ASORN participating in Medicare Fee Schedule review

Sewodidio environment can be viewed as a crisis, and the danger is that we may only perceive that doors are closing and not look for the opportunity of opening new doors. A few years ago nurses did not have to worry about employment or job security, provided we were doing a good job. Now the market is different, and we need to be proactive in creating our niche. Flexibility is a key. Just being in ophthalmology takes us beyond traditional nursing. Let’s face it, how much time did we spend in our nursing programs studying the eyeball? By reading this article, you now have hnowledge that will be impressive to your

Writer’s

physicians. If you really want to stay in ophthalmology long term, take this knowledge a step further and begin to look for ways to help your practice cut costs and be more efficient. Talk to your peers and share ideas from other practices. Past habits can be barriers to the future. Be a part of creating the future, not defending the present, and be willing to assume a variety of clinical and administrative responsibilities that may be considered nontraditional nursing. Opportunities abound; some are readily available and others need to be created. Remember, the rate of change will only continue to accelerate.

Tips Camille A. Servodidio,

rice the final draft of the manuscript is finished, it is time to prepare it for mailing to a nursing journal of choice (think Insi@7t!). There are a few general rules of thumb to bear in mind.’ First, never send a manuscript to more than one journal at a time. Submit a cover letter to the editor with the appropriate number of manuscript copies and prints requested by the journal (for 17zs~ght, the requirement is four copies plus the computer disk, if available). Keep one additional copy of the manuscript for the files. Omit the author’s names on the paginated pages if the journal is peer reviewed, as I~siyht is. Use the appropriate reference style; Irzsi~~~zt uses the Vancouver style, which numbers the references in order of appearance in the publication. It is acceptable to write a follow-up letter to the editor if no reply has been heard after 1 month from the submission date. For 177.si$zt, the article is peer reviewed by three ophthalmic nurse colleagues, as well as the editor, before a final decision is made. Each referee makes one of the fol-

0

INSIGHT

The

Journal

of the

American

Society

lowing three recommendations: to accept the manuscript without revisions, to accept it with revisions, or to reject it. The editor will send the author a letter regarding the final decision on the manuscript. Sometimes the editor will include some of the written comments made by the reviewers, which can guide the revision process. The editor reserves the right to edit the manuscript according to the style and space of the journal. To have an article accepted for publication is an honor and a highlight of any nurse’s career. It is a gratifying and rewarding feeling whether it is the first or tenth published manuscript. Once an author has published one article and completed this arduous process, writing a second manuscript is a bit easier, the third even easier. . . .

of Ophthalmic

Camille Servodidio is a lecturer and research nurse in ophthalmology at Cornell University Medical College, New York. She joined ASORN in 1988 and serves on the ASORN Board of Directors and the Editorial Board of Insight. Reprint requests: Camille Servodidio, RN, MPH, CRNO, 830 Birchwood Dr., Orange, CT 064 77. Insight

1996;21:67.

Copyright 0 1996 by the American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses.

Reference 1. Fondiller kkonals National

RN, MPH, CRNO

SH. The writer’s workbook: health proguide to getting published. Kew York: League for Nursing Press, 1992.

JO60-135X/96 72/l/72816

Registered

Nurses,

Inc.

Volume

XXI,

No.

2, June

$5.00 + 0

1996

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