writing

You will have a manuscript to submit for publication by the end of this summer! Let us know if you are interested in joining the Scholarship Circle this summer.

Our College of Nursing Scholarship Circle is shaping up to be an exceptional opportunity for faculty to find inspiration and motivation for creating a manuscript for publication. Cindy Anderson, Joni Tornwall, and Kerry Dhakal are working to build an agenda packed with materials and information that will spark your imagination and make you eager to put words on paper. You’ll hear from guest speakers who have a wealth of real-world experience in nursing scholarship, and you’ll be immersed in a supportive group of peers who will help keep you on track with benchmarks and feedback. You’ll have a manuscript you will be proud to submit for publication by the end of the summer!

Tentative Agenda:

Week 1	May 18	Why We Do Write, Why We Don’t Write Role of Scholarship and Roadblocks to Writing Cindy Anderson, PhD, RN, CRNP, FNAP, FAHA, FAAN
Week 2	May 25	Get Started Writing Strategies from Successful Authors
Week 3	June 1	Focus your Topic Speak to your Audience and Purpose Susan J. Henly, PhD, RN, FAAN
Week 4	June 8	Outline your Manuscript Create a Framework Mary Beth Happ, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN
Week 5	June 15	Choose a Journal Understand Scholarly Impact Kerry Dhakal, MAA, MLS, AHIP
Week 6	June 22	Write a First Draft Tell your Story Rita Pickler, PhD, RN, FAAN
Week 7	June 29	Avoid Writer’s Block Step Away from the Distraction Nancy Lowe, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN
Week 8	July 13	Revise and Finalize Tie it All Together and Submit Lois Marshall, PhD, RN Sandra Meadows and Ellen Patricia (ORRP)
Week 9	July 20	Respond to Feedback Revise and Resubmit Vicki Conn, PhD, RN, FAAN
Week 10	July 27	Reflect and Move Forward Focus Group Kerry Dhakal, MAA, MLS, AHIP

The Scholarship Circle meetings will consist of 10 sessions over 10 weeks (skipping the week of July 4). They will be on Wednesday afternoons, 1:00-2:30 p.m., in CarmenConnect.

Who is the audience for this round of the Scholarship Circle?

This Scholarship Circle is for practicing nurses in the clinical and academic setting at OSU who want to publish a scholarly manuscript. This round of the Scholarship Circle is primarily created for nursing instructors and working advanced practice nurses who are affiliated with OSU. Nine-month faculty in the CON are welcome.

Do I have to attend all of the sessions? Will they be recorded?

The guest lectures will be recorded, but the segments during which participants are interacting with each other will not be recorded. You do not need to be at all sessions, but attendance will help keep you on track with your writing goals. You will need to commit to writing each week and providing feedback to a peer each week.

Does this involve group work? I know what to do; I just need motivation.

Yes, you will be working with at least one peer, and the expectation is that you will write something each week to contribute to the group experience. You’ll get feedback from your peers, and you’ll provide feedback also. Group work and exchanging feedback with peers is an important part of accountability to your writing goals. The primary objective is for everyone to have at least one manuscript suitable for submission to a journal or other public outlet by the end of this summer.

I may not know enough to join this group. Or, I may be further along in my writing knowledge than the rest of the group.

Participants in the Scholarship Circle will have a wide range of experience with writing and publishing. We’ll make a strong effort to pair you with someone who has a similar publishing history as you do and who shares similar goals. Regardless, Kerry (your library liaison) and I will do everything we can to see that you get the feedback and motivation you need. Our guest lecturers will present information that may be new to you, no matter what phase of writing you are in, and Kerry will present information about scholarly metrics that very few people understand well in the context of The Ohio State University.

How do I sign up?

Go to http://go.osu.edu/scsurvey to indicate your interest. You will hear from me (Joni Tornwall) around May 1 with more information about registration and getting started in the Scholarship Circle.

Who do I contact for more information?

You may contact me, Joni Tornwall(.2), with any questions.

Joni Tornwall, MEd, RN Manager of Instructional Services
The Ohio State University College of Nursing
Newton 347B | 1585 Neil Ave. | Columbus, OH 43210
614-292-6804

Pearls of wisdom from the STTI 43rd Biennial Convention

I’m wrapping up my series of blog posts on the pearls of wisdom I plucked from the STTI 43rd Biennial Convention with this summary of Lois Marshall’s presentation titled,

“Research Abstracts, Proposals, and Grant Writing: Basics from Start to Finish”

Lois is a nurse education consultant and writer extraordinaire who explained that the most important element of a successful proposal for anything is a great idea. Clarify your goals for your project, no matter what it is, and communicate how your project will make a difference to your stakeholders.

Take a careful look at what has already been done and written about your idea and get really comfortable with how you can build or improve on that. Create a strong case for the reasons you should be funded/chosen/published.

Read and follow–to the letter–the guidelines and requirements! One would think this would go without saying, but many proposals are rejected because simple directions were not followed. Keep your proposal sections within the word limits.

Lois covered the common components of a proposal, which are basically a formula for writing your idea in a conventional format. She provided very useful tips for each component; for example, she described how to write a good title for your project and provided examples of good titles and problematic titles.

Lois recommended applying for small grants, especially if you don’t have a history of being awarded for large grants or if you are changing your career trajectory. She pointed out that STTI has several small grant opportunities and encouraged anyone who meets the eligibility requirements and has an idea to advance the practice of nursing to apply.

Lois kindly gave her permission for me to share her PowerPoint presentation with OSU College of Nursing faculty members. If you are interested in knowing more, contact me, or attend the Flash Friday session I will offer in the spring semester on this topic.

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Summer 2016 Scholarship Circle