Writing a Case for SiH

Thanks for considering joining our team of authors; your work will be seen by thousands of students from around the world!

There are three easy steps to get things going... 

 

 

1 - Choose a Case

Think about an interesting case you've seen recently.

Cardiovascular Resuscitation

  • cardiac arrest
  • bradycardia
  • tachycardia
  • myocardial infarction

Maternal and Newborn Health

 

 

 

 

2 - Make Sure We're a Good Fit

Read our Author Contract to review our open-access license.

 

 

3 - Let Us Know

Fill out the form below and we'll be in touch within 48 hours!

The email will come from (SiH Staff Member’s Name) @sharinginhealth.ca in case you have a strong filter.

topic you're interested in authoring:

your name:

 

your email address:

your institution:

 

program you're in:

year you're in:

how did you hear about us?

comments/questions:

 

 

please fill out to show us you're a human (not a spam bot). click the arrow button to select another challenge if the words are not clear!

 

 

 

In preparing the case, consider the following:

 

Technical considerations

Feel free to write the case in a Word document or a Powerpoint; we'll take the content and embed it within our website, taking care of the formatting details.

 

Please review our Open-Access license to be sure you agree with our terms, and feel free to ask any questions you'd like before moving forward!

 

 

General advice

Ideally, cases strengthen core understanding of the topics. Unusual presentations or diagnoses are certainly valuable to cover, but if the case covers a topic that is extremely rare, it may not be the most relevant for learning.

 

Some distractors or superfluous information can be helpful to add complexity and ambiguity (which is certainly, but too much can cause frustration and confusion. Consider leaving out unnecessary details.

 

Avoid giving hints through the title, leading questions, etc.

 

While we certainly embrace flexibilty, there is a template that most cases follow:

 

 

 

Introduction

Begin with a short description of the case's objectives, primarily to engage the learner. However, if there is an unexpected diagnosis embedded, it is a good idea not to include this. Instead, focus on diagnosis and management of the initial clinical presentation.

 

Introduce the case with a clinical presentation, with initial background information. Some distractions can be added as appropriate. Begin simply, and don't provide too much information.

 

Ideally a picture is included; this need not be the actual patient, but rather simply an image that engages the reader.

End with 1-3 open-ended questions, such as:

Provide answers of 1-3 sentences. We will provide a link to relevant in-depth background content as appropriate.

 

 

Progression, Part I

Introduce further information from history, physical exam, tests, or simply the passage of time.

Again, a picture is helpful to brighten the case.

Provide further questions, such as:

As above, provide short answers, expecting a link to background information.

 

 

Progression, Part II

Continue the case as the story dictates. At this point, information gathering should be largely complete, though further investigation may be warranted as conditions change.

 

This last set of questions should focus on more complex intepretation of findings or results, as well as ongoing management.

 

 

Conclusion

Finish with a short description of how the case concluded. The ending should be realistic.

 

Provide a more complete summary of the competencies you hope the learner has grown in, broken down into:

Links to relevant background materials will also be provided here.

 

Completion of the case should ideally lead to independent assessment tools linked to the above competencies.

 

After writing the case, find a reviewer or two to ensure the level of difficulty is sufficient, and that there are no content or style errors.

 

 

 

 

TO SIFT AND INTEGRATE

Frequently Asked Questions

 

 

What's in this for me?

What authors are saying

"Writing for sharing in health is an excellent motivation
to learn a few topics in detail! It's rewarding to know
you've consolidated all the important clinical information
so that others can learn more efficiently."

- Erica Rubin, med student

Lots of things!

We acknowledge all contributors by including their biography on their own web page and linking it to the pages they've written and/or illustrated. Students have been including their contributions on CVs and in various school/grant applications as it can be considered a peer-reviewed contribution to health education. Feel free to look through previous authors here.

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How does authoring take place?

We use a standard template for our topics; it is shown here, along with information on how the specifics of writing.

 

SiH has a well-developed process of supporting topic creation, described in the image below.

content

image created by Becca Groombridge

 

 

We normally use an online platform called Google Drive for authoring and reviewing, and we'll walk you through the process once you sign up.


The email will come from  author @ sharinginhealth . ca  in case you have a strong spam filter.

 

If working online is an issue for you, let us know and we can discuss alternatives.

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How long will this take me to write?    

Anticipate spending 3-4 hours to write your draft, depending on your familiarity with the topic. 

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Can I collaborate with other authors?

Yes! All contributors are acknowledged, so feel free to invite a friend/co-worker to help you.

We encourage meeting with fellow authors as possible to discuss the topic and the strategy in moving forward. If this is not possible, we normally use the top of the collaborative doc for discussion points amongst authors. 

We encourage you to think about who you could approach as a reviewer (e.g. a resident, professor, staff physician, or other appropriate health care professional), as this is a necessary step before getting your topic online. You could invite your reviewer to provide guidance while you populate your topic template instead of waiting until your draft is completed.

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Where should I get materials from?

The text can come from any number of sources, including class notes, textbooks, or websites. Have a look through our listing of Open-Access repositories, as these are resources that will be freely available for further reading if students would like.

 

Summarize, in your own words, what others are saying, and reference where necessary. Please avoid plagarism!

 

Images

Photos, illustrations, animations, and videos are essential for certain concepts, and we ask you to play a key role in getting these into place. The steps are as follows:

  1. identify multimedia needs by adding a comment to the topic draft (you'll learn how to do this)
  2. search the Open-Access repositories to see if one exists
  3. if yes, add a link to the image to the draft topic. Ask us if you need help
  4. if no, consider creating your own! Again, ask us for help if needed
  5. if the need still exists after step 4, leave a comment in the topic stating this is a persistent need. Find two examples online of what you are suggesting, and include the links in the comment.
  6. We'll take over recruiting an illustrator to meet persistent graphics needs

Please note: While there are many quality images that can be found online, if they are not published under an Open-Access license, unfortunately, we can't use them. Ask us if this needs to be clarified.       

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How does my topic get reviewed?

We have the most success when our authors personally approach a reviewer (e.g. a resident, professor, staff physician, or other appropriate licensed health care professional) they know and ask them to review their work. The review process is the same as signing up to author a topic: they fill in the reviewer sign-up form  and we give them access to your document via Google Drive.

 

Once you sign up to author a topic your topic gets moved to the "to be reviewed" list so anyone checking out the webpage could opt to review it, but again, we have most success when reviewers are personally asked.

 

Lastly, a Sharing In Health section editor will give final approval to the topic, you will have a chance to view and sign off on the content before it is posted online.

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