Editor ' s guide to writing for VNJ
Thinking of writing for VNJ? You can do it, says our editor Nikki Ruedisueli
If you ' re considering writing for VNJ but aren ' t sure where to start, rest assured, you ' re not alone. Lots of veterinary nurses( VNs) feel the same way. Many worry that their writing isn ' t good enough, the topic isn ' t interesting enough or everyone has already seen similar cases. The good news is that I can ease all those concerns.
If you find a topic interesting or unusual, then the chances are that other VNs will enjoy reading about it. Each case we see in practice is different, every practice has its own way of working, and everything you experience as a VN will be from your own unique perspective – all of which has the potential to inform and inspire others. And you can forget any worries you have about writing, because the VNJ team will be here to guide you, every step of the way.
I hope my step-by-step guide that follows will give you the confidence to take the leap and start writing.
Step 1: Getting started
Choose a topic that sparks your interest or is something you care about. Maybe it ' s a challenging case, a clinical audit that changed how your team works, a volunteering trip or even a personal challenge you ' ve overcome. If it matters to you, it ' s likely to matter to someone else too.
Next, jot down three to five key points you want readers to learn about or remember after reading your article. These can help you stay focused and can also be helpful to use as your subheadings.
At this point, you might like to email your idea to me at nicola @ bvna. co. uk, and I can let you know my initial thoughts and provide you with the VNJ ' s submission guidelines for authors, which contain lots of helpful information, templates and examples.
Step 2: Do a little research
Before you start writing, spend some time reading up on your topic. Try to stick to recent( within the past 5 years) and trustworthy sources. Google Scholar can be a great place to discover reliable, evidence-based sources. Make a note of evidence that supports( or challenges) your ideas and keep a record of each source for your reference list.
VNJ uses the Vancouver referencing style, with citations indicated by numbers( like this [ 1 ]) at the point in the text where you refer to the source. The references are then listed in numerical order( the order they appear in your article) at the end of the article, with details such as the author ' s name, article title, journal title, year of publication, volume and page numbers and, where available, a website address or DOI.
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