Dear Readers,

I have been affectionately calling the October issue of Nurses Lounge-DFW our "disaster issue" because we planned a feature on disaster preparedness and a spotlight on ER nurses. However, as we started talking to nurses and emergency planners after Hurricane Ike roared through Texas, it seemed like we should call this our "inspiration issue." We have heard from more people than we can fit into our magazine about how they have helped prepare, address and recover from numerous disasters.

After waiting several days to make sure that we were not interfering in the important work our readers do, we were fortunate to find several nurses from the DFW area who selflessly volunteered their time to assist with the recovery efforts along the Texas coast. As a result, we were able to get firsthand insight into what it's like to be a nurse who chooses to go straight into the storm instead of away from it.

Appropriately, our career spotlight looks at emergency department nursing through the eyes of four local ER nurses.

Our disaster preparedness feature explores the important work that hospital safety planners do and the importance of nurse commitment during those critical practice drills.

As always, if you have a story or meaningful photograph that you would like to share, please let me know at aarmstrong@nurseslounge.com.

 See you in the lounge!

Anthony Armstrong