Writing an article for publication: an open invitation

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Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On completion of the article, the reader should be able to:

  • Describe the importance of writing for publication as a practitioner working in an orthopaedic setting

  • Begin to identify some of the barriers that may exist in making the decision to write an article for publication

  • Have an awareness of the necessary skills and attributes in planning and preparing an article for publication

  • Use the structure of this article as a basis for presenting a future article for publication to the journal

  • Develop a knowledge and understanding of the publishing process after the article has been submitted for publication.


NMC* CATEGORIES

*From April 1st 2002, the United Kingdom Central Council (UKCC) for nurses, midwives, and health visitors was replaced by the new Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) although PREP categories have remained the same.

This article will enable the reader to address PREP categories:

  • Care enhancement

  • Practice development

  • Education development

Examples of how this may be achieved and possible evidence for the readers professional profile are given throughout the article. Other ways to demonstrate your continuing professional development may be to:

  • Use this article as an agenda or discussion item for staff in a ward meeting to consider either individual or group writing about a practice issue you have been, or are, currently involved in

  • Use aspects of this article to help become more confident in writing up a piece of work or situations where you need to present your ideas to others in a formal way

  • Develop your own style of writing as a result of following the steps in this article, to become evidence of your own continuing professional development to maintain registration or extend your career opportunities

  • Approach a colleague or other significant person (perhaps in education) to support you becoming more involved in regularly preparing reports or items for discussion that might be required for practice.

Keep a copy of this article together with the notes you make as evidence of completing the reflection items in the text.

Introduction

The idea for this paper, as the title suggests, came from an Editorial Board meeting in February 2002 (JON 2002) in which views were expressed to the new owners of the journal about the importance of the Journal of Orthopaedic Nursing continuing to be a practitioner based journal and a forum to share evidence based practice to inform best orthopaedic practice.

As with any strategic change, to be successful it must engage people to feel part of that change and take some ownership in it. Writing for publication is a way of sharing best practices and creates a dialogue for change, as well as having efforts rewarded by authors seeing themselves in print. An open invitation is extended to all staff in any orthopaedic environment, but particularly to staff that have never published before and are unsure about how to write for publication. This article is intended to enable you to become more confident in planning and writing with the intention of becoming published.

Whilst there are unfortunately no short cuts in the process, one of the biggest single factors to overcome will be convincing yourself that you can become published. The additional effort required will undoubtedly contribute to your continuing professional development and reputation in practice, but just as importantly will be of value to the orthopaedic community.

Section snippets

The contradiction of everyday practitioners writing for publication

A journal is a written medium for communicating to fellow professionals both nationally and internationally. Whilst seemingly grand, it might be reassuring to know that journal editors rely as much on practitioners to submit articles for publication, as much as practitioners want to see their work in print. Therefore there is an equal interest by both parties in the ongoing development of publishable materials. In addition to personal reasons for becoming published, there are emerging political

Thinking about writing: overcoming personal resistance to publishing

I suspect some of you who have an intention to publish may have begun to read through this article from the beginning based on the title, whilst others are just skimming over the contents to see whether it has any relevance to your practice. The finished product now looks very different from the original shape it took when I began writing. For instance, the subject headings and content has significantly changed and is presented in the house style of the journal.

Although what you read is

From thinking about writing to doing it

The previous section concentrated on the process of thinking about what you want to say before spending time on writing, and is an essential discipline in preparing for publication (Redfern 1995) because:

  • It helps clarify thoughts that can then be transferred onto paper in a less personal and more objective way

  • The process of constructing words and sentences in ones head before being committed to paper enables thoughts and recollections to be given some structure.


If you have previously

Preparing the script for publication: the importance of attending to detail

Whilst it is not in the scope of this article to examine the more technical aspects of writing (see Hall 1994, Newell 2000, or Maslin-Prothero 2001), the article for publication will be scrutinised by external reviewers working on behalf of the journal. Ensure you critique your draft script before submission against the Instructions To Authors or Contributors Guidelines. Most journals will devote up to a page outlining instructions and these MUST be followed to avoid rejection. In other words,

What happens after your article has been submitted for publication?

Most journals will send an acknowledgement within two weeks that they have received (not accepted), the manuscript. The longest part of the process for authors is when the article is sent out to reviewers for comment and then returned to the editor with comments. This may take between 6 and 10 weeks when the author is informed that:

  • The article has been unconditionally accepted

  • The article is accepted subject to satisfactory amendments being made

  • The article is rejected on the grounds of failing

Personal reflections on writing an article

Despite having written many articles and published a book, my first reaction when having been assigned the task was that writing this article would be reasonably straightforward. In fact I think this article has been one of the most challenging, involving a surprising number of re-writes and drafting. On reflection, I offer the following reasons:

  • I learned as I planned this article that much of my own writing was of an intuitive nature rather than being systematically planned

  • I became complacent

Conclusion

In many respects you, the readership are the conclusion. This article was designed to be used as a possible template if read systematically, to encourage new authors to the journal. My personal reflections acknowledge that writing about writing is not the same as actually using the keyboard or pencil. However, I now have a much greater understanding about my own strengths and areas that still need to be developed in my writing style and hope that you now do as well.

Aside from the personal

References (21)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

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