The freelance nurse writer role

Freelance nurse writers are skilled in facilitating a dialogue and writing from the perspective of the group. This article, written by an experienced freelance author, describes efficient methods to incorporate information gleaned from group interviews. The author provides tips on what type of projects to look for, how to develop the role, and even how to charge.     

Simplifying the writing process for the novice writer.

Nurses take responsibility for reading information to update their professional knowledge and to meet relicensure requirements. However, nurses are less enthusiastic about writing for professional publication. This article explores the reluctance of nurses to write, the reasons why writing for publication is important to the nursing profession, the importance of mentoring to potential writers, and basic information about simplifying the writing process for novice writers.     

(un) Disciplining the nurse writer: doctoral nursing students' perspective on writing capacity

In this article, we offer a perspective into how Canadian doctoral nursing students’ writing capacity is mentored and, as a result, we argue is disciplined. We do this by sharing our own disciplinary and interdisciplinary experiences of writing with, for and about nurses. We locate our experiences within a broader discourse that suggests doctoral (nursing) students be prepared as stewards of the (nursing) discipline. We draw attention to tensions and effects of writing within (nursing) disciplinary boundaries. We argue that traditional approaches to developing nurses’ writing capacity in doctoral programs both shepherds and excludes emerging scholarly voices, and we present some examples to illustrate this dual role. We ask our nurse colleagues to consider for whom nurses write, offering an argument that nurses’ writing must ultimately improve patient care and thus would benefit from multiple voices in writing.     

Dragons as amulets, dragons as talismans, dragons as counselors

In diverse historical and cultural settings, dragons have served as protective amulets or powerful talismans to protect or enhance the powers of those who possess them. The use of such personal symbols in dealing with personal adversity is explored, and methods in which the dragon symbol can he used to promote discussion of feelings, problems, and solutions to life crises are suggested.