The International Writing Group
Anna Richardson from Ara describes the benefits of an academic writing group whose members span the globe.
Our International Writing Group was developed to support nursing faculty and academics globally. My involvement in the group originated from a trip to Mankato, Minnesota that I embarked on in 2016, while on academic study leave. Mankato was recommended to me after I reached out to discover which universities around the world held a reputation for a family nursing orientation.
A well-planned sabbatical or academic study leave can bring many rewards over time, some of them unexpected. During my visit to Mankato, Dr Hans-Peter Ruiter took me on a tour of the Mayo Clinic, in nearby Rochester. After my return to New Zealand, Hans asked if I and any other New Zealand colleagues would be interested in participating in an international writing group. Thus, a gathering of academics came together to participate in a course based on Wendy Laura Belcher’s book Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks.
To accommodate our different time zones, participants were divided into the Pacific region group, with members from Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States, and the Atlantic group, comprising members from the United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, Spain, Austria, Sweden, and South Africa.
The intention of the writing group was to provide a safe, encouraging and participative environment for members to engage in academic writing. One of the group’s outputs is the 2024 paper, "Collaborative International Nursing Writing Group: A Non-Patriarchal Approach,” published in Creative Nursing. Eleven participants from diverse cultural backgrounds and six geographical locations contributed to this article discussing the evolution and approach of the international writing group and assessing its impact.
Participants stated that the writing group provided unique opportunities for advancing their academic writing, along with a sharing of cultural world views. The group’s structure is deliberately ‘flattened’ to avoid formal hierarchies and power distinctions and value each participant’s capacity to contribute. Members hold an ethos of nurturing difference, supporting writing, and speaking English as an additional language while being non-competitive and inclusive.
As the International Writing Group progresses, the team have developed pre- and post- participation surveys to ascertain how useful the writing groups are and to further develop their approach and content. In the future, the writing group hope to initiate a research project to highlight more of what we have learned and gained from being involved in this group and how it supports nursing scholarship globally.
Contact Anna Richardson and see more of her family nursing research