Looking ahead with anticipation and hope.

for 2003, it’s almost a requirement to reflect on the year gone by. By many accounts, 2002 will be known as the year of reports. The most influential report belongs to the Romanow Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada; the most pragmatic, the final report of the Canadian Nursing Advisory Committee; and the most flamboyant release, Senator Kirby’s Final Report of Federal Role in Health Care. Each report conveyed a sense of urgency on the need for fundamental change. Recommending change is one matter; implementing change is a different story, especially in a system as cherished and complex as healthcare. These reports hold compelling calls to action, and moving into implementation will require courageous conversations and the establishment of new relationships and accountabilities. There is a role for each one of us in our place of work. What we talk about, with employees, with patients, physicians and professional colleagues – is a powerful force in determining what we work on, how we work and who we work with. Our conversations with one another establish the ways and means for implementing change. This journal is here for you, to support our national conversation around nursing and leadership. In its pages you will discover the momentum for change, new ideas and new energy. As I reflected on my conversations in 2002, I realized how often abbreviations like CMG and RIW, HPPD and LOS, CIHI and CCHSA threaded their way into my speech. Once awkward acronyms for many nurses, today they are synonymous with the important data elements we need to consider in order to make informed decisions about resource allocation, models of care and human resources. I also recalled the increasing frequency with which I found myself involved in meetings about standards, bookmarks, performance indicators, and balanced scorecards. Some of these conversaLooking Ahead with Anticipation and Hope