Co-authorship--a means to an end

Abstract

Nursing Praxis in New Zealand (Praxis) seeks to foster publication as a medium for the development of nursing research and scholarship within the New Zealand nursing community. To achieve that vision, this journal has a strong commitment to supporting nurses to write and prepare manuscripts for publication. This article is a continuation of the Praxis Writing for Publication series and it seeks to explore the way in which co-authorship can be an effective tool for assisting authors to publish. As there is so much clinical innovation and critique happening in New Zealand at present, along with the completion of a considerable amount of nursing research, we are surprised that Praxis is not being overwhelmed with manuscripts. Reflecting on our own experiences of completing research, and then having to find the extra energy from somewhere to disseminate the research findings, we appreciate just how daunting the process of writing an article can be. However, writing does not have to be overwhelmingly difficult, or a solitary activity. We believe that co-authorship is one means of overcoming perceived barriers to submitting manuscripts for publication.