What I’m Working On: Tips and Tricks to Better Blood Pressure Control

Are you fed up with having elevated blood pressure and have tried lifestyle modifications to get your blood pressure down without success? Did you know that almost half of Americans have trouble controlling their blood pressure despite cheap and even free well-tolerated medications available to treat elevated blood pressure? We know that hypertension must be controlled to prevent  morbidity and mortality, but before the hypertension landmark trials done at Veterans Affairs Hospitals in the late 60's and early 70's, we thought that uncontrolled blood pressure was not a problem. As the story goes, due to our lack of knowledge about hypertension, many died from uncontrolled blood pressure, which is also called the "silent killer." For example, our president Franklin D.  Roosevelt loss his life to a stroke after suffering from uncontrolled blood pressure. Before that, Tuskegee University founder, Booker T. Washington, died from hypertension due to the lack of treatment available.

If you have hypertension or know someone who does, I have some advice for you. But first a disclosure, I am not a medical doctor. I am a hypertension coach. I lead the Circulation Network at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), a hypertension support group for employees and their families. I have over four years of experience attending in a hypertension specialty clinic, have investigated hypertension self-management since 2008, and have over 20 years of experience as a registered nurse specializing in cardiovascular disease and hypertension self-management. I also have been a lead research coordinator on the landmark clinical trial, Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT: https://www.sprinttrial.org/public/dspHome.cfm). Most recently, I developed an effective quality improvement effort in one Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) at the Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital. I am now spreading these quality improvement efforts to other PACTs in primary care.

What I know for sure is that, for many people, blood pressure can be controlled by routine lifestyle modifications, including a healthy diet and a regular exercise routine. If this does not work for you, you may want to ask your doctor about well-tolerated anti-hypertensive medications that help most people manage high blood pressure. A small percentage of people have what is called refractory hypertension, which is blood pressure that is difficult to control despite an adequate regimen of blood pressure medication. Generally, unless you have secondary causes of hypertension or you have refractory hypertension, you should be able to maintain blood pressure control.

So, why. then, are so many people -- one in two hypertensive people -- walking around with uncontrolled high blood pressure? We really do not know why only about 50% of Americans who have been diagnosed with hypertension have controlled blood pressure. We do know that lack of access to prescription medication, medication costs, poor medication adherence, physician inertia, and other barriers are reasons to consider.

As a coach, I believe that not knowing your blood pressure target goal, not understanding the seriousness of the consequences of failing to maintain your target, not knowing what actions to take and when to take actions and the lack of motivation to take action might underpin those barriers. I tell my patients "You can meet your target and maintain control of your blood pressure with 5 simple tips and tricks." The tips are listed below and the tricks are in parentheses.

1)    Know your BP target goal. (Ask your doctor if your target goal is 120/80 mm Hg, 135/85 mm Hg, 140/90 mm Hg, 150/90 mm Hg, or some other target goal. Your target goal may vary from that of other people you know based on your individual health profile. Maintain your target goal, and make an appointment to see your doctor if your blood pressure is not controlled).

2)    Understand the seriousness of the consequences of failing to maintain your target. (The consequences of uncontrolled blood pressure are serious, including resistant hypertension, stroke, heart attack, kidney disease, and blindness, to name a few. For insight, talk with someone who has had any of these complications, or talk with someone whose family member has suffered any of these complications).

3)    Know when to monitor your blood pressure. (The national blood pressure guidelines recommend that most people with high blood pressure should monitor their blood pressure at home. Ask your doctor if home blood pressure monitoring is right for you and ask when should you monitor your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is uncontrolled, ask your doctor if your medication needs to be adjusted. According to the national hypertension guidelines, the average person will need at least 2 medications for blood pressure control).

4)    Know what actions to take (Ask your doctor what actions to take for elevated blood pressure, what would be a severe reading, and what actions to take for severe readings. Take your medication as prescribed, and report any medication side effects as soon as possible to get the most effective and most tolerated medication for you. Join a hypertension support group to get ideas of how others cope with hypertension. Consult a Hypertension Health Coach to work with you and your doctor to maintain your target goal blood pressure. See links below).

5)    Know the Life Simple 7 and adopt at least one behavior  at a time  (Use a health coach who has education and training in hypertension self-management to motivate you to adapt these behaviors to maintain blood pressure control).

Resources

1. American Heart Association: American Heart Association backs current blood pressure treatments http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/PreventionTreatmentofHighBloodPressure/American-Heart-Association-backs-current-BP-treatments_UCM_459129_Article.jsp#.VkeE4Mqz5e8.

2. American Heart Association: Symptoms Diagnosis: Monitoring of High Blood Pressure http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/SymptomsDiagnosisMonitoringofHighBloodPressure/Home-Blood-Pressure-Monitoring_UCM_301874_Article.jsp#.VkeGAcqz5e8.

3. American Heart Association: Life Simple 7

              http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/Lifes-Simple-7-Eat-Better_UCM_449577_Article.jsp#.VkeGZsqz5e8)

4. Minority Health and Disparity Research Center HealthSmart Center Hypertension Health Coach http://www.uab.edu/healthsmart/18-news-and-events/72-lower-your-high-bp

5. Publix Free Medication Program http://www.publix.com/pharmacy-wellness/pharmacy/pharmacy-services/free-medication-program

6. University of Alabama Circulation Network Hypertension Support Group

              https://www.uab.edu/humanresources/home/wellness/prevention-health  

              management/circulation-network

7. $4 Medication http://www.walmart.com/cp/1078664?povid=5431+|+contentZone1+|+2014-11-01+|+1+|+LN-Value+Image+4+Dollar+Prescriptions

Writing for the Public: Scientific Storytelling

By Stephanie Robert

Storytelling is an ancient form of communication. Before written language existed, oral storytelling was the primary method of sharing knowledge and experiences between generations. For example, in this country, Native Americans developed a rich body of stories to explain everything from creation, birth, and death to the coming of the Europeans. Without written records, their stories entertained while informing, effectively creating a lasting memory that could be recalled and retold.

A common attribute shared by successful scientists is their ability to tell a story. As a biochemist, I am completing doctoral studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), focusing on the mechanisms of brain tumor associated seizures and epilepsy. One quality I most admire of my PhD mentor is his ability to paint a picture with words that captivate both fellow scientists and non-scientists alike. Believe me, I am taking notes on more than biochemical mechanisms.

I realize that effectively communicating research is fundamental to science; yet, to many of us scientists, creating a narrative with data seems foreign and unfamiliar. When writing for the public, this means rising to the challenge of getting on the average person's level. That is why the novelist John Steinbeck, in researching his naturalist's guide, The Log from the Sea of Cortez, wrote: "We have not known a single great scientist who could not discourse freely and interestingly with a child.”

Luckily, there are a multitude of online resources offering tips on effective science communication, however, I have found that the most valuable resource is learning from mentors who have themselves mastered this skill. Working together on many abstracts, publications, and oral presentations, my PhD mentor molded me into a scientific storyteller, and I encourage every young scientist to seek out a mentor that can do the same. This skill is not only important for grant writing and publications, but it is our responsibility to communicate effectively with the public and share our discoveries with them.

As scientists, we must learn to be storytellers. We must not only gather data, but also develop a narrative of what our discoveries tell us about the world. Science is our story, and it is incredibly important that we learn how to tell it, because it really is an amazing one.

A few resources:

12 Tips for Scientists Writing for the General Public 

http://www.americanscientist.org/blog/pub/12-tips-for-scientists-writing-for-the-general-public

Scientific storytelling helps researchers communicate their findings in a competitive publishing environment
http://www.scilogs.com/from_the_lab_bench/scientific-storytelling-helps-researchers-communicate-their-findings-in-a-competitive-publishing-environment/

Storytelling of Science (YouTube series with some of today's famous scientists)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpeVWqjQEoc 

A Space Odyssey: Tips and Tricks for Science Writers to Avoid Disaster

By Kim Davey and Karen Albright

“I’ve just picked up a fault in the AE35 unit. It’s going to go 100% failure in 72 hours.”

- Hal from 2001: Space Odyssey

(Photo Credit: Nasa on the Commons- Flickr)

Granted, 2001 Space Odyssey is science fiction, but as a science/research writer, do you sometimes find yourself on a crash course with a writing disaster? Perhaps you received feedback that identifies a number of ‘'faults" in your writing. Or, you have 72 hours to meet a submission deadline and feel that failure is eminent. Or, you are exploring territory that no one has ever mapped before.

The point is: Scientific writing can feel like a space odyssey. Especially to aspiring scholars. Luckily, we were able to avoid a collision on recent projects and would like to provide a few tips and tricks to help you do likewise on your next manuscript mission. These insights are based on our combined professional experience, our teamwork in an online research writing course, GRD 728, from the UAB Graduate School's Professional Development Program (PDP), and recommendations from R. Day and B. Gastel (2011) in their book How to Write and Publish Scientific Paper.

Tip 1: Create a flight plan - or manuscript outline.

• Trick 1: Create an outline of the points that you want to address in your manuscript, including issues of title, authorship, journal selection, or analyses. Ideally, the outline will include table shells and figure legends that will appear in the manuscript. It will also incorporate "writer's math" writer's math" to ensure that you don't overwrite or underwrite, based on the maximum word limit your journal allows for your article type. 

Tip 2: Identify and consult with your co-captain and flight crew.

• Trick 2: Identify a mentor or trusted colleague on your research team. Ideally, s/he will be close to your level of experience. Begin the conversation by sharing your outline with him/her. Ask if s/he would be willing to review your outline (which is something they can do quickly if it is a high-level skeletal document, 1-2 pages, with bullet points on each paragraph topic.) For more on strategic outlining, see our companion wiki resource, WritingIntheZone.

Tip 3: Review your flight plan – or manuscript outline.

• Trick 3: Meet with your mentor or colleague to discuss your outline. Listen carefully to the feedback you receive concerning your outline. Do not take personal offense to changes suggested. If they seem reasonable, incorporate them. If they don’t seem entirely reasonable, counter with a different suggestion. Negotiate back and forth until both parties can agree on the outline. (This can be done via e-mail, but in-person or on the phone is preferable.) Remember, your team is helping you avoid disaster.

Tip 4: Begin your mission – or writing.

• Trick 4: Create a first draft of your manuscript using the agreed upon outline. Circulate this draft to your mentor or colleague and repeat the process of back and forth negotiation-- offers, counter offers, etc. until both parties agree on a working draft. 

Tip 5: Ensure you are on course by checking with your flight crew.

• Trick 5: Circulate a clean copy of the agreed upon working draft of your manuscript to the remaining co-authors. Welcome their feedback, but request that they provide it within 2 weeks or 10 working days. (Time will vary depending on situation.)

Tip 6: Meet with the commander to finish your mission.

• Trick 6: After everyone has had a chance to review the edits/comments of the other authors, meet with the senior author (or commander). As a team, discuss the feedback and make decisions on what to incorporate and what not to incorporate. Depending on the project, team members, and the project dynamics you may want to repeat steps 5 and 6 after meeting with your team.

One final piece of advice. Spaceships, like writers, have finite fuel resources and equipment tolerance levels. So trips cannot exceed a certain number of days, weeks, or months. Determine a target deadline at the start of your mission and budget your research, writing, reviewing, and editing time accordingly. If you really want to to meet a deadline and work efficiently, define mission specifications by creating a writer's SMART plan, as describe in the blog, GradHacker.

Then, after hitting the send button to submit your manuscript, enjoy a smooth reentry into life on earth. 

Reference:

Day, R.A. & Gastel, B. (2011). How to write and publish scientific paper (7th ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood.

Photo Credit:

NASA on the Commons. (1970, June 30). Soyuz spacecraft in orbit [Digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/9457864309/

What I'm Working On: Innovative Leadership in Health

Posted by Tonya Breaux-Shropshire

Creativity is a thinking process that gives us the ability to generate ideas, and innovation puts those ideas into practice to create value. Leading companies, such a General Electric and Google, are famous for using innovation to create value. But hospitals? Well, we may be less well-known as innovators, but that is starting to change.

I say that as I move forward with a new quality improvement program to increase innovation in the staff at UAB Hospital and the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital in Birmingham, AL. This idea began when I met Dr. Rubin Pillay, the futurist and Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Collat School of Business and Assistant Dean for Global Health Innovation at the UAB School of Medicine​ after hearing his inspiring speech in July 2014.

Now, I am a Veterans Administration (VA) Quality Scholar Fellow at UAB with a specialty in hypertension in the School of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division/Vascular Biology and Hypertension Program. I also serve as Adjunct Faculty for the UAB School of Nursing Family, Community Health, and Outcomes. I know a great deal about evidence-based practices in cardiovascular medicine, nursing, and community health.

However, Dr. Pillay’s talk about medical innovation centers made me realize how little I knew about the science in this area, for which he edits an academic journal, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Health. Intrigued, I approached him, we talked, and we decided to propose using his copyrighted tool to assess UAB Hospital and VA Medical Center nurse managers. The objective would be to determine their innovative competencies and provide training targeting the gaps to improve their skill levels. VA leadership has approved the new program and leaders at the UAB School of Nursing are very interested in the idea. A meeting is pending to discuss logistics.

Why should we do innovation training, and why train nurse managers? Because nurse managers need to be equipped to lead and create an environment for new ideas to thrive. And because it works. Dr. Pillay cites numerous example of how training and the adoption of innovation thinking as led to better health outcomes. For example, one hospital clinic in Uganda used his innovation model  to build a quality health service for HIV patients. In another example, his work is well known at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa where he spearheaded the Oklahoma State University’s new Center for Health Systems Innovation. This center was the first in the nation dedicated to harnessing entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation to improve health and health care systemically.

Perhaps most importantly, at UAB, we live in a world of evidence-based medicine, where science is put to work every day to make our lives better. Evidence-based intervention calls for innovative and trained interdisciplinary teams to improve the likeness of success. It is no surprise that our tagline is “UAB: Knowledge that will change your world.” Stay tuned as we embark on this foray into the science of purposeful change built around new ideas, problem finding, and problem solving.

Image credit: www.reply-mc.com

What I'm Working On: Brain Tumor Associated Seizures



Posted by Stephanie Robert

Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) of the brain
Pixabay.com

Each year, approximately 20,000 adults are diagnosed with a malignant brain or CNS tumor in the United States. The majority of these tumors are thought to be derived from the malignant transformation of glial cells, which are the non-neuronal cells of the brain. These glial-derived tumors are called gliomas. There are many classifications of gliomas, however the most prevalent and deadly are classified as Glioblastoma Multiforme, or GBM. GBM patients typically survive only 12-15 months after diagnosis. In addition to a short survival, over half of these patients experience seizures during the course of their illness. 

In our lab, we study how these tumors cause seizures in patients. We have found that many GBMs express a transporter called System xc- (SXC), which functions to protect cells from free radicals - which is important because they can kill cells if not controlled. In order for this transporter to function, it must release glutamate, which is an excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. This is important because too much excitatory drive will initiate seizure activity by causing abberant neuronal firing. We have found that this release of glutamate into the extracellular space in the brain, affects peri-tumoral neurons and causes seizures. Excitingly, there in an FDA-approved drug, Sulfasalazine, which inhibits the activity of SXC, preventing the relase of glutamate. Since this drug is currently used in patients to treat inflammatory bowel disease, it is a potential adjuvant treatment that can be readily tested in patients with GBMs and other gliomas causing seizures.

Tips and Tricks: Formal Writing in the Internet Age

Posted by Randall Hall

As a lawyer turned high school English teacher, I often receive "academic" papers from students littered with informal language. In fact, I even sometimes see examples of "text-speak" in student work (words like OMG, LOL and BTW), which led me to create the list of acronyms you can view on your left. I had to actually ask students to decipher what some of the acronyms meant, and I encourage you to click on the image and see how many you can figure out.

I teach my students that informal writing is fine when texting a friend, but they need to learn how to use formal language when writing for academic and professional purposes. However, high school students are not the only people committing the sin of breezy, conversational writing these days though. In fact, if you have ever read an internet discussion board, you were probably abhorred with the grammar and usage you witnessed, even from educated individuals on professional blogs.

In order to avoid making the mistake of writing in an informal tone when your audience expects formal language, you can follow these tips and tricks:

1. Edit, Then Edit Agian Again - formal writing should be dissected at least twice to catch any and all grammar, spelling and punctuation errors.
2. "Don't" Use Contractions - formal writing should sound professional, not conversational.
3. Slang/Colloquialisms Are Not "Groovy" - formal writing should be understood by all audiences, not only those of a certain age group or social subculture
4. Idioms/Cliches Should Not Be "Raining Like Cats and Dogs" - formal writing should be understood by international audiences, which means idioms and cliches will not translate clearly (and may even end up offending someone)
5. "Finally," Use Transitions - formal writing should provide readers with a logical "map" of your ideas, so use transitions like "for example," "however," and "therefore" to let your reader know where you are going.

It is my duty as an educator to teach children how to write and speak formally so they can succeed academically and professionally. The Red Mountain Writing Project at UAB is also dedicated to teaching students to write in a polished manner that will hopefully someday serve them well in the profession of their choice. Check them out at their website, and - if you are an educator - please consider attending their upcoming conference.

Tips and Tricks: The Art of Mobility, Getting Around UAB

Posted by Tandy L Dolin Petrov

Mobility is the action of moving, and when living downtown near an urban university, understanding its art is the key to successful navigation. Writers should be good at this. When we are outlining a research article, for example, we find all sorts of different ways to navigate the path, of getting from Point A to Point B and then onto Point C, if we are lucky. Why not apply our writer’s navigational skills to the challenge of getting around UAB’s 82-block campus? To that end, here are some tips and tricks to making the move more efficient and/or exciting.  

TIP #1: One of the most important principles in writing AND getting around campus is understanding structure. So, this first tip is to know about UAB roadways is that the Avenues run parallel to University Blvd., however the Streets transect University Blvd. In other words, they run perpendicular. We are also located in the south hemisphere of Birmingham, thus all our roads will have South at the end of them. 
TRICK #1:  Taking side roads off of University, such as 7th Avenue and 6th Avenue, can help avoid the traffic jams that can occur on University.  These also lead to hidden parking oases, the priceless gems of undergraduate and graduate commuters (15Lots). 

TIP #2:  Writers always look for cool tools to get them to their destinations faster and more easily. Blazer Express provides a quick and efficient way to chauffeur faculty, staff, and students around campus to designated, safe locations.
TRICK #2:  There are 5 bus routes that rotate around our university clockwise and if you download the [Transloc] APP you get to see RealTime location updates on your bus and find out what time you need to arrive at the bus stop.

TIP #3:  Walking is not only good for a person, but also provides a unique and healthy way to get around campus by providing the most scenic views of UAB and the Vulcan.
TRICK #3:  The various greens, parks, and quads offer cut-through pathways to commuter and resident parking lots, while ensuring that the journey includes a detour past your favorite coffee spot. Stop, grab a latte, and take a break from your research writing to create a blog post, i.e. do some fun writing (like this!) 

Finally, my favorite way of negotiating the Birmingham grid is via scooter.  The motorized scooter or “Moped”, is an inexpensive European favorite, is conservative on gas (last visit to the pump 02/12/15 = $1.93 = 100 miles), come in a variety of colors to match every personality (pictured top right, my ‘Buddy’) and are extremely convenient to park (almost anywhere is a parking place!)  Scooters open a rider up to the adventure of Alabama weather extremes and are a more environmentally friendly vehicle when compared to other automobiles.

I have yet to find the equivalent of a scooter for a writer unless it’s an ergonomic desk chair on wheels, but let me know what you think. Do you have favorite tips for navigating a writing project and getting around UAB?

Research Writing: My Kitchen Sink Dissertation Model

Posted by Anthony C. Hood, PhD

Courtesy of Anthony C. Hood

Are you having difficulty settling on a dissertation topic? I was. It's the gift and the curse of being extremely inquisitive and genuinely interested in a multitude of topics. My dissertation chair, K. Michele Kacmar, and I would meet weekly to discuss my progress. Each week I found myself apologizing profusely for yet again changing my dissertation topic and model. After apologizing for possibly the 5th or 6th time, she calmly said to me, "Anthony, you don't have to apologize. You know why? My PhD is hanging right there on the wall. You can keep changing your topic for the next 3 years and I'll be here to support you." She then advised me that there are two types of dissertations—one that changes the world and one that allows me to graduate and move on with my career. She would help me write either one as long as I knew that the former would likely take much longer to complete than the latter. 

I choose the latter, and she had me create my "kitchen sink" dissertation model. This was a visual depiction of the relationships connecting every variable I was interested in studying from that point until I attained tenure. From that larger comprehensive model, I selected the top 4 or 5 variables I wanted to study. This abbreviated model became the focus of my dissertation. 

As a faculty member in the Collat School of Business at UAB and a mentor with The Phd Project network, I share this advice with many doctoral students struggling with committing to a dissertation topic. They usually find it helpful. I hope you do too. 

Tips & Tricks: Unlock Your Inner Writer with Free Writing

Posted by Taylor Roberge

I was reminded over the holidays of how difficult it can be to sit down, write, and be productive. I always feel like I will just get distracted or bogged down in trying to get all my materials out. Really I just come up with excuse after excuse to avoid writing at all costs. Oh you need help baking cookies? Here let me take the trash out. All out of butter? Let me run to the store to get some more. Everything seems to be a better option than to sit down and crank out a couple of pages of text.

A lot of this sentiment, at least for me, stems from the idea that I need to produce a near finished product on the first try. This takes a lot more time and concentration than those short 30-45 minute intervals between talking to your visiting family.

The problem of putting off writing because it doesn't seem like there will be enough time to get it near perfect on the first try is not isolated to the holidays. It has haunted me, and most likely others, countless times. That is until I started free writing. I've found that in relatively short amounts of time I can synthesize quite a bit of information. Sure its super rough, and will definitely need to be reworked, but it gets you started. You only have 15 minutes? So what? That's enough time to get a couple paragraphs down sans references that you can go back through later and probably double once you've actually fleshed out all of your fine detail.

So don't get bogged down by the need to have every reference perfect, or have each idea fully realized on the first draft. Try to get something down on paper to get going, even if it's incomplete. You'll be glad you did.

Research Writing: Getting Started

Posted by Katie Alexander

So, you’re finally ready to publish. Well, ready is a strong word. You’ve completed all the necessary experiments to tell an interesting scientific story, and now it’s time to share it with the scientific community. But, where do you start? You’ve spent months or years collecting data, so every piece of this paper is precious in your mind. You know the data forwards and backwards, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is easy to put together in a readable format. This is where thinking about writing for the general public may come in handy. Sure, scientific papers have a very specific format: abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion, but they still tell a story. Think about how you would explain your research to a family member that is not in science. Think about the order of events. Chances are, that’s the most logical and readable order for a paper. The results section may not be an exact chronological representation of when the experiments were carried out, but the paper is organized in a way that leads the reader to the final conclusions in a step-wise, predictable manner.

Additionally, I’ve found helpful research writing advice from non-science writers. I recently read Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott. In this hilariously entertaining book, Ms. Lamott muses about life, recalling events that have shaped her as an author and human-being, all the while delivering writing (and life) advice by the truckload. And while the writing process is a little different for strictly scientific papers, there is still plenty of applicable advice. For example, it’s okay to have bad first drafts. First drafts are for getting things on paper, not for others to read. Ms. Lamott also talks about the importance of short assignments, little vignettes in the grand scheme of things that can help keep you on track. She recalls a story about her brother from their childhood, who was on the brink of a meltdown because he had procrastinated for months on a major research paper on birds that was due the next day. Her father came to his rescue, simply saying, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.” That’s how papers and stories get written, piece-by-piece. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a step back and tackle it experiment by experiment.

Image used from Flickr user Incessant Flux under Creative Commons License

Research Writing: Form a Writing Group to Boost Your Productivity

Posted by Lesley McCollum

You’re probably in the middle of one right now. You may even be avoiding it by reading this instead. It’s that writing project that's always in the back of your mind. With research proposals, journal articles, literature reviews, and dissertations, writing is a big part of research. It unites all grad students and faculty — whether you study Cancer Biology or Anthropology. Unfortunately, most of us are also guilty of not making it a priority. We like to think we’ll find time for it — in between our experiments tomorrow, or after we’ve read just a few more articles. It can temporarily relieve the pressure to put it off for later, but the problem is, that free time never appears. Too easily, any spare time gets sucked up by the pile of other tasks on our to-do lists.

To increase your writing productivity, you need to make time, not wait until you find it. A great way to do this is to form a writing group. Meeting with others for a designated writing time will boost your motivation and keep you accountable to accomplishing your writing tasks. It also provides a built in team for editing each other’s work and receiving feedback.

Ask around to other grad students or faculty at UAB — you know they will be working on a writing project too. Try mixing up the disciplines in your group. Having colleagues that know your field can be great for providing feedback on journal articles, but having someone outside your field can provide a useful perspective for writing assignments targeted for a general audience. The style of your writing group will be unique to your needs - find something that works for you.

Ready to start your group? Look for the WriteNow toolkit on the FastDrafting Resources page, provided by Dr. Jennifer Greer at the UAB Graduate School. It provides helpful tips for getting started. Also, watch for the WriteNow workshops happening later this Spring to learn about forming your own group and other strategies for boosting your writing productivity.

Have you formed a writing group? Please share how it has impacted your writing success in the comments!