For decades the question has been asked, "Is nursing a calling?" And for decades the answer to this question has moved from "yes" to "no" and back like a swinging pendulum. In this issue of Creative Nursing, our authors answer the question with a resounding "yes." Florence Nightingale spoke of nursing as a "noble calling" and then went on to say that it is up to us to make it noble. That statement of hers has inspired my thinking for many years, and I continue to find it a source of inspiration amid the pressures of today's reality. According to Webster's Dictionary , a calling is "a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action, sometimes accompanied by conviction of divine influence" ( Webster's II New College Dictionary, 2001, p. 158 ). Although Webster's mentions "divine influence," many nurses identify very pragmatic, grounded considerations when choosing their careers. You will read about the individual who became a nurse because she and her husband had lost their jobs and were living with their 6-year-old in the basement of her parents' home. She chose nursing for economic stability, and found later that it was indeed her calling. Some wanted a career that provided variety, and learned that nurses work all over the world in almost every sett ing where humans exist. An interesting thread through many of these stories of calling reports is the number of men and women who chose nursing as a second career. For some indeed it was an economic decision, but many others came to nursing from another field because they wanted a life work that had meaning. Second-career nurses frequently comment on a search for meaning as the reason they came into nursing. A self-employed 45-year-old grandmother spending every day in the hospital caring for her 4-year-old grandchild with leukemia says, "My heart began singing out, 'I want to be a nurse.'" She completed her nursing program in December 2007. Another theme is that people were told by friends or family members that they had the personality and character to be a good nurse, at a time in their lives when they were searching for a career direction. In this issue, Beth Beaty, managing editor of Creative Nursing for many years, tells the story of this publication: how it grew from being a newslett er called Primarily Nursing (in the 1980s) to a full-fledged Journal of Values, Issues, Experience & Collaboration, and now to our new, expanded publication, with Springer Publishing Company managing our layout, circulation, and marketing. We are delighted with the expansion and evolution of Creative Nursing and look forward to future conversations on important issues presented both in print and online. Ongoing regular features will include reviews of books, articles, or conferences; reports on nursing research; statistics made accessible; humor; and history. For example, in this issue there are reviews of two books related to the work of nursing, one an interesting historical document on the work of nursing at the beginning of the 20th century and the other a contemporary piece on the place work holds in our lives today. In addition, this inaugural issue includes an article by Michael Cohen , "Professional Communication and Teamwork," and an essay by Donna Wright entitled "Call Waiting," about how she views her calling to be a nurse. Each of our issues will contain information relating to new knowledge, dealing with research, study findings, evidence-based clinical practice issues, informatics, statistics, or simply new ideas to be shared. …