Background: Faculty face time constraints and, in some cases, limited training and experience that can hinder their efforts to publish scholarly research. Nevertheless, the 2015 IOM report was a “call to action” for more robust research and scholarship to advance the interprofessional education (IPE) field. In response, an IPE center at a health sciences university collaborated with two writing professionals to pilot a yearlong manuscript-writing program to increase publishing productivity and facilitate the writing process. The center initiators demonstrated leadership by designing the program to support all members of the group in the pre-writing and writing process. Participants experienced mentorship by working in writing groups, providing writing guidance to peers, and holding one another accountable to stated writing goals. The program can serve as a model for those aiming to develop IPE research manuscripts for publication.
Methods: The yearlong pilot program comprised writing tools, email reminders, and meetings in a step-wise pre-writing and writing process. A Guide to Pre-Writing Your Manuscript lists and describes achievable month-by-month tasks. The first five months of pre-writing tasks preceded a writing retreat, monthly email reminders, and meetings to encourage progress the rest of the year. The stated goal was for participants to complete a manuscript for publication in 2019. To measure the outcome of the pilot on manuscript progress, we surveyed the participants using an online questionnaire.
Results: In 2019, 14 IPE faculty from six disciplines participated in the yearlong pilot. Of 12 respondents to the questionnaire, all reported they had completed at least 1 manuscript in 2019 and submitted it for publication. In 2020, we repeated the program with 20 participants and conducted a virtual writing retreat in May.
Conclusion: This pilot offers a step-wise, replicable model that promotes collaboration and provides experienced guidance with writing professionals to advance scholarly publishing in IPE.
In support of improving patient care, this activity is planned and implemented by The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
As a Jointly Accredited Provider, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
