Are you a clinically practicing PA or NP who wants to contribute to your profession, or an aspiring assistant professor seeking promotion? Whether you are new to the writing experience or have articles or book chapters under your belt, you may be seeking the personal enrichment that writing can bring to professional life.
For the past five years, I have had the privilege of teaching a medical writing course. A few of the explanations I have heard from students (many of whom are clinicians) regarding why they do not write are: (1) no mentor, (2) nothing to write about, (3) lack of secretarial support, (4) lack of research knowledge, (5) no motivation, (6) no confidence, and—the most common—(7) not enough time. As Tom Stoppard said, “The hard part is getting to the top of page 1.”
Winston Churchill was on target when he said, “Writing is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public.”
The reasons for PAs and NPs to contribute to the medical literature are varied. As mentioned above, many write to share particular or unusual cases or to create an update on a specific medical condition. Others do so to enhance their academic rank at an educational institution, and some just enjoy the experience.
There is no doubt, however, that writing for medical publication is hard work. At the very core of medical writing is selecting the right topic, striking a balance between comprehensiveness and clarity, and engaging the audience’s interest—particularly among busy clinicians.
My advice for both potential and experienced writers is to make sure you develop a strategic approach to writing. Without that approach, you will only find frustration and a sense of never wanting to do this again.1 Without having passion for a particular topic or issue, the experience will likely be painful.
There are plenty of good articles and books that will assist you in becoming or being a good writer (see the box, below). The following are a few suggestions I have for the PA or NP interested in writing for medical publication.
Choose the Right Topic
By far, the efforts put into selecting the right topic create the biggest hurdle. Indeed, this is where the proverbial “writer’s block” spends most of its time.
For our purposes, topics of interest lie predominantly in the following three areas:
(1) Clinical case reports, which offer the greatest opportunities for PAs and NPs who are actually seeing patients and want to share a case or an experience with others.
(2) Clinical review articles, which are comprehensive, balanced summaries of reports on a particular subject. The best clinical review articles, according to Siwek et al, “base the discussion on existing systematic reviews and meta-analysis, and incorporate all relevant research findings about the management of a given disorder. Such evidence-based updates provide readers with powerful summaries and sound clinical guidance.”2
(3) Articles written on a particular professional topic, such as ethics, economics, or educational design.
The best topic, however, is one for which the writer has a passion. My first journal article was based on a condition my father died from at age 48 (Hodgkin’s disease). Doing the research and putting the information together had a purpose.
The potential writer should always look for topics he or she could convert into a journal article—such as lectures, workshops, clinical cases, and personal experiences.
Choose the Right Audience
A crucial component of good medical writing is choosing and understanding your audience. Make sure your intended audience is focused and the subject appropriate.
It is important that you understand what your potential readers want to know and what they will do with the information you provide.
Choose the Right Journal
Selecting the right journal should occur early in the writing process. It is very important that you have a specific journal in mind while preparing your topic and manuscript.
To that end, you should review the “Instructions for Authors” that every medical journal provides to assist in proper formatting and selection of the article type. Most journals have a home page, which has a link for more information. (For example, on ClinicianReviews.com, a link on the lefthand side of the home page takes you to “Author Guidelines.”)
If you do not receive the journal yourself, this is an opportunity to visit the archives and review the types of articles that have been published previously. It is also proper to contact the journal editor in advance to see if your topic is relevant to the journal, as well as determine the potential timing of the article.