How to Get Published in a Nursing Journal
Nurses are health care professionals. They work in many different areas of medicine, including surgery, geriatrics, pediatrics and mental health. In addition to being a job, nursing is also a profession. Effective nurses make sure that their patients get the best possible care. An important part of the process of nursing care is research. Nursing journals help nurses stay abreast of current research in the field. If you would like to be a part of the academic side of nursing and write for a nursing journal, there are several steps you should take to increase your odds of being published.
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Instructions
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Investigate nursing journals. Not all nursing journals are alike. Some cover specific areas of nursing, such as nurse anesthesiology or school nursing. Others address the broader nursing community as a whole.
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Get a copy of the journals where you would like to be published. You can often find copies of current journals in a medical library or nursing school. If you are an alumnus of a particular institution, you may be able to get access to the school library and read copies of the journal. Copies may also be available online for a small fee, as well as on microfiche in larger libraries.
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Decide on a subject for your article. You may have already conducted a study. You may also want write up an interesting patient-care experience, or share your decision to move from one area of nursing to another. If you are writing an academic paper or study, you should adhere to standard research methodology and academic citations. If you are writing a less academic piece, you can adopt a conversational tone for readers and editors.
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Read the writer's guidelines for the journals where you would like to submit your article. Writer's guidelines can often be found in an issue. If you can't find the writer's guidelines, write to the editor asking for a copy.
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Write a query letter. This states your intentions and outlines your article for the editor. The query should contain your credentials, story idea and at least one paragraph of the article. Many editors allow queries to be sent via email. Make sure that you spell the editor's name correctly. You should receive an answer within a short period of time, such as month. If you don't hear from the editor, send out a quick note reminding him or her of your query.
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Write the article. If the editor wants your article, you should go ahead and write it. Make sure that you adhere to the topic you have chosen. Let the article sit for at least a day or two so that you can re-check your work once you have finished.
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