Barriers to Publishing
As nurses, we are continually reminded that "research is complete only when the results are shared with the scientific community" (American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 3). The three Ps to dissemination of information are posters, presentations, and publishing (Dudley-Brown, 2016). Many nurses "start" with a poster or an oral presentation; however, if they are collecting data, performing the literature review, and writing an abstract, they can continue to complete the process and write the manuscript to submit for publication.
Identifying personal barriers to publishing and overcoming them can be difficult. According to Oermann and Hays (2015), the barriers to writing include a lack of understanding of how to write for publication, writers block, limited time, and fear of rejection. There are many resources for writing for publication: books, guidelines, journal articles (see Writing for Nursing Publication by Nancy Browne and Guest Editorial, Guidelines for Reporting Quality Improvement Studies by Marilyn Oermann, both published in JPSN), writing workshops, librarians, and writing mentors to name a few. Writing is a learned skill that requires practice. Writing with multiple authors may necessitate some unique interventions-each author writing a smaller section, setting deadlines, and mentoring each other to reduce anxiety. Lack of time is a real burden as busy clinical units may not be amenable to allotting nurses a block of time to write. Discussing these issues with nurse leaders and promoting a culture of publishing can bring positive results (Tyndall & Caswell, 2016). Many nurses prefer not to write at their work place so the nurse will need to identify preference and time allotment for manuscript preparation. Students may team with a professor-a process that can benefit both parties.
Fear of manuscript rejection or what to do when your submission has been rejected can be daunting. Authors of 95% of manuscript submissions are asked for revisions; few manuscripts are approved on the first submission and may require several rewrites. The peer review process can be helpful if the author can step back and view the comments constructively, learning from the reviewer's suggestions. Peer review strengthens the original manuscript and broadens the impact of the message. Manuscript authors should read the submission journal's "Reviewer Guidelines" to understand what reviewers are looking for before starting to write.
The rewards of publishing are personal and global. The sense of accomplishment and satisfaction as well as knowing you have globally disseminated your research is rewarding. The JPSN editorial board is devoted to helping authors to develop manuscripts and publish their work. We are one of the few journals to offer mentoring led by JPSN Editorial Board member Nancy Browne. Please consider authoring for a journal; if needed, JPSN can provide mentorship from manuscript outline, reviewer comment response, through the final publication. Author information is available on JPSN's web site. In addition, please see our reviewer guidelines and consider being a Reviewer, which strengthens your writing skills.
I look forward to reading your submissions!
Kimberly McIltrot
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