When I first became editor of Gastroenterology Nursing over 10 years ago, the editorial challenge was to attract well-written manuscripts focused on topics of interest for gastroenterology nurses and associates. The editorial board, SGNA board members, and I worked tirelessly to challenge new authors to write and coaxed experienced authors to consider publishing in our journal. With hard work and perseverance, as well as the support of our publisher, we eventually were able to relax as the journal's reputation and prestige attracted more authors. Most recently, with the recognition of the journal as a top-tier journal in the Web of Science, we began to attract researchers from around the world who wanted to disseminate their work in our journal. Although we are thrilled to be able to facilitate access to research in our field, the consequence has been that we receive fewer and fewer articles with a clinical focus.
Those of you who attend the annual SGNA educational conference hear my pleas each year for clinical authors to write so that our journal content is balanced between research and practice articles. Despite my pleas, we have very few submissions from clinical authors. This is a tragedy because I fear the art of nursing will be lost in our specialty without publication from our seasoned practitioners. In addition to practice-oriented articles, we need manuscripts that support management and administration, quality and safety processes, community outreach, and emerging sciences, among others.
Writing clinical manuscripts is simply a matter of telling "your" story or that of a patient. I find this type of article is one of the easiest to write because it is what I do everyday as a nurse. Think about a special patient who challenged you or the health care team-write about that experience, how you managed it, and what you learned. Our "lessons learned" can save others from duplicating the same mistakes and challenges that we have already conquered. Perhaps you have implemented an evidence-based practice in response to quality or safety issues in your department that have resulted in improved outcomes. Share your experience so that others can benefit. Processes, programs, guidelines, and algorithms-all of these are worthy of publication and make a contribution to patient care.
If you are a "want to be" author who has been waiting for a sign, or a practitioner who has been thinking of writing for a while, please make a contribution to our literature by writing a clinical manuscript for submission to Gastroenterology Nursing. Our editorial board as well as seasoned authors from the specialty are willing to coach and support your efforts. Many of you are very capable of writing without support. You simply need to take the time.
Our research manuscripts are valuable and precious to our specialty, but so are clinical manuscripts that describe our practice and patient management strategies. We must validate our specialty and capture our history through publication of the art of gastroenterology nursing. To submit your manuscript, simply go to http://www.gastroenterologynursing.com, register as an author, and then follow the steps for submitting your manuscript. I look forward to hearing from you!