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Typically, scholarly writing is not a skill taught in graduate schools of nursing, even though there are many writing assignments. Scholarly writing is an extension of critically thinking about a clinical problem by using reflective writing as a learning framework to advance nursing practice (Smith, 2011). According to the Essentials of Master's Education in Nursing, scholarly writing is an important competency (Essential IV) (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011) as part of the curriculum. This Syllabus Selection article describes an innovative strategy to integrate five short group writing assignments into a graduate nursing curriculum.
Method
Past experience with writing assignments and limited experience with writing at their place of employment increase students' anxiety about scholarly writing. The main writing assignment for a graduate nursing research course is an 8- to 10-page translation of evidence to practice group paper, which consists of the group reviewing current evidence based on a clinical problem.
Even as a group assignment, most students are overwhelmed with writing an 8- to 10-page paper. In addition,...