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Description
Background and/or theoretical framework and importance to the field: Despite the importance of the skill in their careers, physicians do not often receive formal training in writing manuscripts or grant proposals. While some academic medical centers provide editing and resources for faculty and trainees to improve clarity of scholarly writing, most are university-affiliated centers, not independent teaching hospitals. Innovation Design: Our writing center within an independent pediatric teaching hospital provides free editing, consultations, and training, as well as how-to guides and templates, to faculty and trainees. Evaluation Plan: We assessed writing center effectiveness by evaluating satisfaction and outcomes data collected over a seven-year period. We also recorded the number of times how-to guides and templates were accessed since April 2023. Outcomes: During 2015-2022, the writing center received 697 service requests, 88.4% to edit a document. Of those documents, 81.3% of manuscripts and 44.4% of grant proposals edited by the writing center were published or funded. When rating their experience, 97.8% of respondents rated the edits “helpful,” 96.7% indicated the edits “improved readability,” and 99.3% stated they planned to use the writing center in the future. Since April 2023, the writing center had 755 views of its 20 how-to guides and 14 templates. Innovation’s strengths and limitations: Our writing center provides editing services and resources at no cost. In interpreting our outcomes data, we acknowledge that quality of writing is only one of several factors contributing to publication and funding success. Feasibility and transferability: Our writing center has been successful because of our hospital’s commitment to increasing scholarly productivity. Other independent teaching hospitals can similarly support and promote writing center services to increase scholarly productivity of faculty and trainees.
Publication Date
4-2024
When and Where Presented
Presented at the AAMC Central Group on Educational Affairs Spring Conference; Milwaukee, WI; April 3-5, 2024
Recommended Citation
McNeill, Heather; Hill, Jacqueline; Chandler, Myles; Rush, Eric T.; and Montello, Martha, "Effectiveness of a Medical Writing Center in an Academic Teaching Hospital" (2024). Presentations. 89.
https://scholarlyexchange.childrensmercy.org/presentations/89
