Disseminating nursing knowledge--a guide to writing for publication

The dissemination of research findings and other forms of nursing knowledge is generally accepted as an element of accountability for professional practice. While an increase in nursing research has been apparent in recent times, there seemingly remains a reluctance for nurses to publish the findings of their work. The identified barriers to writing for publication primarily focus on a lack of confidence in the ability to write in this arena, and uncertainty, apprehension and confusion regarding how exactly to go about writing and submitting a manuscript. The primary aim of this paper is to demystify the process of writing for publication by presenting a guide ranging from selecting the journal, to dealing with the reviewers' comments. Although the available literature includes a number of helpful hints, coverage of all of the relevant aspects in one article could not be located. It is intended that this paper will provide a valuable contribution by encouraging nurses to develop their research findings or other scholarly ideas into a manuscript to be submitted for publication.