In this article a pharmacist with experience in writing and publishing provides 5 quick tips for pharmacy residents preparing manuscripts
Authored By: Timothy P. Gauthier, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCIDP
Article Posted October 2024, First Released in the June 2024 IDstewardship Newsletter
Tip 1: Start by picking an article type and journal
The article type (e.g., brief report, concise communication) will provide structure guidance (number of words, figures/tables, references allowed). The journal will have published examples of the article type that can be used for reference when constructing the manuscript. These are very important for drafting your outline. If you need to pick a journal, try using the references list you have developed, those journals are likely to be a good fit for your project. When picking an article type be honest with yourself about the novelty and strength of your data. Single center retrospective studies often do not merit 3,000+ word publications.
Tip 2. Determine your major take home points before you draft your title
So often residents use titles that were drafted before an IRB approval and they do not fit the down-stream project manuscript well at all. Determine the topic you want to address in the manuscript and then use the main findings of your project to draft the title. Revisit your title periodically to make sure it matches the manuscript text. Keep in mind a major goal is having your article make sense to any reader that might pick it up. It is all about the reader understanding your paper, it is not about you getting your way. You will not have a lot of words to get the job done, so use them wisely.
Tip 3. Do not get ahead of yourself in writing your manuscript
If you do not know the point of your paper, it is hard to develop a good title. If you do not have the methods developed, it is difficult to write the results to match them with a good flow. If you do not have the results done, it’s hard to write a focused discussion. First focus primarily on your methods and results. Once those are developed along with a plan for your tables/figures, you will know how much text you have for introduction and discussion. My suggestion is to write your discussion last, and write your abstract even after that so you don’t have to keep editing it as your manuscript develops.
Tip 4. Use outlines to guide yourself
Do a simple outline for your discussion and then slowly develop it more and more as you work on other parts of your paper. Use simple bullets with key points or references. Rearrange things to make sense and flow with the rest of the paper. While it is a lot easier to chop content than add content, try not to get too far ahead of yourself, recognizing that you need your methods and results worked out before you can truly write your discussion. This is a process that takes a lot of time to do it well (i.e., give you the best shot for not getting rejected by the journal editors). Do not be surprised if you have to re-write sections of your paper a few times to make the entire manuscript fit together and on-point.
Tip 5. Set deadlines and stick to them
Time seems to go by faster when there is so much going on. The manuscript may be one of the last checkpoints to pass in the residency year, so beware “senioritis” and hold yourself accountable by setting and then sticking to deadlines. You have done so much great work to get to this point and you have a great chance to share what you have learned with the world through a published manuscript. Make deadlines, stick with your project, and see it through to publication!
BONUS TIP: Use artificial intelligence to help you. For example if you get stumped with how to write something, tell AI to write about it and use that to help organize your thoughts. Do not have it write your content for you or put any protected health information in, but certainly you can use it as a tool within your process. Some AI websites to check out include Dall-E for images, ChatGPT or Google Gemini for text, Suno for music generation, Microsoft Copilot for document analysis, and Plus for presentations.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions presented in this article represent those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of any previous, current, or potential future employer.
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