The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses announced Wednesday that Joy Don Baker, PhD, RN-BC, will become the new editor-in-chief of the AORN Journal effective May 1.

The Denver-based AORN Journal is a monthly peer-reviewed publication targeted to AORN’s 41,000 perioperative registered nurse members. Baker is replacing Patricia C. Seifert who’s retiring after 4 years as editor-in-chief.

“Our goal is to make AORN Journal the leading source of scientifically
valid and well-referenced standards and recommended practices for the perioperative registered nurse,” said Linda Groah, AORN’s executive director/CEO, in a statement. “Joy Don Baker is the perfect choice to lead our editorial board in the next phase in this vision.”

Baker is a clinical associate professor at University of Texas at Arlington and has a doctorate degree in philosophy in human and organizational systems and three master’s degrees in nursing, business administration and organization development. She is a CNOR and certified in nursing administration, advance; nursing informatics; and nursing education. Baker has served as a member of the AORN board of directors, vice president, former Journal editorial board member and is currently a Journal peer reviewer. She has been a member of AORN for 36 years.

“Perioperative nursing relevance and journalistic excellence are the hallmark foundation of the AORN Journal,” Baker said. “Our goal is to become a must-read among health care professionals who influence patient and worker safety in the operating room.”

The AORN Journal has been in publication since 1963.