Developing as a scholarly writer: the experience of students enrolled in a PhD in nursing program in the United States

Scientific writing development: Improve DNP student skill and writing efficiency

BACKGROUND

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students lack sufficient opportunities to practice writing. Students and faculty require clear expectations and consistent feedback to improve skills.

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated a rubric-driven scientific writing development program.

DESIGN

A mixed methods design was used.

SETTING

The study was conducted in a post-Master's DNP Program.

PARTICIPANTS

The sample included DNP students and faculty.

METHODS

The intervention was delivered to 10 students and writing proficiency was assessed over five semesters. Overall doctoral project quality and rigor were assessed at the end of the program and compared to a similar group of students (n = 20). Seven faculty and eight students participated in qualitative interviews.

RESULTS

Performance improved from Semesters 1 to 5; and though quality and rigor did not differ, the intervention group's final papers were more efficiently written with approximately 17 fewer pages and an average review time of eight fewer minutes than the comparison group. Participants identified the rubric, feedback, and scaffolding as helpful program components.

CONCLUSIONS

Scientific writing development is essential to DNP education. The intervention improved skill performance and writing efficiency.

Doctoral programmes in the nursing discipline: a scoping review

Background

This study aimed to map and summarise the state of the research regarding doctoral programs in nursing, as well as the issues debated in the context of nursing doctoral education. A Scoping Review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis extension scoping reviews statement (PRISMA-ScR) was conducted. Three electronic bibliographic data bases were searched: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Complete, Medline (on EBSCO Host) and SCOPUS to identify empirical studies published between January 2009 and December 2019. The review process was based on framework identified by Arksey and O’Malley and further revised by Levac and colleagues. Analysis was performed with the use of the Donabedian framework regarding the structure of the doctorate programmes, the process, and the outcomes.

Results

The review included 41 articles, mostly originating in the United States (n=26) and Europe (n=8), mainly by collecting the perceptions of students and faculty members with descriptive studies. The following issues were investigated at the (a) structure level: Prerequisite for doctoral candidates, Qualifications of faculty members, Mission of doctoral programs; (b) process level: Doctoral programs contents, Doctoral programs resources and quality, Mentoring and supervision, Doing doctorate abroad; and (c) outcome level: Academic performance outcomes in doctoral programs, Doctoral graduates’ competences, Doctoral students/graduates’ satisfaction, Doctoral graduates’ challenges.

Conclusions

Doctoral programs have mainly been investigated to date with descriptive studies, suggesting more robust research investigating the effectiveness of strategies to prepare future scientists in the nursing discipline. Doctorates are different across countries, and there is no visible cooperation of scholars internationally; their structure and processes have been reported to be stable over the years, thus not following the research development in nursing, discipline and practice expectations. Moreover, no clear framework of outcomes in the short- and long-term have been established to date to measure the quality and effectiveness of doctorate education. National and global strategies might establish common structure, process and outcome frameworks, as well as promote robust studies that are capable of assessing the effectiveness of this field of education.

Adapting "Shut Up & Write!®" to Foster Productive Scholarly Writing in Graduate Nursing Students

Productive scholarly writing is important for succeeding in graduate nursing programs such as thesis-and practice-based master's or doctoral degrees. Nurses pursuing graduate-level programs are expected to produce high-level scholarly writing manuscripts. However, writing typically is an independent and isolating endeavor. This article describes a student-led writing group ("Sit Down & Write!") that was adapted from the "Shut Up & Write!" (SUAW) structure. Five strategies were incorporated to meet the unique needs of graduate nursing students and foster productivity: (a) provide space for diverse groups of nursing students to participate, (b) offer flexible scheduling, (c) accommodate a flexible group structure, (d) host longer sessions, and (e) allow time to discuss writing goals. Overall, Sit Down and Write! provided a community of productive writing support. Future adaptations may consider providing a virtual option so sessions are accessible to students who are unable to join in-person. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(7):313-318.].

Evaluating Scientific Writing Skill in DNP Program Students

BACKGROUND/PROBLEM

Scientific writing skill development interventions in nursing are widely represented in the literature, but the specific skills required are poorly defined and measured.

APPROACH

This study used a cross-sectional, descriptive design to compare scientific writing skill assessment of doctor of nursing practice students' final project reports using 2 rubrics.

OUTCOMES

Of 13 skills, the strongest were: adherence to a standard structure, paraphrasing, and grammar, punctuation, and style. The weakest were: use of primary sources, concise, nonredundant presentation, and critical appraisal. Overall interrater agreement for the general essay writing rubric was 69.6%, and that for the scientific writing rubric was 82.3%.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to the essay rubric, the scientific writing rubric was more useful for identifying skill strengths and weaknesses and improved interrater consistency.

The lived experience of nursing faculty developing as scholarly writers

BACKGROUND

Nursing faculty are expected to disseminate scholarly work through publications, yet little is known about how faculty develop as scholarly writers.

PURPOSE

This manuscript discusses a hermeneutic phenomenological research study that uncovered the experience of nursing faculty developing as scholarly writers.

METHODS

Audiotaped personal interviews were conducted with 12 nursing faculty to understand the lived experience of nursing faculty developing as scholarly writers. A 5-step data analysis process consistent with phenomenology was used to identify common themes.

RESULTS

Findings revealed five themes: pulling everything together, steering me in the direction, using feedback to grow, squeezing it in, and staying on task.

CONCLUSION

This study offers educators insight into the experience of faculty developing as scholarly writers and leads to recommendations for approaches that may be useful in writing development.

Seeking transformation: how students in nursing view their academic writing context – a qualitative systematic review

Writing practices in nursing education programs are situated in a tension-filled context resulting from competing medical-technical and relational nursing discourses. The goal of this qualitative meta-study is to understand, from the student perspective, how the context for writing in nursing is constructed and the benefits of writing to nursing knowledge development. A literature search using the CINHAL, Medline, ERIC, and Academic Search complete databases, using systematic methods identified 21 papers and dissertations which gathered qualitative interview or survey data from students in nursing at the pre-registration, continuing education, and graduate levels. The studies provided evidence that writing assignments promote professional identity development but overemphasis on writing mechanics when grading have a deleterious effect on learning and student engagement with writing. Relationship building with faculty should extend beyond what is needed to maximize grades. Suggestions for writing pedagogical reform are identified to facilitate a change in focus from mechanical-technical to transformative writing.

A 5-Year Evaluation of Faculty Use of Practical Within-Course Writing Development Strategies in a DNP Program

BACKGROUND

Nursing students are underprepared for the rigors of graduate writing. The lack of sufficient writing opportunities and skill development in prelicensure nursing education creates barriers that threaten course and program progression.

APPROACH

This study used a prospective, repeated-measures design to evaluate 5 years of faculty-implemented writing development strategies in a DNP program.

OUTCOMES

Faculty adopted 12 strategies in 10 courses. The strategies addressed skill building in content, construction, format, plagiarism, and citation use. The most frequently used strategies were rubrics, plagiarism detection software, multistep assignments, and examples of well-written papers, all strategies that increased in use over the 5-year study.

CONCLUSIONS

Graduate faculty interact with students and assess writing development outcomes firsthand. Changes in faculty practices over time can indicate the strategies they consider most valuable for writing development.

Developing advanced practice nurse writing competencies as a corequisite for evidence-based practice

Writing competency is increasingly recognized as imperative for advanced practice nurses (APNs) who are engaged in evidence-based practice (EBP). Writing skills are an implied expectation inherent in many APN evidence-based practice competencies, such as "formulating evidence based policies and procedures," and "communicates best evidence …." A quality improvement project was implemented for APN's within a post-Master's Doctor of Nursing Practice program, to create a novel set of low-cost, high-impact strategies that could be embedded into a program of study to improve APN writing skills. Prior work has indicated that mentorship and peer support are useful strategies that can contribute to the enhancement of APN writing skills. This study builds on prior work to develop a quantitative evaluation of a peer-supported writing intervention for APNs. Read Aloud innovation was one of two strategies chosen from among many writing improvement strategies identified in the literature because of easy implementation, even by faculty who lacked confidence in providing traditional writing instruction. If explicit development of writing competencies is not elevated to a higher priority in APN education, suboptimal writing confidence is likely to continue across the professional lifetime and will present as a recurring challenge for APNs who pursue higher educational degrees, transition into faculty roles, or seek to fully develop APN EBP competencies. Findings from this study indicate that feedback received from peers during the structured Read Aloud innovation, with emphasis on hierarchy of paragraph sentences (i.e., explicit examination for overarching quality of the leading sentence), is effective in improving clarity and brevity of writing among APNs.

Appreciation of the Research-Practice Link: Authentic Learning Environments for Writing-Intensive Nursing Courses

Undergraduate students often perceive a disconnect between research and nursing practice. To support student understanding of this relationship, an innovative, authentic learning environment was created in a writing-intensive, capstone-level nursing course. Authentic learning environments couple real-life situations/simulations with personal, experiential learner engagement. Students completed pre- and postsurveys assessing their beliefs about and confidence in using research to inform practice. Quantitative and open-ended qualitative responses were analyzed with inferential statistics and conventional content analysis techniques, respectively. Findings suggested the learning environment increased student confidence and facilitated connections between research and practice, supporting continued use and further evaluation of this approach.

Advancing scholarly writing of baccalaureate nursing students using the knowledge, skills, and attitude self-assessment for writing development

BACKGROUND

Baccalaureate nursing students often demonstrate basic oral and written communication skills and have varying levels of skill with scholarly writing. Current instructional approaches may not fully prepare students for scholarly writing expectations.

OBJECTIVE

To determine undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students' self-assessed ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of scholarly writing.

DESIGN

Quantitative correlational descriptive study.

SETTING

Undergraduate nursing programs in the United States.

PARTICIPANTS

A convenience sample of baccalaureate nursing students in the United States.

METHODS

A national sample of 125 undergraduate nursing students self-assessed their use of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of scholarly writing over a two-month period. The project also sought to determine the association between writing knowledge, skills and attitudes and demographic variables of baccalaureate nursing students.

RESULTS

Participants believe they know the basic components of scholarly writing. However, they have difficulty using abstract components of writing such as managing the emotional aspect associated with writing. Select personal and demographic variables were not associated with scholarly writing self-assessment, indicating that other factors may influence scholarly writing development.

CONCLUSION

Teaching and learning strategies that incorporate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with scholarly writing can be used to advance current instructional approaches and ultimately, better facilitate writing development in baccalaureate nursing students. Self-assessments can be used to identify ongoing student development needs for scholarly writing and can direct writing instruction.

MSN Students' Self-Assessed Use of the Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes of Scholarly Writing

AIM

This study explored master of science in nursing students' self-assessed use of the evidence-based knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) of scholarly writing.

BACKGROUND

Understanding MSN students' self-assessed use of the KSAs of writing can help faculty better prepare MSN graduates to advance the science of nursing through scholarly writing.

METHOD

A descriptive correlational design was used to determine how a national sample of 76 MSN students assessed their ability to demonstrate the KSAs of scholarly writing and to determine associations between select demographic variables and the self-assessment results.

RESULTS

Participants were familiar with the KSAs of scholarly writing and used them with varying frequency. No associations were identified between demographic variables and the KSA self-assessment ratings.

CONCLUSION

Additional writing opportunities and inclusion of a variety of writing assignments could increase use of the KSAs and therefore facilitate the development of scholarly writing abilities needed to advance nursing.

Changing the Publication Culture From "Nice to Do" to "Need to Do": Implications for Nurse Leaders in Acute Care Settings

PROBLEM

Nurses in clinical settings often generate innovative practice ideas to inform their practice and improve patient outcomes. Yet, few publish and share these innovations with a wider audience. Barriers impeding clinical nurses from writing for publication include discomfort with writing, lack of time, and scarce resources.

METHODS

A qualitative study was designed to determine obstacles and facilitators to writing for publication. Interviews were conducted with five clinical nurses who had recently published in peer-reviewed journals.

FINDINGS

Three themes emerged from the data: culture of "nice to do," personal motivation, and writing experiences. Findings from the study offer implications for nurse leaders to help increase publication efforts by clinical nurses in acute care settings.

CONCLUSION

Nurse leaders can promote publication by clinical nurses through three main strategies: create a culture that supports publication, offer incentives to motivate nurses to publish and reward those who do publish, and provide writing experiences that facilitate writing for publication.

Understanding the scholarly writing development of nurses enrolled in U.S. clinical doctoral programs

PROBLEM

Faculty teaching nurses enrolled in clinical doctoral programs need to understand the process of student scholarly writing development so that students can be prepared to share knowledge and communicate effectively in scholarly formats.

METHODS

A hermeneutic phenomenological study that sought to understand the scholarly writing development of nurses enrolled in a clinical doctoral program was conducted.

FINDINGS

Findings from interviews with six Doctor of Nursing Practice students revealed three themes: learning throughout life, influence of emotions, and getting through the gate.

CONCLUSION

Based upon these findings, recommendations for further development of doctoral student writing are suggested so that students can disseminate their knowledge in a scholarly manner, improve practice, and contribute to the profession.