The Writing of Nurse Managers: A Neglected Area of Professional Communication Research

The practice and teaching of nurse management writing has received little attention in professional communication journals. This study is based on sec ondary research, examination of documents written by nurse managers, and interviews with 54 nurse managers and 13 nurse educators. It indicates that writing a variety of business communications is a crucial career task jor nurse managers, directly affecting their professional power. However, most nurse managers interviewed believed their undergraduate education had not pre pared them adequately for their workplace writing and perceived a need for professional writing instruction in four-year nursing programs.