Publishing in the Oncology Nursing Forum: Nurse Authors, We Need You

In late July and early August, I had the opportunity to attend the International Academy of Nursing Editors annual conference in Dublin, Ireland. The International Academy of Nursing Editors is an international collaborative of nursing editors and publishers, founded in 1982, whose primary mission is to promote best practices in the publishing of nursing journals and books, focusing on nursing theory, science, research, and scholarship. The issues raised at the 2023 conference were informative and deserving of further thought and action so that the dissemination of oncology nursing research and scholarship adapts to changes in the publication landscape while keeping our journals at the forefront, as a favored place for oncology nurses to publish. At the conference, I became more aware of the multiple current and developing issues related to academic publishing, and I think these issues must be considered by oncology nurses at multiple career levels as we consider how changes in the publication landscape may affect the future development and dissemination of oncology nursing scholarly publications.

One issue of concern for all is that there is a burgeoning number of journals within and outside of nursing; during the past 10 years, the number of academic journals has grown by 28.7%, growing at an average rate of 2.56% every year (Curcic, 2023). There are about 250 nursing journals worldwide and 140 nursing journals on the impact factor list (Clarivate, n.d.). In addition to the increasing number, there is concern about predatory journals that lack transparency in many of their practices, such as peer review, indexing, and costs to publish. For nonpredatory journals, issues related to citations from these journals can lead to authors unwittingly citing studies that have not undergone rigorous peer review. Recommendations for nurse authors are not only to not submit articles to predatory journals for publication but also to not cite articles from predatory journals. In addition, nurse authors are cautioned to seek guidance before agreeing to serve as editors, editorial board members, or peer reviewers for these journals (Oermann et al., 2020).

Facilitating the dissemination of nursing science and evidence-based practice–oriented reports from new graduate nurses is another issue that warrants input from oncology nurses and academic institutions. It is not clear where the professional writing skills of the next generation of oncology nursing writers will be developed. As the enrollment in PhD programs of nursing declines over time, how do we continue to develop the most robust oncology nursing science that not only depicts the results of studies but also incorporates, and explicitly references, the implications of research to the further development of nursing-associated theory, practice, and policy? The move to doctoral-level entry for advanced practice RNs has led to wide variability in the scholarly project development over time, establishing a new challenge for developing nurse authors. Although some schools followed American Association of Colleges of Nursing recommendations that each doctor of nursing practice (DNP) project focuses on a change that affects healthcare outcomes and is related to quality improvement, there is significant variability in multiple domains of the project, including whether the project is implemented in a clinical setting; the extent to which it is academic or policy oriented; and whether the project can be carried out by a group. In addition, there is little focus on scholarly writing skills in most DNP programs. A study by Arends and Callies (2022) highlighted the underutilization of knowledge gained in DNP programs and engagement in practice scholarship. Many DNP graduates did not feel that they were prepared for scholarship activities (contributing to publications and preparing and giving presentations). Another issue for oncology nursing is that the development of specialized focus such as oncology may be general and not specific in most DNP programs because of the consensus model of advanced practice nursing (Rounds et al., 2013). The depth of content and application to oncology nursing practice, given the focus on population and setting, may require postgraduate advanced oncology certified nurse practitioner certification in addition to core advanced practice RN certification and licensure. Another issue for nurses with PhD education on the tenure track in many universities is the encouragement to publish outside of nursing in other healthcare journals that may serve a larger, more interprofessional audience. However, it may be that in the message to publish outside of nursing, the nursing in our science will be further discounted and diluted. The move to interdisciplinarity, although serving a need for legitimacy in the past, should no longer be a focus, as the consequent risk of losing the nursing theoretical grounding in research and scholarship dissemination may be intensified.

At the Oncology Nursing Forum, we want to continue the focus on facilitating the dissemination of high-quality oncology nursing theory, science, evidence-based practice, and policy. We want to be “the place” for publishing well-designed research and data-informed quality improvement and evidence-based practice projects with relevance to oncology nursing practice and policy. We strive to be open to authors and audiences, both national and international, and for experienced and newer authors and teams. Our challenge going forward will be to make sure that the large corpus of oncology nurses provides the foundation of our next generation of quality oncology nursing research and evidence-based practice. We welcome your ideas, feedback, and comments regarding the evolution, integration, and expansion of this dissemination in the Oncology Nursing Forum. Please let us know your thoughts and ideas for crafting the desired future for our foundational nursing journals.

About the Author

Debra Lyon, RN, PhD, FNP-BC, FAAN, is the interim dean, executive associate dean, and Kirbo Endowed Chair in the College of Nursing at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Lyon can be reached at ONFEditor@ons.org.