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Writing Across the Curriculum: Strategies to Improve the Writing Skills of Nursing Students
Author(s) -
Hawks Sharon J.,
Turner Kathleen M.,
Derouin Anne L.,
Hueckel Rémi M.,
Leonardelli Adrianne K.,
Oermann Marilyn H.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
nursing forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.618
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1744-6198
pISSN - 0029-6473
DOI - 10.1111/nuf.12151
Subject(s) - cinahl , curriculum , subject (documents) , medline , medical education , nurse education , psychology , nursing , medicine , pedagogy , computer science , library science , psychological intervention , political science , law
Background Writing across the curriculum ( WAC ) is a strategy in which writing instruction occurs in classes outside of composition, literature, and other English courses. This literature review was conducted to identify and synthesize the peer‐reviewed literature about WAC in nursing education. Methods The team performed searches of MEDLINE ( PubMed ), CINAHL P lus W ith F ull T ext, and ERIC for articles published between J anuary 2003 and A pril 2014. A combination of M edical S ubject H eading terms (or equivalent) and keywords were used to create the database search strategies. Results There were 48 articles that discussed WAC . Most of the papers described writing courses in nursing programs, strategies to teach writing to nursing students, and writing activities or assignments within nursing courses. High‐level evidence examining the impact of writing strategies and exercises in courses and occurring across the curriculum was lacking. Only 18 (37.5%) of these papers were evaluative; most of the databased articles were either author observations or perceptions of changes in students' writing ability, or low‐level research studies. Conclusions Strategies, assignments, and courses intended to promote writing skills of nursing students were documented in this literature review; however, further evaluation is needed to determine which are most effective.HawksTurnerDerouinHueckelLeonardelliOermann