Mentoring state hospital nurses to write

There is a shortage of clinical nurses, particularly in the area of psychiatric nursing, who feel competent and comfortable writing for publication. This is unfortunate since clinical nurses have valuable experiences to share, to promote and advance the nursing profession. This manuscript describes the work of one Director of Nursing at a state hospital who mentored the nursing staff to write for publication. Over a period of five years some 28 articles have been published by nurses at this hospital. This success in publication has led to an increase in self-esteem among nurses, an increased willingness to share their writing experiences with others, and increased numbers of workshop presentations on clinical subjects. This article describes how the mentoring process can be used to promote authorship, and specifically, how it was used at this one hospital.