The Journal of Ambulatory Care Nursing (JACN) is seeking authors to submit manuscripts for publishing in the new journal.
The Journal of Ambulatory Care Nursing, the American Association of Ambulatory Care Nursing’s (AAACN) official journal, is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to advancing evidence-based ambulatory care nursing practice, clinical research, and professional development.
The journal’s goal is to disseminate scholarship that enhances the knowledge and skills of ambulatory care nurses to promote health, prevent and manage disease, alleviate suffering, and improve health outcomes across ambulatory care populations.
If you're interested in submitting a manuscript for publication to the Journal of Ambulatory Care Nursing (JACN), see the author guidelines listed below.
Author Guidelines
The Journal of Ambulatory Care Nursing, the official journal of the American Association of Ambulatory Care Nurses (AAACN), is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to advancing evidence-based ambulatory care nursing practice, clinical research, and professional development. The journal’s goal is to disseminate scholarship that enhances the knowledge and skills of ambulatory care nurses to promote health, prevent and manage disease, alleviate suffering, and improve health outcomes across ambulatory care populations.
Unless clearly specified, the views expressed in articles, editorials, and letters published in the Journal of Ambulatory Care Nursing represent the opinions of the authors and do not reflect the official policies of AAACN.
Type of Manuscripts Accepted
The journal accepts original articles: 1) case studies, 2) descriptions of evidence-based clinical care, 3) descriptions of continuous quality improvement (CQI) projects or evidence-based practice (EBP) initiatives using specific frameworks or models, 4) education initiatives within and outside academia, 5) advocacy or policy with implications for ambulatory care nursing, 6) and research including qualitative, qualitative, and mixed methods; reviews (i.e., systematic, integrative, scoping); meta-analyses; and concept analyses.
Query letters are welcome, but not required. Contact Susan Fowler, editor, at JACN@aaacn.org. Material must be original and never published before. Material is submitted for review with the understanding that it is not being submitted to any other journal simultaneously.
Manuscript Review and Publication Processes
The Journal of Ambulatory Care Nursing is a refereed journal. All manuscripts undergo review by the editor and blind review by members of the manuscript review panel and/or editorial board members. Each manuscript is reviewed on its timeliness, importance, clarity, accuracy, and applicability to ambulatory care nursing.
Upon acceptance of the manuscript, the author will yield copyright to the Journal of Ambulatory Care Nursing. Acquiring permission to reprint previously published materials is the author's responsibility. Authors are responsible for verifying they have read all the materials cited in their manuscript and, if necessary, have contacted the relevant authors to verify the accuracy of cited material. Manuscripts are subject to copy editing. The author will receive proofs via email for review prior to publication.
Review Process: The manuscript will be reviewed by three or more referees. This “blind” process takes approximately two months. To protect anonymity in this process, authors' names should appear only on the title page, which is not sent to reviewers. The reviewers assess originality, validity, and significance to ambulatory care nursing practice. All rejected manuscripts will be returned. Authors will have the opportunity to approve the final manuscript before publication.
Manuscript Preparation
Format and Guideline Recommendations
Manuscripts must be double-spaced. References, photographs, tables, and all other details of style must conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 7th ed., 2020). The Journal of Ambulatory Care Nursing recommends use of the EQUATOR NETWORK list of guidelines for preparation and publication of specific types of manuscripts. For example, CARE - case studies, SQUIRE – quality improvement focusing on interventions and subsequent outcomes, AGREE – clinical practice guidelines, STROBE – observation studies, and PRISMA – systematic reviews. For suggestions on writing a research paper for publication see: Busse, C., & August, E. (2021). How to write and publish a research paper for a peer-reviewed journal. Journal of Cancer Education, 36(5), 909–913. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01751-z (full text article available on PubMed).
All research conducted on human subjects must be approved by either an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Community Review Board (CRB) and noted in the manuscript.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools, language models, such as ChatGPT and similar assistive technologies do not satisfy this journal’s current authorship criteria and do not represent legal entities that can be associated with or assigned copyright. Authors shall be exclusively responsible for the verifiability and originality of their work. Additionally, authors are expected to be transparent and disclose their use of AI writing tools, language models, and similar technologies in the Acknowledgment, Methods, and/or other suitable sections of their paper.
General Guidelines
- Format: All files should be saved as MS Word. Do not use automatic paragraph style codes. Type in numbers, letters, or bullets for lists manually. Avoid complex font attributes and use only one font size. Do not use reference software.
- Do not submit your manuscript as separate files (i.e., Title Page, Abstract, Manuscript Body, Tables, Figures, etc.); combine all portions into one document/file where able.
- Title Page: Include the manuscript title, authors' names, credentials, and professional affiliation. Also include an address for correspondence, email address, a brief abstract of 40 words or less, and 3-5 key words.
- Abstract: Include an abstract of 300 words or less. In general, abstracts should be divided into paragraphs with the following headings: Background, Purpose, Methods, Results, and Conclusions / Implications for Practice.
- Key Words: Include 3-5 key words.
- Subheadings: Include subheadings in the manuscript where possible.
- Tables/Figures: Up to three value-added tables or figures can be included in a manuscript. Tables or figures should be referenced within the manuscript (e.g., “See Table 1”). Tables or figures should supplement (not duplicate) information in the narrative.
- References: Manuscripts that do not comply with reference and style requirements of the APA Manual (7th ed.) may be returned to the author for revision before peer review. References in the text should be cited by author and date, for example (Blevins, 2021), with page numbers cited for direct quotations. The reference list at the end of the manuscript should include only those references cited in the text and be arranged alphabetically by author. Important: All references must be current, and from the last 3-5 years. If you are citing a study that is considered "classic," please include a current citation to validate the information.
All citations should reference primary sources. The use of secondary sources (material analyzed or interpreted from the primary source) is discouraged. If necessary, locate a copy of the original work and credit it as such. Sample references are:
Periodical:
Fowler, S. (2021). COVID-19 experiences of ambulatory care nurses in primary care settings. Journal of Ambulatory Care Nursing 29(5), 341-342.
Book:
American Psychological Association (APA). (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Author.
Chapter in a Book:
Levine, J. (2019). Ethics and advocacy. In C.B. Laughlin, & S.G. Witwer (Eds.), Core curriculum for ambulatory care nursing (4th ed., pp. 25-46). American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing.
Website:
Include the full date (e.g., 2021, September 2) if the citation is a press release, a news article (e.g., The Washington Post), or a blog post. It is not always necessary to include the date the material was accessed. However, upon page proof stage, you may be asked to update data that were updated since your manuscript was written (e.g., data from the CDC, HRSA, U.S. Census Bureau, etc.) so the most current data are reflected in your published article. If older sources were used or referenced as part of your research project, include the access date.
- Figures: These include line drawings, photographs, diagrams, and graphs. When using figures adapted or obtained from another source, the author must obtain written permission for both print and electronic use from the original publisher. Include data for graphs whenever possible.
- Photographs: Photos should be submitted electronically and must be high resolution (at least 300 dpi or a minimum of 1280 x 960 pixels). Please note images found on Google, Bing, or other Internet search engines are not public domain; permission from the original source (not Google) must be provided.
- Editing: AAACN reserves the right to edit all reader contributions for clarity, punctuation, spelling, grammar, and syntax. Substantive changes of any nature will be verified with the author before publication.
- ORCID ID: Use of an ORCID ID is highly suggested but not required.
Authorship
The Journal of Ambulatory Care Nursing endorses and subscribes to the definition of authorship by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) which states:
The ICMJE recommends that an author should meet all four of the following criteria:
- Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
- Final approval of the version to be published.
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Disclosure Information
The Journal of Ambulatory Care Nursing requires authors, Editorial Board members, and reviewers to disclose any relevant financial relationships.
Publication
Authors will be notified of a manuscript's acceptance within 12 weeks of receipt. If contact information (address, email address), or biographical information changes during time of acceptance to publication, please contact the journal office to update your information.