Inspiring Writing in Nursing: A Clinical Nurse Specialist-Led Program

Expanding capacity for publication in nursing: Experiences from a writing for publication group

Nurses have valuable knowledge and expertise to share. Yet, for a variety of reasons, many nurses do not write for publication. Members in one Sigma Theta Tau International chapter requested information about publishing so a writing for publication program (WPP) was convened. Ten nurses from diverse clinical and academic backgrounds participated. The goal of the WPP was to support a small group of nurses to advance knowledge and develop practical skills through the development of a manuscript with mentorship from doctorally-prepared nurses with publishing experience. The anticipated effect was that participants would share what they learned with colleagues or mentor others to publish in the future. Beginning with informational sessions to lay the foundation for writing and publishing, the WPP included biweekly, two-hour online sessions over a seven-month period whereby individual and group writing with embedded peer and WPP leader feedback occurred. WPP participants gained proficiency in searching online databases, synthesizing published literature, and working as a member of a writing team. The group successfully published a manuscript based on a topic of interest. This current article describes the structured support and mentorship provided during the WPP with recommendations for overcoming publication barriers commonly described in the literature.

Validation of publication pressure questionnaire-revised into Chinese nurses from a university hospital

AIMS

To translate and validate the Publication Pressure Questionnaire-revised (PPQ-r) among the Chinese nurses.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional descriptive study.

METHODS

The classical forward/backward translation of the PPQ-r was conducted first, and then the psychometric values were tested using the data collected in September, 2021 among 924 Chinese nurses from a university hospital in China by calculating its content validity index, construct validity, both convergent and discriminant validity, and internal consistency reliability following the COSMIN guidelines.

RESULTS

The proposed three-factor structure of original PPQ-r cannot be confirmed in present study. With exploratory factor analysis, a new two-factor structure with 9 items was extracted, accounting for 62.718% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated satisfactory goodness of all fit index values: χ2  = 75.53; df = 23; χ2 /df = 3.28; CFI = 0.973; TLI = 0.958; RMSEA = 0.07 and SRMR = 0.047. Both sub-scales yielded good internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha being 0.845 and 0.876, respectively. The Chinese version of PPQ-r could be accepted as a reliable and valid tool to measure the Chinese nurses' publication pressure.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Participation of nurses in this study was limited to the data provided through participant survey.

Project to Publication-A Writing Mentorship Program

PURPOSE/AIMS

Evidence is required to inform effective interventions promoting publication among clinical nurses. This study examined the effect of a mentored writing program on clinical nurse perceptions of writerly self-efficacy and publication.

DESIGN

A mixed-methods, pretest-posttest study design with an education intervention was implemented. The Revised for Nursing Practice - Postsecondary Writerly Self-efficacy Scale (RNP-PSWSES) measured perception of writerly self-efficacy before and after intervention. Manuscripts submitted for publication were counted.

METHODS

The purposive, convenience sample included registered nurses with completed research, evidence-based practice, or quality improvement projects. Subjects participated in a 3-month structured mentored writing program and completed the RNP-PSWSES survey before and after program completion. A Wilcoxon signed rank test was performed to determine the significance of difference between the pretest and posttest, and the number of published manuscripts was reported.

RESULTS

The RNP-PSWSES items identified pretest-posttest Cronbach's α (.728, .818). Posttest RNP-PSWSES scores were statistically significantly higher than pretest scores (z = -1.96, P = .050) with a large effect size of r = 0.69. Two manuscripts were accepted for publication, and 1 manuscript was withdrawn after the third request for revisions.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, mentored writing workshops improve nurses' perceptions of writing ability and increase publications. Generalization of findings is limited by small sample size. Clinical nurse specialists are critical to champion writing and publication.

A Collaborative Effort to Build an Evidence-Based Practice Project Repository

The establishment of an Evidence-based Practice (EBP) project repository for clinical nurses to access via a hospital intranet allowed for hospital librarians to collaborate with nurse scientists. This project resulted in not only a repository but also led to the involvement of librarians earlier in the research process and led to more options to track how the completed projects were utilized by clinicians. These two outcomes in particular allowed for further involvement of librarians in the Magnet reaccreditation process. Additionally, the contributions of the librarians raised awareness of the roles they can take in EBP and Magnet efforts.

Structured academic writing retreats in healthcare professional practice

The critical importance of writing skills in communicating issues, such as the evidence needed for resources and change as well as the implementation of new practices and processes based on evidence-based outcomes, are now core skills for every healthcare professional including nurses in clinical practice. Within a very busy and challenging work environment, while maintaining a work-life balance, writing to fulfil these professional requirements can become challenging and even impossible. This article describes an educational intervention which adopted the Structured Writing Retreat (SWR) model developed by Murray and Newton in 2009 into a healthcare practice setting. The aim of this intervention was to promote self-efficacy in academic writing in a supportive environment. Three tools are described which outline how to set this intervention up within a healthcare setting. The outcomes and participants' evaluations clearly affirmed the benefits of this model to enable healthcare professionals working in any clinical environment to support their professional development and career advancement.