Evidence-Based Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes for Scholarly Writing Development Across all Levels of Nursing Education

Because nursing care in health care settings becomes more complex, nurses are called upon to work effectively with other health care providers to deliver high-quality evidence-based care. To do so in a cost effective and efficient manner requires the development of effective oral and written communication skills in nurses. One form of written communication is scholarly writing. Scholarly writing is defined by the authors as writing that is specialized in nursing, communicates original thought, includes support from a body of literature, contains formal language consistent with the discipline of nursing, and is formatted in a manner consistent with peer-review publications. Faculty who facilitate the development of these skills face inconsistencies in students' writing ability and development across programs and levels of education. Nurse educators need to understand how to develop these communication skills for students enrolled at various educational levels and to teach students how to share information in a scholarly way.