepted and at the proofing stage. This article reports on a study of the latent structure of emotional intelligence and the discovery of a novel dimension, evident using two entirely different analytical methods.

There was more good news for JAN. I listen to “Today,” the BBC flagship news programme, every morning from 6 a.m. (in bed for at least the first 30 minutes) and was startled at 6:45 a.m. (still in bed) by a mention of “the Journal of Advanced Nursing.” What followed was a report on an excellent article by Weldon et al. (2015) reporting on the effect that music played in operating theatres has on communication between members of the surgical team. The piece was also featured in the subsequent news bulletin. The study shows that music can be detrimental to communication. If you want to hear the coverage, I made it available with a short commentary in a podcast.

Also, I had to resume arbitrating between some authors who dispute ownership of a dataset from which an article was recently published in JAN. I find these disputes often take months to resolve, and I feel sorry for the doctoral student in the middle of this who hasn’t done anything wrong. Clearly, the dispute is at a higher level, but its resolution may well have an impact on the doctoral project.

Life goes on

Along with my wife and two of my sons, we spent a weekend in Scotland clearing my mother’s house. My mother recently moved to a nursing home in Hull and her house is for sale. There were plenty of laughs as we found things long forgotten in the house and reminisced. Some harsh decisions had to be taken about what was being removed and what was going to a local charity shop. However, the hardest thing for me was locking my father’s workshop and studio for the last time ever. The click of the padlock simply choked me and moved me to tears as I recalled the boats built, wood turned, watercolours painted and framed for sale.

My sons took a selection of items but we had to leave many of his beloved tools behind, some of which I recall watching him working with when I was a child; we have no room for them. We managed to find around 50 of his watercolours, and we have stored them. He died five years ago, and we all miss him tremendously. But life, as the cliché goes, goes on, and next week my daughter, who lives in Germany and who I rarely see, returns for two weeks for my son’s wedding. I have no travelling planned until September and look forward to this precious time with them and the rest of my children and grandchildren.

Reference
Snowden, A., Watson, R., Stenhouse, R., & Hale, C. (2015). Emotional intelligence and nurse recruitment: Rasch and confirmatory factor analysis of the trait emotional intelligence questionnaire short form. Journal of Advanced Nursing. doi: 10.1111/jan.12746

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

A week in the life of an editor-in-chief

HULL, UK, Sunday, 16 June—I leave my family celebrating Father’s Day—my Father’s Day (third Sunday in June)—at lunchtime to travel to Oxford for a few days. You may have gathered I like to travel, but I don’t like travelling on a Sunday. In the United Kingdom, Sunday means slow and indirect trains with several changes, reduced service on the train (no free wine in first-class, for example), and when you have left your family sitting outside in a sunny garden, it feels so much worse.

The purpose of my visit is the annual two-day management-team meeting for the Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN). Therefore, my mood lifts as I reach Oxford—location of the Wiley-Blackwell offices—and check in to my hotel. The most interesting and enjoyable part of my work, amongst many interesting things I do, is my role as editor-in-chief of JAN. I get the opportunity to work with some superb people at Wiley-Blackwell. Some have been my colleagues here for years, and I have a top team of editors to work with. A pint of Guinness with fish and chips at the Head of the River pub on the Thames also helps lift my spirits.

Fish and chips lift my spirits.

Monday

The first day of the meeting is concerned with reviewing the year: what has worked and what needs to change. We consider the journal impact factor (JIF). Despite its manifest imperfections, and a recent call for it to be ignored, many authors decide where to send manuscripts by JIF, and we simply do not have the luxury of ignoring it. Our consideration of the impact factor is given added poignancy by the fact that announcement of the 2012 rankings is imminent. Let me introduce the team:

The publishers

At Wiley-Blackwell, my immediate contact and journal manager is Rosie Hutchinson, who has been with Wiley-Blackwell since 2009. My longest-standing contact and contemporary is Associate Director Griselda Campbell, whom I have known for more than 20 years, since she visited me as an early-career academic at the University of Edinburgh, when she worked for another publishing company. Then, there is what I refer to as the “engine house” of the Journal of Advanced Nursing: Senior Editorial Assistant Gareth Watkins and Managing Editor Di Sinclair. Nothing seems to be too much trouble for Gareth and Di, and the extent of their knowledge of the online system we use to manage submissions and reviewing is immense.

The editors

I don’t hesitate to say that I work with the best possible team of editors. They are all experienced and capable, and a cursory glance at their profiles reveals the calibre of person who edits JAN. New to the team, but joining us from the Journal of Clinical Nursing (which I used to edit) is Mark Hayter, PhD, RN, FRSA. He was featured in my previous blog, due to his forthcoming induction as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Jane Noyes, DPhil, MSc, RN, works in Wales. She, along with Lin Perry, PhD, MSc, RN, and Brenda Roe, PhD, RN, FRSH—another colleague of more than 20 years standing—preceded my appointment. They are an incredible repository of knowledge about the Journal of Advanced Nursing and also bring very specific expertise to their roles as editors. The newest member of the team is Rita Pickler, PhD, RN, FAAN, who joins us from the United States.

Dinner is in Oxford at Malmaison; excellent food, wine, and good company. I learn about the Travel John from Di, whose annual visit to the Glastonbury Festival is imminent. The Rolling Stones are headlining.

Tuesday

Sleepless night—no JIF announcement yet! In a previous blog, I explained that my success as editor-in-chief is partly judged on the basis of JIF.

Our second day at the management-team meeting always focuses on planning, and this is where the real discussion and debate take place. Many ideas—mostly mine—are “shot down in flames,” and we often end up back where we started with some change proposed to the way we do things. Our main concerns are maintaining a reputation for quality, good service to authors, and good management of copy flow. We realise that we often make adjustments to the systems at our peril and need to be absolutely sure that what is decided is both necessary and likely to work.

The team disperses at the end of the day; back to their own countries, day jobs, and professional duties. I remain in Oxford for a final night on my own, with time to catch up on Skype calls, FaceTime, emails, and editing.

Wednesday

After my third early-morning run of the week along the River Thames, I “hot-desk” at the Wiley offices to catch up with work: write a European Community-funded research proposal with a colleague from the United States; lunch with the publishing team to discuss the use of Journal of Advanced Nursing Linkedin pages, and prepare my first entry for our new blog.

I travel from Oxford to the south coast of England to address the inaugural conference of Phi Mu Chapter of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), launched in 2011 at the U.S. Embassy in London. Dinner is with Dame Betty Kershaw, DBE, OStJ, FRCN, Elizabeth Rosser, DPhil, MN, DipRM, Dip NEd, RN, RM, and Eileen Richardson, MA Ed, RGN, SCM, Cert Nursing Studies (Education). Kershaw was the driving force behind establishing this all-England chapter of STTI, which is hosted by Bournemouth University. Rosser has now taken over as president, and Richardson has supported this work throughout. I stay in Hotel Miramar, where a plaque on the wall indicates that J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, was a frequent visitor.

J.R.R. Tolkien stayed here!

No announcement of JIF yet, but an SMS message from Ian Norman, PhD, RN, CQSW, editor-in-chief of International Journal of Nursing Studies, informs me that we have both slipped down the rankings (unsmiley face).

Thursday

Excellent news! The JIF of Journal of Advanced Nursing has improved, despite slippage in rankings. Congratulations to Nursing Outlook, in the top five; commiserations to Nursing Science Quarterly, which, along with another 65 journals, has still not reappeared on the Thomson Reuters list. My email to the team is more upbeat than the one I had been planning overnight.

It is a great honour to present the opening keynote at the Honour Society. My theme is “Putting nursing back at the heart of people care,” and the session is attended by the vice-chancellor (equivalent to president) of Bournemouth University. Dinner is like a reunion of old friends and colleagues and is attended by a trio of nursing dames: Dame Kershaw, referred to above; Dame June Clark, DBE, PhD, RN, FRCN, FAAN, recently inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, an avid reader of this blog, and the person responsible for bringing the Honour Society to the United Kingdom for the first time in Wales; and Dame Yvonne Moores, DBE, FRSH, CIMgt, former chief nurse of England, following her roles as chief nurse in Wales and Scotland. For an explanation of the title “Dame,” you need to understand the U.K. Honours system, and few of us actually do!

Friday

Six hours and three trains later, I am back in Hull with my family. Tomorrow starts with a 5-kilometre Park Run. On Sunday, I fly to Dublin for one night. No more travelling until the end of July, and no more entries to the blog until then, either.

Gotta run! Photo from Park Run, different time of year.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.