“As we move into 2021, my wish for this new year is that we resolve to approach it with a renewed sense of purpose . . .”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial, “2020: A Year of Let Down and Loss”

The January issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new:

Original Research: Nurses’ Perspectives on Caring for Patients with Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders

This study explored direct care nurses’ understanding and interpretation of do-not-resuscitate orders in relation to caring for hospitalized adults with such orders, and examined the misconceptions many nurses have about the meaning of DNR orders.

2020: The Year of COVID-19

A timeline of key events and milestones illustrates how the pandemic has unfolded over the past year.

CE: Back to Basics: The Complete Blood Count

The author discusses the meaning and function of complete blood count components, highlighting the important pathophysiological evidence they provide.

Cultivating Quality: Implementation of a Warm Zone Model During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article describes a nurse-led initiative to deliver care safely to acute care and ICU patients with COVID-19, improve workflow, and conserve personal protective equipment.

Book of the Year Awards 2020

The most valuable texts of the year in numerous categories, as chosen by AJN’s panel of judges.

There’s much more in our January issue, including:

  • An AJN Reports on nursing’s role in addressing racism.
  • A Supporting Family Caregivers article on preventing home dialysis complications.
  • A Nursing Research, Step by Step article on designing study eligibility criteria and recruiting study participants.

Click here to browse the table of contents and explore the issue on our website.

A note on the cover.

On this month’s cover is Pandemicon, a collage by New York City artist and clinical laboratory technologist Ansel Oommen. The piece—which depicts a SARS-CoV-2 virus as a globe—was created using biohazard labels that Oommen cut apart and reimagined on paper. He started making art pieces in this style in April as an outlet for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.