Introduction by Peggy L Chinn, Editor, Advances in Nursing Science
Every year for the past 38 years, nursing journal editors have met to discuss issues in 
publishing and editing, challenges in the discipline that influence nursing literature, and to educate ourselves to maintain the highest standards of journalism in nursing. The conference is planned, hosted and conducted by volunteer journal editors who are members of the International Academy of Nursing Editors (INANE).
This year was no exception – we heard from experts about the latest developments that influence how people find and use our literature, the emerging trends in scholarly publishing, including the latest developments in standards for scholarly writing and ways of attributing cited works, and thought-provoking discussions of the nature of “evidence” and the ways in which our nursing literature provides knowledge, facts and insights that shape nursing practice. You can see details of the program here.
Nursology.net was very visible at this year’s conference – this is the first year of the INANE conferences since the website was established in September 2018! We provided ball point pens for all participants, and each speaker received a gift of a Nursology.net tote bag! We also provided a breakout session and a poster to make sure that everyone at the conference knew the wonderful resource that is now available on the website for our journals and their readers!
Several of us who are on the Nursology.net management team were in attendance – here are some of our reflections:
Jane Flanagan – Editor, International Journal of Nursing Knowledge
As always, I enjoyed this conference because I see my editor friends, we have fun and I learn so much. Editing is sort of a solo act. The journal has your name on it and you want to put out the best product, but its an industry and with that are constant changes. And keeping up – well that is done at odd hours of the night because it is something we all fit in to our busy schedules. This lends itself to lots of moments where you think: “I wonder if anyone has ever dealt with this or that sort of issue”. Thus the INANE annual conference where we can bring our questions. It is a low key event and because of that, we share openly. We learn so much from each other and it creates a situation where we are part of something bigger than just the journal we edit. I find I always pick up many pearls of wisdom at the annual conference. I presented with Peggy Chinn on nursology at this conference. In a comedy of errors, Jacqui Fawcett was supposed to be with us, but could not get out to Reno due to storms. She had our poster. No worries, we just presented using our computer, which in that space worked. Then there was the podium presentation and alas, the wrong PowerPoints were loaded and the Internet that was so vital to our presentation refused to cooperate so we winged it. No problem in this audience. They adapted to whatever we did, asked great questions and a wonderful dialogue ensued. That’s INANE – no pressure, just collegial support. Lastly, I want to make a plug for the auto museum in Reno – a pleasant surprise and brilliant choice for a reception – lots of laughs and amazing collection of cars – who knew? Already looking forward to Nashville!
Marlaine Smith – Advisory Board, Advances in Nursing Science
This was my first INANE Conference and I had a fabulous time. It was a gathering of about 160 editors and publishers of nursing journals. I consider these women and men to be the current guardians of our disciplinary literature. It is such an important responsibility. They and their editorial boards and reviewers shape the visible and accessible knowledge of our discipline. I found the presentations to be informative, and most importantly very open and collegial. The sessions were peppered with lots of dialogue.
I was honored to give one of the ending keynotes…title was “In Search of Knowledge for Nursing Praxis Beyond Evidence”. I reviewed the literature from the 90s to present that critiqued our fascination, if not obsession, with “evidence-based practice”. While EBP is important, “evidence”, as commonly thought of, is not the only or most important knowledge to inform nursing practice. We need an epistemology for nursing praxis that is founded on the philosophies and theories of nursology and includes the depth and diversity of all patterns of knowing. Editors, editorial boards, reviewers, faculty and practice leaders can be influential in several ways: 1) Adopt a balanced perspective on what is worthy of publication – one that values all patterns of knowing; 2) Include in criteria for reviewers some connection to nursing’s disciplinary focus; for example, “How does this manuscripts contribute to knowledge of the human health experience?” or ”How does this author express a value for nursing’s disciplinary knowledge, that is the philosophical and theoretical perspectives of the discipline? Are relevant nursing theories cited? Reviewers and editors should review references with an eye toward the inclusion of sources from nurse authors and nursing journals; 3) Foster the development of new epistemic forms to inform praxis. How do we develop literacies for understanding the wholeness of the human health experience? How do we develop, teach and encourage a praxis epistemology that integrates multiple sources of knowledge; and 4) Nursing research and evidence-based practice projects should be grounded in the disciplinary perspective and nursing theory. As we guide students and review manuscripts, we need to consider what nursing theories are relevant to the studies or projects that are not cited?
Kudos to Leslie Nicoll, Peggy Chinn and the planning committee for pulling off this amazing conference in Reno.
W. Richard Cowling III – Editor, Journal of Holistic Nursing
This was my first INANE conference and there was much to impress, but my two main high points were the Nursology and the COPE sessions. The dialogue in the Nursology session reflected in many ways a great yearning for elaborating the distinctiveness of nursing through advancing knowledge based on nursing theory models. At the same time, I realized that much has been lost in the past few decades with the distraction of nursing toward medically based models of care. Some equate nursing theory and knowledge with particular conceptual and theoretical frameworks rather than the potentials to advance human betterment through the theoretical thinking nurses bring to health care because of there peculiarly essential relationships with persons, families, and communities. The COPE sessions struck me as invaluable from my perspective as a journal editor and writer because of the way the complexities of ethical issues pervade the publishing world. What the COPE leaders and community bring to this is a rich dialogue and exchange the uncovers new ways of understanding ethical issues as they impact writing and scholarship more broadly.
Jacqui Fawcett – Reviewer and advisor for several major nursing journals
My adventure for INANE 2019 encompassed
- On July 30, A flight from my local airport in Rockland, Maine, to Boston–on time departure and arrival
- On July 30, A flight from Boston to Denver–on time departure, arrival 4 hours late due to diversion to Cheyenne, Wyoming due to thunderstorms and wind in Denver and need for refueling
- A cancelled flight from Denver to Reno
- On July 30, A return “red eye” flight from Denver to Boston–slightly delayed departure due to waiting for other passengers, close to on time arrival in Boston very early in the morning of July 31.
Inasmuch as I would not have been able to get to Reno until (hopefully) some time on July 31 and, therefore, would have missed a session I was scheduled to moderate and at least the poster session and perhaps the paper I was to present with Peggy Chinn and Jane Flanagan, and the cost of a hotel room in Denver for the night of July 30 was outrageous, I decided to return to Boston on July 30.
Thus, I regretfully never did get to Reno for INANE 2019.
Fortunately, Peggy and Jane did get to Reno and presented our poster and paper. Given the convenience of electronic communication (email), I was able to send the final version of our presentation to Peggy and Jane as soon as I arrived in Boston very early on July 31.
Furthermore, Leslie Nicoll was able to find someone else serve as the moderator for the session I was supposed to moderate. I thank Leslie and whoever filled in as the moderator for me.
I look forward to actually attending an INANE meeting in the near future!
Leslie Nicoll – Planning Committee and all-around INANE Gadfly! Editor, CIN (Computers Informatics Nursing) and Nurse Author & Editor
Jacqui–I look forward to seeing you at the INANE Conference next year–everyone, put it on your calendar: INANE 2020, Nashville, TN, August 2-5, 2020.
I have been a journal editor since 1995 and attended my first INANE that summer–in London. I was a happy participant for many years but in 2014, when we hosted the conference in Portland, ME, I became truly committed to the cause (it is a cause as we are all volunteers!) and have worked very hard to “raise the bar” for INANE. Every year people say, “This is the best INANE ever!” and then we try to top it the next year–and have managed to do so for 6 years. It is important that we continually push ourselves in terms of the content that is presented, because as Marlaine noted, the women and men in attendance are the “guardians of the disciplinary literature.” As such, we have a responsibility to ensure that we are adhering to best standards of scholarly publication; dealing appropriately with ethical issues that might arise; communicating effectively with all stakeholders–not just authors; and being “ahead of the curve” on current trends and innovations that will impact our work and publications.
As a key planner for INANE, I work hard to put together a conference which includes keynote sessions, panel discussions, breakout and poster sessions, plus time for networking. This is all done to meet the key responsibilities noted above. This year’s conference was no exception. Our keynote speakers included two nurses, a physician, and a librarian (with a prior career in nursing) who brought diverse points of view to share with the audience. Breakout sessions and posters tend to be from those more directly involved in INANE and are a wonderful way to learn about emerging research and the day-to-day editorial work of our peers .
I believe it is important to provide stimulation to the right side of brains (which opens the left side for maximum learning!) and we do this at INANE with our opening gala speaker. This year, Carolyn Dufurenna, who describes herself as a “rancher and poet,” joined us to get the show on the road (literally) and for me, she was a highlight. Everyone else was great, too, but Carolyn just added a little extra flair. She loved speaking at INANE and would welcome future invitations to present to nurses. Keep that in mind if you are planning a conference in the Reno or nearby!
Maybe the best thing about INANE is that it is big enough to stimulate lots of discussion, but small enough so that everyone feels like they have a chance to meet everyone else. It is certainly the highlight of my year–I am already looking forward to Nashville! I hope to re-connect with many friends but also have the chance to make new friends. To those reading this who don’t know me–I look forward to meeting you at INANE!