Evaluating the Teaching Strategies and Impact of Medical Writing and Publishing Workshops on Scholarly Productivity: Moving Toward Creating Evidence and Standard Tools in Medical Journalology

Abstract

Background: In the absence of full-term courses on medical writing and publishing in health-related graduate programs, short-term sessions, including workshops, play an important role in educating medical researchers. This dissertation deepens our understanding of the current related literature, moving towards creating evidence and standard tools in medical journalology. Method: The first paper is a systematic review and meta-analysis of 45 articles addressing the impact of such workshops. The second article is another systematic review of 30 articles addressing the content and teaching strategies used to transfer medical writing knowledge to participants. The third article is a meta-synthesis of 17 articles with qualitative data addressing the experiences of participants in such workshops. The fourth paper reports on devising the first trustworthy measurement tool to evaluate confidence in medical writing and publishing. Finally, the fifth paper reports on the effect of a hands-on workshop on participants’ confidence in writing a standard medical article. Results: The findings included: 1- The included studies were generally small, with questionable validity, and inconclusive regarding the effects of such training both as individual articles and in the aggregate. 2- The standard structure of medical articles, using optimal English language for writing, publication ethics, and tips on how to improve the chances of publication were the main topics presented in workshops. 3- Participants felt workshops increased scholarly productivity and could create an empowering atmosphere. 4- The first measurement tool to assess confidence in medical writing was valid (≥0.75 for content and convergent validity) and reliable (≥0.92 for internal and temporal reliability). 5- A well-structured hands-on workshop can enhance participants' confidence in writing different parts of a standard medical article and using the English language for writing. Conclusion: This dissertation provides unique and novel insights about current medical journalolgy literature, offers the first trustworthy measurement tool for this area, and addresses the impact of well-structured workshops by using the mentioned tool.