Structured Abstracts: Best Practices in Writing and Reviewing Abstracts for Publication and Presentation

Abstract

Abstract Medical, nursing, and other allied health professional education institutions are expected by national accrediting bodies and associations to emphasize not only basic science and clinical knowledge and skills in the curriculum, but also research and scholarship. It is assumed that students entering the profession already know how to conduct and submit research for presentation and publication. However, the practical skills of publishing, including authorship responsibilities, writing abstracts and manuscripts, and peer review, is often learned on the fly, rather than formally taught as part of the curriculum. This experiential educational intervention teaches best practices in writing and peer reviewing scientific abstracts and affords students the opportunity to practice drafting and evaluating abstracts on their own research projects. At the conclusion of the instructional session students completed an internal evaluation. In terms of effectiveness and significance, the session was highly rated as being informative, interesting, and helpful. Students appreciated the opportunity to practice this step in the research process and gain experience without the fear of rejection from a conference or journal. Student suggestions included allotting more time to draft the abstract in class, clearer instructions on how to submit the abstract to the course management system, and moving the session earlier or later in the curriculum.

Keywords

• Education
• Medical Education
• Peer Review
• Publishing
• Medical
• Biomedical Research