Abstract
The impact of research depends on the effective communication of discoveries. Scientific writing is the primary tool for the dissemination of research, and is an important skill that biomedical trainees have to develop. Despite its importance, scientific writing is not part of the mainstream curriculum. One strategy used to teach scientific writing is holding a journal club style discussion of primary research literature that the students are asked to read. However, this activity can result in a passive learning experience and limit the development of trainees’ scientific writing skills. In order to improve trainees’ written communication skills, we tested an exercise that involved generating a revised article describing prior research, in essence “translating” the science into basic language. Following the guidelines set out by “Frontiers for Young Minds” and feedback received from “Young Reviewers”, we wrote a revised article with a simpler description of the research. In this article, we describe this scientific writing exercise, which may ultimately serve as a model for scientists to share their research more efficiently in order to promote better public health outcomes.
Highlights
Reviewers”, we wrote a revised article with a simpler description of the research. We describe this scientific writing exercise, which may serve as a model for scientists to share their research more efficiently in order to promote better public health outcomes
Health literacy is a fundamental concept in public health that links policy issues in education with outcomes in the health care system [1]
To complement the communication skill development, we focused on a few strategies that enhanced science learning
Summary
Health literacy is a fundamental concept in public health that links policy issues in education with outcomes in the health care system [1]. Since scientific articles are a source of such information, an interesting hypothesis can be put forth—if biomedical articles are translated into a language that the public can understand, health interventions may be more effective. The authors of these publications, namely scientists and health professionals, would be best suited as translators, but the challenge is to refine the language into a simpler description of the science. To complement the communication skill development, we focused on a few strategies that enhanced science learning. The inclusion of artistic techniques (e.g., drawing a representation of the scientific concepts) can blend multiple modes of learning, namely reasoning, communication, and engagement, to improve scientific literacy [5]
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