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Book Review
Effective Writing for Health Professionals: A Practial Guide to Getting Published
M-J Johnstone
ISBN: 978-0-415334-47-1 2004 160 pages Routledge
Judy Zollo
Mary Potter Hospice, Calvary Health Care, Adelaide SA
The Preface to Effective Writing for Health Professionals concludes with Johnstone's expressed hope that 'upon reading this book, health professionals who have previously felt daunted by the prospect of writing will feel more confident about engaging in the writing process, get their work published, and will succeed as authors in their field'. This well-written and readable text certainly provides an apt vehicle for bringing Johnstone's hope to fruition.
There is certainly a need, and thus a market, for such a text, for, as Johnstone observes, despite an increasing need for health professionals to contribute to their respective professions' unique body of knowledge by writing and publishing in a range of media, many potential contributors are daunted by the thought of moving beyond the day-to-day professional communication that constitutes the bulk of their writing, to writing for publication.
The text is well structured, with a range of handy tips presented under the following chapter headings: Writing and publication in the health professions; Getting started; The writing process; Winning habits of successful authors; Producing a work; Troubleshooting; Promoting your work; and Author rights and responsibilities. The book concludes with a more personal, though no less helpful, chapter that bears the title Postscript: Why I write.
By following her own advice with respect to a number of hints and tips presented in the book - sentence length, the effective use of headings and sub-headings, and aiming for simplicity, to name a few - Johnstone has produced a book that is eminently readable. The brief summary at the end of each chapter further enhances readability and emphasises the key points made in each chapter, with these key messages further reinforced by a series of exercises that, fittingly, encourage the reader to engage in the activity that constitutes the book's main focus - writing. Finally, the emphasis of each chapter is strengthened by Johnstone's use of examples and anecdotes, many of which highlight obstacles faced and overcome by a number of authors who are now well known and well respected for their published contributions to their respective professional fields.
In addition to producing a readable and well structured text that addresses the day to day practicalities and issues associated with writing for publication, Johnstone presents health professionals with a timely reminder of the low publication rates by some health professions, particularly nurse clinicians. More positively, she highlights numerous reasons - personal and professional - why individual health professionals should be embarking on the publication path. On a broader level, Johnstone also highlights the collective benefits that accrue to the various health professions and their clients when the knowledge and experience of the members of those professions is 'made public', or published.
Importantly, Johnstone's identification of the positive benefits and rewards of writing for publication is balanced by her acknowledgement of a range of problems and pitfalls, with this acknowledgement offset, in turn, by numerous hints, tips, and practical anecdotes designed to assist the aspiring writer to overcome such problems and pitfalls. Most of this advice is contained in the aptly titled chapter, Troubleshooting, which focuses on topics as diverse as writer's block, the challenges of co-authorship, and the awful outcome of failing to keep back-up copies!
While much of Johnstone's advice could be categorised as stunningly obvious, to see such advice systematically and entertainingly presented in a very readable and manageable text, supported by numerous practical anecdotes and exercises, makes the book a 'must read' for the novice, and, arguably, even the more experienced writer.
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