Writing in the Health Professions

 Period 2, CSE E211                     Period 3, CSE E211

J.K. Byram Office:  302 Tigert Hall Office Hours: F, 8:00-9:15 a.m. Office Phone: 846-1138

Carol Steen Office: 501 Rolfs Hall Office Hours: MW, 12:30-1:30 Office Phone:

Requirements and Grading  /  Schedule   /  Assignments and Links

Course Description

Communication skills are essential in every profession, but the health professions boast the greatest complexity and variety of audiences. The well-being of human lives depends on clear and accurate messages, whether the audience is a patient, colleague, staff member, or caregiver. To better prepare you for the challenge of successful professional communication, Writing in the Health Professions targets the three main audiences of the health provider: other professionals, patients and clients, and the public. For each of these audiences, you will learn the writing techniques and practices that best ensure your message is understood. Since this is a Gordon Rule Writing and Composition class, we will be concentrating on written communication, although you will find many of the principles of communication in writing are true for spoken exchanges as well. The goal of this class is to prepare you for your upper-division course work as well as build a foundation for communication in your chosen field.

ENC 3254 "Writing in the Health Professions" fulfills the university's general education requirement for composition (C) and 6,000 words of writing (W).

Major Assignments

Detailed information about the major assignments can be found at http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/msscha/whp_links.html. Assignments will be submitted through TurnItInPlease allow yourself plenty of time for the submission process, as excessive tardiness counts as class absence and carries a grade penalty (see Attendance Policy) and late papers will not be accepted. prior to the beginning of class. Additionally, students will submit a printed pamphlet in addition to their electronic submission for project 2 (Writing for Patients/Clients).

Project 1: Writing for Professionals

We begin with the most challenging aspect of writing in the health professions for most students: professional "scientific" writing. You begin by choosing a research focus for the course. This topic can be new to you, or it can be one you have worked with a little so far. The project itself has 2 parts. First, you will prepare an annotated bibliography with at least 10 scholarly sources. Second, you will write a 5-6 page "informative review paper." This project entails library research, and this will be your opportunity to become familiar with the search strategies and journals in your field.

Project 2: Writing for Patients/Clients

The second project examines writing as it impacts patients/clients. We will talk about important differences between communicating with colleagues versus communicating with patients and examine some realities for what patients believe makes for a good health provider. Using the same topic you began with in Project 1, you will create educational patient literature of 2 types. First, and perhaps the most fun, is the patient literature pamphlet in which you will design an educational brochure for patients and their families. Second, you will create a brief "instructions" document where you will outline in clear, easy-to-follow language what diagnostic, preparation, or treatment options a patient should follow.

Project 3: Writing for the Public

It would be great if we had time to design a whole public health campaign, but alas! A few weeks is just not long enough. Instead, we will examine what makes a more successful public health strategy and analyze some of the biggest contemporary health campaigns: Know, Truth, Verb, etc. Then you will write a brief statement using specific criteria to defend whether your topic would make a good public health subject and what mediums of communication would be best. Second, you will work in small groups (3-4 people) to brainstorm the framework for a local campaign to change/modify some health behavior.

Project 4: Writing Application Materials

Last but not least, we will take the whirlwind tour of creating excellent application essays. You will get time to draft a "mini" personal statement and resume. This will give you a foundation for graduate school and internship applications when the time comes.