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Nursing students need the necessary resources to successfully complete a professional paper writing assignment. The purpose of this article is to describe resource support and evaluation strategies used in a professional paper writing assignment in a baccalaureate nursing program. The impetus for the study is to address the need for nursing faculty to move students toward writing proficiency while improving their information management skills. Students need resources to successfully complete professional papers due to the need for mining relevant professional sources, assistance with editing, and refinement of paper gained through peer feedback. Methods include evaluation of the interdisciplinary resource collaboration with campus librarians (information literacy), campus writing center tutorial oversight, and peer reviewer support and feedback. Student evaluation of the teaching strategy found the resources helpful for completion of the writing assignment and the collaborative learning with campus colleagues and writing experts beneficial.

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Effective writing is vital to nursing practice. As educators, we sought to incorporate a meaningful writing assignment as part of a junior-level professional development course. We used innovative methods that support the missions of higher education in general and nursing education in particular while promoting healthful living and establishing the community-as-client. In addition to fostering health education and health promotion, this writing assignment served to enhance students' writing skills and provide them with an opportunity to have their work published. The venue for publication was The Auburn Villager, a weekly local newspaper with a circulation of 6,000 within the local community in East Alabama. The writing assignment was a tremendous success on many levels. Foremost among the positive outcomes was student pride in experiencing publication of their creative work. In addition, students reported a feeling of satisfaction that the assignment had both practical and educational utility.

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