Improving Scientific Writing Skills and Publishing Capacity by Developing University-Based Editing System and Writing Programs

Scholarly article writing and publishing in international peer-reviewed journals can become an overwhelming task for many medical, nursing, and healthcare professionals in a university setting, especially in countries whose native language is not English. To help improve their scientific writing skills and publishing capacity, a university-based editing system and writing programs can be developed as educational platforms. These are delivered by a team of specialist editors composed of tenured faculty members who have a strong medical background and extensive experience in teaching courses on medical research, editing, writing, and publishing. For the editing system, the specialist editors provide comprehensive editing, personalized consultation, full editorial support after peer review, guidance with online submissions/resubmissions, and detailed editorial review at different stages of the manuscript writing. In addition, the specialist editors can develop writing programs such as medical writing and editing internships, academic courses in medical writing or research study designs and reporting standards, special interactive lectures and sessions on predatory publishing, seminars on updated editorial guidance of global editorial associations, academic visits on medical writing and editing, medical writing mentoring program, networking programs in scholarly communication, and publication resources in medical writing and scholarly publishing. These editing system and writing programs can serve as integrated platforms for improving scientific writing skills and publishing capacity by providing continuing education in medical writing, editing, publishing, and publication ethics.

Evaluación de una plataforma educativa en la Universidad de Concepción, Chile / Assessment of an educational platform at the University of Concepción, Chile

Introducción: se creó una plataforma educativa en una asignatura preclínica de la Carrera de Odontología de la Universidad de Concepción para innovar en los métodos de enseñanza aprendizaje y favorecer un traspaso más fluido de destrezas prácticas a los estudiantes. Objetivo: evaluar cómo perciben los estudiantes la aplicación de innovación en tecnologías de información y comunicación. Métodos: se implementó una aplicación Web mediante una plataforma tipo Moodle, la cual proporciona un ambiente de aprendizaje semipresencial con material de fácil lectura, reforzado con archivos de audio, imagen, animación y video. Resultados: los estudiantes interactúan en foros, tutorías y chats, generándose un entorno de aprendizaje colaborativo y obteniendo como resultado, una plataforma que trasciende a un mero repositorio de material escrito o información teórica. Conclusiones: la implementación de la plataforma favorece el aprendizaje significativo del estudiante al verse implicado en él directamente, integrando conocimientos, con capacidad de trabajo autónomo optimizando el tiempo(AU)

Introduction: An educational platform was created in a preclinical subject of the dental surgery major of the University of Concepción, in order to innovate the teaching methods and to promote a more fluid transfer of practical skills to the students. Objective: To assess how students perceive the application of innovation in information and communication technologies. Methods: A Web application was implemented using a Moodle-like platform, which provides a blended learning environment with easy-to-read material, strengthened with audio, image, animated and video files. Results: The students interact in forums, tutorials and chats, generating a collaborative learning environment and obtaining, as a result, a platform that transcends a mere repository of written material or theoretical information. Conclusions: The implementation of the platform favors the student significant learning as he or she is directly involved in the process, integrating knowledge, with autonomous work capacity, and optimizing time(AU)