May 3, 2010 - Off the Charts

Tooting Our Horn

By Shawn Kennedy, AJN editorial director/interim editor-in-chief

I know some people think it’s crass and self-serving to announce awards. Sometimes I agree, especially if it’s the “I” award – I did this, I did that, I’ve been named to this or that commission.

But I have to announce these awards because not to do it is unfair to the many people who work very hard behind the scenes to get each issue of AJN out the door and in your hands. Every reference and every fact is checked; articles are edited, second-edited, copyedited, and then proofread multiple times. There’s a pre-edit meeting with the author; there’s an art meeting; there are weekly editorial meetings. It takes editors, freelancers, clinical editors, knowledgeable authors with great stories, copyeditors, a librarian, our talented design and production teams, and our editorial and department coordinators to work together to develop each article, each issue. Some of the people who took part in working on these pieces are no longer here and I will be sure they learn about these awards, as it is truly a team effort.

So it’s with pride and thanks to those who made it happen that I share our news about the six (count ‘em – six!) awards to AJN announced by the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors (ASHPE):

GOLD award – Feature Article