When I wanted to put together this issue of Journal of Pediatric Surgical Nursing (JPSN) on disasters, I had no idea of the disaster upon us in the shape of COVID-19. The Editorial Board and I want to acknowledge all of you. If you are at home caring for yourself or others, stay safe. If you are on the front lines delivering care, God bless. If you are in management and making operations run, keep sane. Take care of yourselves. Use the JPSN President's Blog as a place to write your thoughts. Please do not violate Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) with identification of where you work or specific patient descriptions. But please do enter into this blog if you wish.
Our publisher, Wolters Kluwer, has created a site for the latest information available as the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation evolves. To support health professionals working around the clock to meet those most in need, they are making the following updates and resources available - at no charge - for clinicians, nurses and medical researchers, in response to new developments, evidence and guidance.
http://tools.ovid.com/coronavirus/
http://healthclarity.wolterskluwer.com/coronavirus-resources.html
https://www.nursingcenter.com/coronavirus
This issue of JPSN describes disasters and danger. Koren and Burnett describe an actual explosion that occurred in their surgery center. The CEU helps you plan your own disaster exercise. Frederick describes how to use air scrubbers during surgery with a patient who has active tuberculosis. Tagle summarizes the evidence on byproduct smoke production in operating rooms and how to protect yourself. Grace describes the vape epidemic and how we must respond. Selekman and Lambert write about a child's pain upon return to school. Reith Maynard and Percy analyze whether a 9-year-old can be considered a murderer. I write, in the book review column, about school shootings and describe a potential deterrent. There is no happy theme running through these articles, except for the article from Bulgaria by Kalinova, Georgiev, Mladenova, and Doseva about a surgical procedure that goes well.
JPSN is here to expand your horizons, provide materials for learning, and showcase the talents of our members and others who submit manuscripts. A call for reviewers was nicely met, and the Journal is a participative effort among colleagues. Stay healthy. Let us hear from you. I will publish interesting responses to our pandemic challenge in the next issue.
With respect,
Anita Catlin, Editor