Table Of ContentWritten Communication in Family Medicine
Written Communication
in FalTIily Medicine
By the Task Force on Professional Communication
Skills of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
Edited by
Robert B. Taylor, MD.
Katharine A. Munning, PhD.
Springer-Verlag
New York Berlin Heidelberg Tokyo
Robert B. Taylor, M.D. Katharine A. Munning, Ph.D.
Department of Family Practice Department of Community and
The Oregon Health Sciences University Family Medicine
School of Medicine Duke University Medical Center
Portland, Oregon 97201 Durham, North Carolina 27706
U.S.A. U.SA
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Written communication in family medicine.
Includes index.
1. Family medicine-Authorship. 2. Medical writing.
I. Taylor, Robert B. II. Munning, Katharine A. [DNLM:
1. Communication-Methods. 2. Family practice. WZ 345
W956]
R729.5.G4W75 1984 808'.06661 84-5408
With 6 Figures
© 1984 by Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Softcover reprint of the hard cover 1st edition 1984
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any
form without written permission from Springer-Verlag, 175 Fifth Avenue, New
York, New York 10010, U.S A
The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc., in this
publication, even if the former are not especially identified, is not to be taken as a
sign that such names, as understood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks
Act, may accordingly be used freely by anyone.
While the advice and information of this book is believed to be true and accurate at
the date of going to press, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can
accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The
publisher makes no warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to material
contained herein.
ISBN-13: 978-0-387-90979-0 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-5248-1
DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4612-5248-1
Preface
This work presents the knowledge and skills necessary for successful
written communication in family medicine. It is intended for use by
teachers of family medicine who, as part of their academic responsibilities,
are called upon to produce written documents in a wide variety of areas.
The book has also been written to serve as a resource for leaders
presenting faculty development activities in various aspects of written
communication, including writing for publication, administrative and
educational communication, and other topics of interest to academicians.
The Task Force on Professional Communication Skills was formed in
1981 as an initiative of the Board of Directors and the Communications
Committee of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM). In early
meetings, the Task Force defined its goal as improvement of the
communication skills-both written and oral-of STFM members. A
survey of Task Force members revealed that the greatest challenges lay in
the area of written communication skills, although the needs are not
confined to medical article and book writing, but extend to the full range of
academic communication. The Task Force set as its first task the creation of
a monograph on written communication in family medicine.
The work that follows is a joint effort of the Task Force on Professional
Communication Skills and a group of selected authors. Robert Taylor has
been the project coordinator; Katharine Munning has written the faculty
development activities for each topic. The editors wish to thank the
authors and the STFM staff members who have worked on this project.
We hope that our fellow STFM members find the following chapters
useful.
v
Contents
Part I Writing Skills
1 Elements of Composition 3
John J. Frey
2 On Writing: Getting Started, Getting Stuck, and 17
Getting Finished
Gay C. Kitson
Part II Writing for Publication
3 Writing a Medical Article 33
Joseph E. Scherger and Robert B. Taylor
4 Seeking Publication: General Issues and Tips 43
Pamela La Vigne
5 Writing for Communication with the Public 65
Susan Okie
vii
viii Contents
Part III Administrative Communication
6 Administrative Communication by Written 81
Correspondence
E.P. Donatelle
Part IV Educational Communication
7 Grant Getting 125
Carole J. Bland and Maureen M. Moo-Dodge
8 Curriculum and Instructional Applications 145
Katharine A. Munning
9 Writing Patient Education Materials 159
Don W. Bradley and Bruce F. Currie
Part V Common Interest Areas
10 The Editorial Process of Family Medicine 175
Joan S. Carmichael and Lynn P. Carmichael
11 Selected Publishing Sources in Family Medicine 183
Jane Barclay Mandel
12 A Short Annotated Bibliography for Authors 195
Thomas E. Crowder
Appendix I 205
Appendix II 210
Appendix III 213
Appendix IV 216
Appendix V 230
Index 247
Contributors
Carole J. Bland, Ph.D., Department of Family Practice and Community
Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota,
U.s.A.
Don W. Bradley, M.D., Duke-Watts Family Medicine Program and Depart
ment of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University Medical
Center, Durham, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Joan S. Carmichael, Ph.D., Department of Epidemiology and Public Health,
University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
Lynn P. Carmichael, M.D., Department of Family Medicine, University of
Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
Thomas E. Crowder, B.D., M.L.S., Division of Graduate Education, Depart
ment of Family Medicine, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami,
Florida, U.S.A.
Bruce F. Currie, Ph.D., Sisters of St. Mary Regional Family Practice
Residency, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A.
ix
x Contributors
E. P. Donatelle, MD., Department of Family and Community Medicine,
University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, Kansas,
U.S.A.
John J. Frey, M.D., Department of Family Medicine, University ()f North
Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Gay C. Kitson, Ph.D., Department of Family Medicine, Case Western
Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
Pamela LaVigne, Department of Family Practice and Community Health,
University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.
Jane Barclay Mandel, Ph.D., Department of Family Practice, Medical College
of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Maureen M. Moo-Dodge, M.A., Title III, Minneapolis Community College,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.
Katharine A. Munning, Ph.D., Department of Community and Family
Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina,
U.S.A.
Susan Okie, M.D., Department of Family Medicine, University of C()nnecticut
School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut, U.S.A.
Joseph E. Scherger, M.D., Department of Family Practice, University of
California-Davis, Davis, California, U.S.A.
Robert B. Taylor, M.D., Department of Family Practice, The Oregon Health
Sciences University School of Medicine, Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
I
Part
Writing Skills
1
Chapter
Elements of Composition
John J. Frey
Idea Development
The scribes of ancient Egypt were among the earliest groups of writers.
They held a special place in the culture of that time, serving as the conduit
for information, both mundane and sacred. Excavation of the cities of
artisans who constructed the temples and tombs of the pharoahs has
revealed a mixture of letters, prayers, shopping lists, contracts, and general
messages among people of the time. The scribes were not, I imagine,
writing for readers 3500 years later. However, scholars now use those
shopping lists and contracts to understand ancient Egyptians better and, by
inference, understand ourselves.
Being a scribe is also a craft. Various individuals in early Egypt could
sculpt, draw, sing, or govern. Others had responsibility for developing the
craft of writing. Although a difficult occupation, it was one full of pleasures.
As one scribe wrote to his son in 1400 B.C. from Deir el Medina in the
Valley of the Kings:
There is no office free from supervisors except the scribes. He is the supervisor!
The office of scribe is greater than any office. There is nothing like it on
earth.
We are the scribes of the late twentieth century. Our literature becomes
a time capsule.
3
