Here goes – putting the challenge out there to mental health researchers, scholars and practitioners…

During the month of August – write a paper! In a team – alone… just write.

Just 300 words on Monday, Wednesday and Friday… for just 3 weeks… 2700 words later – you have a manuscript… ready for peer review… or a book chapter ready to contribute… or a professional society magazine article ready to submit… or a blog… or a pod cast… or a case study for a new course…. it… is… that… easy!

Each week until the end of August, I will be posting tips and curating ideas of others to motivate and encourage writers through the month. Keep an eye on:

• https://www.facebook.com/ResearchReady/
• https://twitter.com/RhondaWilsonMHN or @rhondawilsonmhn
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/assocprofrhondawilson/
• https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rhonda_Wilson3

Why write? Because…

If you are a researcher – you have been entrusted with data derived from human participants… you are ethically bound to disseminate… and the way you manage your research communications and disseminate your discussions, methods and results is critical to the development of sound evidence based practice. What you do informs practitioners, educators and policy makers and helps them ensure they can utilise  information to improve human health – you owe it to your participants and society! Check out this paper about advocacy and dissemination if you need more convincing!

If you are a scholar and educator – you have been entrusted with students – the future of mental health care delivery lies in your hands. How you teach… how you motivate your students to learn… the pedagogy you use… the philosophy you use… the cases and activities you have success with… this all matters greatly! Write about your teaching practice, your teaching and learning research, review and discuss curriculum. Without your knowledge, the future of mental health care hits the brakes… you owe it to your students… and your careers!

If you are a clinician – you have been entrusted with providing care to some of the most vulnerable people in the world. Your practice knowledge is vital to the successful implementation of mental health care globally. How do you deliver care? What pressing clinical matters do you deal with everyday? Where do we succeed? Where do we need to improve? How do you be an excellent, caring practitioner? What case studies do you deal with as real life human stories? Where does the ‘rubber hit the road’? your practical knowledge is valuable and needed. There are plenty of opportunities to share it! Ethically. And… you owe it to your patients, consumers, service users, carers and to the discipline you represent.

What should you write: 

• a case study
• literature review
• a critique of the method you are working on
• a clinical guideline
• a learning plan
• your story
• a practice review
• an analysis of a technique
• the list could go on… add your own idea, or contact me if you would like some feedback on an idea brewing in your mind!

Join the fun…and the collegiality of writing together – but apart… encouraged and motivated in the rather lonely work of dissemination. It is my intention to have some fun with writing this month… I hope you will come on the journey with me… and who knows… we may do humanity some good, as we do! Follow on… and pick up your pen… tap on your keys… ready, set – WRITE!