Why write for Dermatological Nursing?

Dermatological Nursing is a quarterly, peer-reviewed publication that aims to provide cutting-edge articles on the treatment and management of dermatological conditions and the care of patients with skin problems.While the focus is on dermatological nursing, the information included will be relevant to other healthcare professionals.

Writing for Dermatological Nursing can be a useful way to help develop and crystallise ideas about a specific topic, and may encourage exploration of an area in greater depth and lead to further understanding. Once you have made the decision to write for Dermatological Nursing, please contact the Managing Editor to ensure that what you are planning to write has not already been commissioned, and that it is appropriate for the readership.

The article should be unpublished and have not been submitted for publication elsewhere.

Major articles published in Dermatological Nursing are available online at IngentaConnect, which offers the most comprehensive collection of academic and professional publications online. More than 5 million articles, available to a global audience, can be accessed by institutional and individual end users on a pay-per-view basis.
Your article will therefore potentially reach a wide-ranging readership in dermatological, medical and nursing circles.

Dermatological Nursing welcomes submissions for publication broadly in the following six categories:

• Clinical Skills/Clinical Review
• Science in Practice
• Research/Audit
• Practice development
• Policy Review
• Case reports

Once your idea has been given the all clear, the following guidelines should be adhered to when preparing your paper for submission.

Title page

The title page should include:

• Title of the article (ideally no more than 10 words)
• The full names of the authors
• Full details of each author’s current appointments, including place of work

Abstract/Summary

This is typeset in bold at the beginning of the article. As a general guide, articles in the Research/Audit section of the journal have abstracts, while those in the other sections have a summary.

• The Abstract should be no longer than 180 words in length and should contain the following headings: Background, Aims, Methods, Results, Conclusions, Declaration of interest.
• The summary should be a very concise (no more than 90 words) accurate statement that captures the reader’s interest by setting the scene for the article.
• Both the Abstract and the Summary should enable the reader to understand the scope and main conclusions of the article without having to read the rest of the paper.

Word  count

Word count for all clinical articles (excluding title page, abstract/summary/tables) should not exceed 2800 words and 20 references. Case reports should not exceed 800 words and 5 references.

Short  introduction

The introduction is designed to capture the reader’s interest by putting the article into the context of current clinical practice, quoting key references. It should also give the reader an idea of the objectives and contents of the paper. It should be clear and inviting.

Methods

For papers describing original work (usually in the Research/ Audit section), a concise but informative account of all techniques (including statistical methods) used should be provided, in order to enable the reader to reproduce the work if necessary. Published/standard methods can be referenced; detail is not necessary. However, variations to the published procedure should be described.

Results

For papers describing original work (usually in the Research/ Audit section), a comprehensive and clear description of results with tables, graphs, etc, is required.As well as presenting data in pictorial form, a narrative account should be given, since the reader should not be expected to interpret results unaided.Where appropriate, statistical procedures should

be used to indicate the variability of results and to test the significance of differences.

Discussion

Papers describing original work (usually in the Research/Audit section) require a discussion.This should not be a repetition of results. It should summarise and interpret your conclusions and comment on their significance in light or what is already known from the literature. Shortcomings in your work should be identified, and suggestions made as to what can be done to extend/confirm your findings.

Conclusions

For all papers, the conclusion should be succinct and logically ordered. It should identify gaps in knowledge and suggest future initiatives.

Headings

Throughout the article, use plenty of headings to break up the text and highlight the main points within the paper. Also remember to indicate the importance attached to each one.

Abbreviation and units

These should be defined at first mention. SI units should always be used.

Key words and key points

Please provide 5 key words to appear at the start of your article, and if possible 3–5 key point sentences that summarise the main themes of your paper.

Tables and illustrations

Tables and illustrations are helpful to demonstrate key data or points to the reader. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that permission is received for reproduction. Please do not supply more than 10 tables or 10 figures. Please ensure all tables and illustrations have a table heading and figure legend, and are cited in the text.

Photographs

No more than 10 figures (photos should be provided as jpeg or tiff (300dpi), permission for reproduction is the author’s responsibility. All should have legends and should be clearly labelled, and cited in the text.

References

Dermatological Nursing uses the Vancouver system of referencing (names cited numerically in text order). The number of references should not exceed 20.

In the reference list:

• References should be listed in numerical order.
• The surname and initials of each author should be given in full for six or fewer authors. For seven or more, the names and initials of the first three should be given, followed by ‘et al’. The sequence for a journal reference is author(s), title, journal, year, volume, issue, page range. The sequence for books is author(s), title, publisher, year, chapter, page range.

Layout and punctuation for journal articles are:
Leigh IM. Progress in skin cancer: the UK experience.
Br J Dermatol 2014, 171(3): 443-5

Sequence, punctuation and layout for books are as follows: Goodman LS, Gillman A. Goodman and Gillman’s the Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. 8th Edn. McGraw Hill, New York. 1990. 2: 6-8

Internet sources should be referenced as: Author or Editor, Year, Title [online]. Place of publication. Available at: <URL> [date accessed] DN

Contact details

For further information, please email Rob Mair, Managing Editor, at rob.mair@pavpub.com