Nursing Manuscript Analysis

The Beginning Stages of the Writing and Publication Process: Matching the Topic to the Journal

The Canadian Nurses Association encourages registered nurses to engage in scholarly practice as a means for sharing knowledge and expertise (Canadian Nurses Association, 2007). Publishing a manuscript is one example of how scholarly practice can be demonstrated. Manuscript publication is an extensive process that requires precise planning (Albarran & Scholes, 2005). In preparation for future scholarly practice, graduate students enrolled in Athabasca University’s NURS 611: Dissemination Strategies are provided with a mentorship-style learning opportunity to gain knowledge of the writing and publication process.

There are many types of manuscripts

that can be written for publication. Regardless of type, published manuscripts act as a vehicle for sharing, debating and critically reviewing new and classic nursing knowledge to improve patient care. Selecting a relevant topic that warrants analysis is critical. Journal editors seek manuscripts that are captivating and will stimulate discussion or change (Dixon, 2001). Furthermore, selecting a journal that aligns with the manuscript topic, purpose and type increases the chances of publication approval. Identifying and understanding the journal’s instructions for authors and performing a market analysis can assist in the selection process.
The purpose of this paper is to identify the manuscript topic, purpose and style, and discuss the process of selecting the most appropriate target journal. The selected topic is open-visitation within the critical care setting. Three potential journals are identified: Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, Canadian Journal for Critical Care Nursing, and Critical Care Nurse, and are critiqued based on relevance to the manuscripts topic, purpose and style. Information collected from the journal’s instructions for authors and a market analysis are provided and used to rationalize the inform decision to select Critical Care Nurse as the target journal.
Manuscript Topic and Purpose Statement
As previously discussed, the first step in the writing and publication process is to identify a topic and purpose, and select the type of manuscript to be written. Albarran and Scholes (2005) suggest choosing a topic that relates to the authors area of expertise or project involvement. The topic that has been selected is open-visitation within the critical care setting, specifically how stakeholders: patients, families and clinicians, are impacted by unrestricted visiting policies. This topic was selected based one the needs of patients and families (need for family presence and support) identified within my personal practice. While the Critical Care Unit (CCU) I work in supports open-visitation, there is no formal policy and inconsistencies exist. Nurses have expressed concerns with open-visitation and consistent family presence, and questioned the benefits for patients, families, and clinicians. Upon manuscript completion I hope to contribute knowledge gained from the writing process to the development of a formal policy and an education plan to improve current visitation practices. Therefore, my underlying intentions for writing this manuscript is to provide critical care nurses with relevant and accurate information in order to improve current practice and patient care.
Furthermore, open-visitation is a relevant and global critical care practice topic (Hinkle, Fitzpatrick & Oskrochi, 2009). According to Fumis, Ranzani, Faria and Schettino (2015) open-visitation practices are highly recommended by critical care professional organizations due to the beneficial effects on patient and family satisfaction, however, little adult CCUs have adopted such policy and practice. To date, a limited amount of scholarly articles have clearly articulated the benefits and impact of open-visitation on patients, families and clinicians (Fumis et al.; Schnell, Abadie & Toullic, et al., 2013). Thus, a review of the literature will be completed to understand the benefits of open-visitation from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders.
Formulating a clear purpose statement will assist in manuscript organization and fluidity, including argument and evidence arrangement, and provide readers with a clear understanding of the author’s intent (Rosa, Eschholz & Roberts, 1996). The following purpose statement has been formulated: the purpose of this literature review is to discuss whether major stakeholders, the patient, families and clinicians, benefit from open-visitation policies within the Critical Care Unit. However, it is important to understand that the manuscript is a work-in-progress, and that throughout the writing process the purpose statement may alter slightly in terms of formatting and word-choice, but not topic.
Declaration of Professional Integrity
In addition to selecting a manuscript topic, style and purpose statement, authors should acknowledge past involvement (including publications) with the topic of interest and be willing to share it with potential publishers if required.

A course requirement for NURS 611: Dissemination Strategies is to declare previous use of the selected topic in other courses or projects. Consistent with professional integrity, I am declaring that the manuscript will consist of new and original work, as I have never used the topic of choice in any undergraduate or graduate courses or projects. In addition, I have not contributed to a written document in my professional practice pertaining to the

topic.
Matching the Topic to the Journal: The Selection Process
Once the manuscript topic, type and purpose have been selected the next logical step is to identify an appropriate target journal (Albarran & Scholes, 2005). To begin, I searched the CINHAL, ProQuest, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases for peer-reviewed, scholarly review and research articles related to open-visitation within the critical care setting. This strategy had two purposes, to locate potential resources to include in the literature review and to identify the types of journals that have published articles related to my topic. In addition, I reviewed the reference lists from the retrieved articles (19 in total) and identified additional journal options. Journals that required the articles to be translated or did not pertain to critical care nursing where excluded, as I believe publication in these journal may limit the exposure of my manuscript to the critical care audience.
Next, I cross-referenced potential journals to prominent critical care nursing organizations, such as the Canadian Critical Care Nurses Association and American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, to identify any relationships.

I am particularly interested in submitting a manuscript to a journal that specializes in critical care nursing, as readers are often drawn to journals specific to their area of practice (Albarran & Scholes, 2005). It is my assumption that if my manuscript was published in a journal that circulated to members as part of the organization’s membership fee, I may have a greater chance of having my manuscript read by the intended target

audience.
Finally, I examined a variety of journal’s instructions for authors, and compared the aim of the journal, accepted manuscript types, call for manuscripts and formatting style to my writing and publication intentions. According to Albarran and Scholes (2005) chances of publication are greater if the author’s intentions and manuscript topic, style and purpose align with the journal’s mission. From this I was able to wean out inappropriate options and narrow my choice down to three potential journals.