Writing for Publication: Supporting the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Student

THE QUESTION POSED TO PARTICIPANTS AT THE International Academy of Nurse Editors (INANE) was “Why don’t nurses write for publication?” The answer that surfaced throughout the discussions was because nurses never learned why and how to write professional manuscripts.1 It is our belief that authorship should be part of the curriculum of every advanced practice nursing (APN) program. Four articles published in this issue of Neonatal Network® were written by University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) students as part of their required course work. Neonatal Network® has chosen to highlight these student writers in an effort to encourage all neonatal nurses to consider this opportunity and to encourage faculty to incorporate this activity into their curricula for APNs. Sharing one’s knowledge and expertise is an essential element of advanced nursing practice and provides the opportunity to enhance the science of nursing practice. By writing for publication, students work toward achieving the following recently published Acute Care NP Competencies:2• Integrates research to promote evidence-based practice for patients with acute, critical, and chronic illness.• Participates in formal and informal education provided to other health care professionals to promote positive outcomes during complex acute, critical, and chronic illness.• Contributes to the knowledge base of the health care community through research, presentations, publications, and involvement in professional organizations.• Promotes valuing lifelong learning and evidence-based practice while continually acquiring knowledge and skills needed to address questions arising in practice to improve patient care.