10 Strategies Nurse Writers Use to Ensure Their Content is Accurate and Well-Researched

Nurse writers blend a passion for nursing with a love of writing and creating content. An essential function of a nurse writer is to create content that is engaging, relevant, up-to-date, accurate, and in compliance with healthcare regulations. Unfortunately, there is an abundance of misinformation available to the public. Creating articles, blogs, or social media posts that are evidence-based, interesting, and professional can be a challenge. To assist you in producing the most impactful content, we will share ten strategies freelance nurse writers can use to ensure a stand-out article. Read on to discover these easy-to-use strategies for creating credible and informational content.

How Do Nurse Writers Ensure Their Content is Up-to-date with the Latest Medical Research?

• Look for recent articles published within the last five years. Keeping up-to-date with medical research is vital to ensuring your subject matter is timely and relevant. The world of medicine is rapidly changing. The addition of new treatments, medications, and recommendations means that information more than five years old is, well, old news.
• Don’t forget your continuing education. There is no better way to stay on top of all the changes in healthcare than to learn from continuing education. To keep an active state license, nurses must remain current with many continuing education hours. You may need to complete more continuing education in these specialized areas if you have additional licenses or certifications. Completing continuing education, in turn, keeps you up-to-date on various healthcare topics.
• Be a member of a professional nursing organization. Professional nursing organizations keep their members updated on the latest advancements in many areas of nursing. These organizations often hold local, state, or national conferences where you can learn the latest medical research and meet subject matter experts. Additional perks of professional nursing organization memberships include access to recent journal articles and free or discounted continuing education.

What Strategies Do Nurse Writers Use to Ensure Their Content is Accurate and Well-Researched?

• Read, read, and read some more before you even write. Read all that you can on the topic before starting to write. Understanding the content will ensure you deliver accurate information. Being well-read on the subject matter before writing will also give you more than one perspective on the topic.
• Put those critical thinking skills to work. As a nurse, you are an expert at critically evaluating research and summarizing essential points. You can also analyze evidence-based research to assess its application to healthcare. Using your critical thinking and analyzing skills will translate well-researched data into easy-to-understand messages in your articles, blogs, or social media posts. 
• Use credible sources. When researching a topic, avoid going down the misinformation rabbit hole. Unreliable information is abundant on the internet. As a nurse writer, you must ensure your content has accurate information. Therefore, you should make sure the research you are reading is from a credible source. Read peer-reviewed articles, and always look for websites ending in .edu, .gov, or a country code domain like .uk or .au.
• Phone a friend. Do you know someone who is a subject matter expert? If so, discuss your topic with them. You may even have a friend of a friend who is an expert in the topic you are writing about. They can lead you to sources of reliable information you have yet to read, or they may agree to allow you to formally interview them for the article.

How Can Nurse Writers Ensure Their Content is Credible and in Compliance with Healthcare Regulations?

• Follow HIPAA Guidelines. Every nurse knows the acronym HIPAA, the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Just as in the clinical setting, you cannot share any private information about a patient. Ever. Suppose you are creating a case study for your content. In that case, you must change the patient’s name, date of birth, or any other possible identifying factors to never even suggest private information about a patient. 
• Remember what you have already learned. You have either current or past nursing experience in a healthcare system that uses specific processes, policies, and procedures. Remember learning to use medical equipment, perform nursing procedures, and understand medication policies? This nursing background can aid you in creating content that is accurate and in compliance with healthcare regulations. If you have been out of the clinical arena for a while, read up on current healthcare policies and regulations to stay up-to-date as part of your research.  
• Practice Professionalism. As a nurse, you are a member of what has been deemed the most trusted profession. Nurses are honest and held to a high ethical standard. Your content as a nurse writer must also portray this set of values. Keeping your professional foundation while you are producing content will serve you in maintaining your compliance with healthcare regulations. 

As a nurse writer, you can always find ways to fine-tune your health-related content writing skills. Clients expect your content to be up-to-date, accurate, well-researched, and compliant with healthcare regulations. Using the ten tips we described, you can now confidently engage the audience with credible, up-to-date content while maintaining the professionalism that nurses are well-known for.

References

George, T. (2021, August 26). What are credible sources & how to spot them | Examples. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/credible-sources/

Write RN LLC. (2022, August 18). 7 steps to writing healthcare content. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-steps-writing-healthcare-content-write-rn-llc/?trk=pulse-article_more-articles_related-content-card