October | November 2006 © 2006, AWHONN, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses 359

Joan Edwards, RNC, MN, CNS

wWhat a privilege it is to be the national AWHONN

President during Lifelines’ tenth anniversary year.

This is a year of nostalgia and milestones not only

for Lifelines but also for me. Never in my wildest

dreams, back when I graduated from a diploma

nursing program in Aurora, Illinois, did I envision

having a career as diverse and interesting as I have

been blessed to experience.

My career path was strongly infl uenced by

an obstetrical instructor, Althea Kearney, who

could “make placentas come alive.” She was the

epitome of what every nursing professor should

be—full of enthusiasm, joy, caring and knowl-

edge. I hope and pray that I instill as much love

for our profession into my nursing students as

she did into me. After giving a “token” two years

to medical-surgical nursing, I eagerly charged

back to labor and delivery nursing, never to

leave. I’ve periodically refueled my brain with

intensive periods of study for my baccalaureate

degree from the University of Illinois and my

master’s in nursing from the University of

Washington. And, would you believe, I’m

presently seriously considering embarking

on a doctorate. One program in particular,

which has an international focus and online

format, has me ready to become a student again.

Throughout the years, I’ve stayed in the obstet-

rical arena of care, while missionary work and a

variety of career moves by my husband have taken

our family all over the world. First, there were the

100-bed hospital and nursing school in the jungles

of Borneo, Indonesia. (Ever heard of the Borneo

head hunters? They were our neighbors!) I spent

hours preparing lessons in English for my students,

translating them into Indonesian and then teaching

the men and women in our nursing classes. And

our “well-child” clinic every other week was any-

thing but. Ultimately, we lived in Borneo for four

years. Would I go back? In a heartbeat.

Forward

Looking Back and Looking Forward Reflections from

AWHONN’s President

Never in my wildest

dreams, back when

I graduated from

a diploma nursing

program in Aurora,

Illinois, did I envision

having a career as

diverse and interesting

as I have been blessed

to experience.

360 AWHONN Lifelines Volume 10 Issue 5

I’ve worked elsewhere overseas, including

Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Mexico and, most

recently, Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia,

where the tsunami of 2004 hit. (Editor’s note:

See the April/May 2006 issue of Lifelines for

Joan’s account of working in Banda Aceh af-

ter the tsunami.) I was amazed at how much

Indonesian I still remembered after 25 years.

By the time you read this commentary, I will

have returned to Banda Aceh for a second time

to again assist with antepartum education and

postpartum care of Acehnese women who are

giving birth since the tsunami.

Back in 1980, when we returned to the United

States from Indonesia, our family moved to South

Carolina while my husband worked on his master’s

degree. I had been a NAACOG (the former

name for AWHONN) member prior to moving

overseas, but had not yet located a local chapter

in South Carolina. First, however, I needed to get

settled into a job and so I applied at the University

of South Carolina for a teaching adjunct position

in the OB clinical area. For those of you who may

have known her, Dr. Margaret Hastings was the

person who interviewed me. Margaret was an

absolutely delightful person who immediately

made me feel very comfortable as she reviewed my

rather unusual resume, which indicated that I had

just returned from Borneo. About 20 minutes into

the interview, she said something that at the time

I found ludicrous, “Joan, some day I can see you

as President of NAACOG.”

Twenty-six years later, here I am! Did

Margaret have a crystal ball? I don’t think so,

but I do think she was able to see an individual

with personal and professional goals, dreams

for her future and for the future of nursing,

and a caring heart for the whole wide world.

Since that time, I’ve lived in Washington

state and now the great state of Texas. I’ve left

the patient bedside, save for two annual clinical

rotations with my nursing students in perinatal

care, which I absolutely love.

My exposure to Lifelines started the same as for

most of you. I read it, enjoyed it and learned from

it. This was a journal for nurses at the bedside. It

took current research and cutting-edge issues and

placed them in an easy-to-read format. The articles

were brief, yet packed with facts I needed to know.

I could stay current with health care legislation and

how I could personally impact my legislators.

Patient education tools were at my fi ngertips.

So when I was presented the opportunity to

review articles for Lifelines, I jumped at it. It was

a great way to give back to the organization that

had been so instrumental in my own professional

growth and to continue to learn in the process.

I’m still reviewing articles today and will continue

to do so until they “kick me off” the reviewer list. I

encourage other AWHONN members to consider

applying to become a reviewer for Lifelines.

What impresses me most about Lifelines is how

the people involved with it embrace change. In

fact, they run out to greet it! They’re not satisfi ed

with the status quo. Lifelines is a large piece of the

whole AWHONN package that makes AWHONN

so highly respected within the professional nurs-

ing community. As a member of the AWHONN

Board of Directors since 2000, I have seen fi rst-

hand how Lifelines wraps its arms around the stra-

tegic plans of our organization and works toward

achieving our goals and objectives. That’s why you

currently see columns dealing with leadership and

how to grow the future leaders of our specialty

nursing profession. That’s why you’re reading

articles discussing the special needs of near-term

infants and their families along with what we, as

nurses, can do to meet those needs. That’s why

Lifelines’ authors cite scientifi c, evidence-based

nursing research studies to help us translate and

use those studies in our daily practice.

Perhaps the most notable example of

Lifelines’ continuing evolution is its new title,

which will take effect in 2007: Nursing for

Women’s Health. Much thought and delibera-

tion went into this strategic change. I was one

of those who was probably hanging on to

“Lifelines” because it’s such a neat title. But

in my more rational moments, I had to ac-

knowledge that a newcomer wouldn’t have a

clue what the journal was about simply by read-

ing the title. So another very wise decision was

made by the amazing group of individuals who

form the editorial advisory board and staff.

In closing, I want to say that as I travel

throughout North America and meet AWHONN

members and other health care providers, I am

so proud to be able to share with them the large

litany of AWHONN accomplishments, which

prominently includes this high-quality journal.

As we look forward to Lifelines becoming Nursing

for Women’s Health, may it continue to lead us,

teach us and equip us to promote the health of

women and newborns for many years to come.

Joan Edwards, RNC, MN,

CNS, is assistant clinical

professor of nursing at

Texas Woman’s University

in Houston, TX, and she

is the 2006 President of

AWHONN.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1552-6356.2006.00077.x