Introducing Nursing Clio Emergency Response: A New Series
If you attended the Centennial meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine in early May 2025—or, indeed, if you spend any time among historians on social media—you’ve probably become familiar with a common sentiment echoed across the field, if not always in the same words:
“Now more than ever, we need [health] historians to meet the moment.”
Of course, every “now” seems to be “now more than ever” (a phrase I confess to using myself, in the introduction co-written with Kylie Smith in our forthcoming edited volume). Yet, there is certainly a building, shared belief that, in the context of the ongoing and varied crises that have characterized 2025 (and the years since 2020, and so on), it’s time for historians to step up. We health historians, in particular, have a duty to respond to any number of recent events, whether it’s the ongoing measles outbreak that began in Texas, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s eugenicist bent, or the bombing of a fertility center. We have the knowledge, the historical context, and the communication skills to help the public work through some of the most contradictory and terrifying moments of medical history.
The problem, of course, is that the wheels of publication turn slowly. Scholarly monographs take years, sometimes decades to complete. Peer-reviewed articles can take months to get reviewed, and then sit in a backlog for years before seeing print. Even here at Nursing Clio, it can take weeks or months for a short essay to go from pitch to publication.
But the pace of the present moves much more rapidly than academia. If we want to “meet the moment,” we need to move at the same pace. While health historians have the skills and knowledge to speak out on current events, we have few venues to get our perspectives out to the public efficiently, with the exception of a rare few historians who have become go-to public intellectuals, able to get bylines and interviews in key mainstream platforms. By the time a historian is able to share their ideas, the news cycle has moved on to the next crisis.
In answer to this problem, Nursing Clio is here to meet the present moment with our new series, “Emergency Response.”
“Emergency Response” essays will be slightly different in format from our typical fare. E.R. essays should be short: no more than 1,000 words. They should clearly and concisely connect a breaking news event with its historical context. And they should happen quickly: both author and editor are expected to review and respond to essays within, ideally, a 48-hour window, to get them out as quickly as possible. Essays that require more revision will be sent through the regular NC review process, but tight, sharp E.R. essays will hit the NC front page as soon as possible. The series will not have a regular publication schedule; we will publish E.R. essays as we receive, review, and accept them.
So the next time you read the news and think, “I have something to say about that,” pitch us. Write up your thoughts. Get your voice out there.
Help us meet the moment. Now, more than ever, it’s time to step up.
Courtney E. Thompson is an associate professor in the history of science and medicine and gender and women's history at Mississippi State University.
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