Editor's Note

RNJ's shift to digital is still very much in progress as readers continue to familiarize themselves with our new platform and explore the best ways to navigate it. We all know this kind of change takes time.

As we bring you new content for RNJ, we also mark the start of a new membership year at RNAO. The fall is always an exciting time at home office, with all staff on deck to renew existing members and welcome new ones.

This issue of the journal marks a significant milestone in the history of RNAO. It is the last print edition of a member resource that dates back more than 90 years. 

Last fall, RNAO’s communications and IT staff gave a presentation to assembly members and the board of directors about the planning and initial design for RNJ digital (RNJ.RNAO.ca).

When we last brought you news  about nurses providing supervision at drug consumption sites (Sept/Oct 2016), several of those sites were unsanctioned and the fight for buy-in for these services – from the public and government – was very real. Although more than two years have passed, the fight is still very real.

This issue of the journal is the first of three that will invite you to contribute insight (beginning in February) that will influence the evolution of RNAO’s flagship publication.

A common theme running through this issue of the Journal is resilience. 

For two years, RNAO has been surveying readers of RNJ to get a sense of how people read their professional publication, what they like and dislike about it, and where we can make improvements.

Each spring, winter-weary Ontarians watch in anticipation as lawns and parks slowly change from an unappealing brown to a promising green. The birds start to chirp a little louder, and we begin to see buds on trees as they come back to life.

While greeting members at our communications booth at the annual general meeting (AGM) in April, I met several people who wanted to share their personal stories.