Manuscript Development and Publishing: A 5-Step Approach

Publications in peer-reviewed biomedical journals are essential for sharing knowledge and advancing healthcare. This article will articulate a 5-step approach for developing and publishing a manuscript, and provide academic clinicians with an instructional tool they can provide to their protégés and junior faculty. The authors attempt to distill existing advice for preparing manuscripts, which is found in myriad formats, combine these tutorials with their collective experience and present this approach for developing and publishing successfully a manuscript in a peer-reviewed journal. The 5 steps identified instruct would-be authors to (1) know their material and determine their audience; (2) outline their manuscript; (3) be ethically vigilant; (4) develop individual sections and submit their manuscript and (5) respond to reviewers׳ comments. This article describes each of these steps in detail. Rewards of publishing articles include recognition by peers and supervisors, contribution to academic promotion and dissemination of information to the medical community.