International Writing Collaborative

Sigma Theta Tau Writing Collaborative - Another exciting international/global health initiative that is being supported by the School of Nursing is an international writing collaborative project that is being co-sponsored by the UAB Nu Chapter of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), along with theTho Upsilon STTI Chapter in Brazil and the Tau-Lambda Chapter in Africa. The idea for the project developed in November 2005 during the Sigma Theta Tau International Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana. A small group of nurses representing chapters from three different continents met casually for dinner. The attendees included Maria Caliri (Brazil), Rosalina Rodrigues (Brazil), Leana Uys (South Africa), Lynda Harrison (USA) and Pam Autrey (USA). During the course of the evening Maria Caliri mentioned the Brazilian faculty's desire to publish in peer-reviewed English nursing journals. The primary language in Brazil is Portuguese. This was considered to a barrier to getting published. Thus the brainstorming began. It did not take long for this group to birth the idea of creating a virtual international writing collaborative with a mentoring focus. Two writing teams would be formed. Each team would consist of two members from each chapter, for a total of six members on each team. The goal of the writing collaborative would to assist the 12 members in the production of a manuscript worthy of submission for publication. The collaborative requires a one-year commitment from all involved participants.

When the nurses returned to their respective chapters, the idea was received with great enthusiasm and anticipation by each Board of Directors and the Deans of their respective Schools of Nursing. Each chapter identified a chapter member to coordinate the activity of the writing collaborative. The selected coordinators are Maria Caliri (Rho Upsilon Chapter, Brazil), Lyn Middleton (Tau-Lambda Chapter, Africa) and Dianne Richmond (Nu Chapter, USA). The coordinators have accomplished much since they began meeting in January 2006. Accomplishments to date include: (a) Sending out a call to chapter members to participate in the writing collaborative; (b) Reviewing and selecting 13 participants for the two writing groups (4 from Alabama, 5 from Africa, and 4 from Brazil); (c) Developing documents defining roles and responsibilities of participants and coordinators; (d)Setting up three cyber forums for group interaction: one for coordinators, and one for each of the two virtual writing groups; (e) Creation of a time line and work plan that progress toward the goals and objectives of the writing collaborative; and (f) Developing plans for research to describe the process and outcomes of the collaborative to facilitate project replication and operational research.

The project aligns itself well with components of Sigma Theta Tau International's strategic plan of (a) Advancing global links at the organizational and member levels; (b) Advancing the scientific base of nursing practice through the scholarship of research; and (c) Stimulating scholarly practice in the professional lives of members. In August, 2006, this project was awarded a STTI Regional Showcase of Excellence Award! Nu Chapter Sigma Theta Tau International website.

The three coordinators of the Collaborative have also published a book chapter on their work (Richmond, D., Caliri, M. H. L., & Middleton, L. 2007. Writing collaborative. In S. M. Weinstein & A. M. T. Brooks, Eds. Nursing without borders. Indianapolis, Indiana: Sigma Theta Tau, International, 171-178).

Watch for further information on this web page for the next call for participants in this Writing Collaborative in 2008!