In this edition, there are three contributions from a nurse who is recognised as something of a giant within the international practice development community. In recent times, however, the achievements of Professor Brendan McCormack have been publicly and professionally recognised, honoured and celebrated, way beyond our community of practice.

This year, Brendan was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom, the highest award the college can bestow. Fellowship is given to those who have made an exceptional contribution to nursing or healthcare, whether through clinical innovation, leadership, research or practice development.

Brendan has, without question, made an exceptional contribution to practice development. However, we would argue that he has made equally valuable contributions to clinical innovation, leadership and research.

This article by Ann McMahon and Ros Moore is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 License.