Strategies for Writing Effective Titles, Part 2

This article is about patient safety on July 1, which is the day new first-year residents start working in the hospital. “Don’t Kill Granny” was probably a quote from a participant in this study, but it’s not scholarly. “Keeping Granny Safe on July 1” conveys a similar idea (and still mentions Granny!) and is more appropriate in tone for the audience of Academic Medicine.   Sometimes break the rules! In some cases, effective titles break the rules we’ve discussed. Fake It ’Til You Make It: Pressures to Measure Up in Surgical Training Is There Hardening of the Heart During Medical School? These titles lack specificity and key search terms but are highly engaging and communicate clear ideas. The editorial staff debated editing the second title, but it represented the topic of the article effectively and conveyed a strong feeling about medical education, so we decided to keep it. In the end, it was the right decision–this article attracted a lot of attention, including from the media.   Tomorrow, we’ll kick off our writing exercise so you can practice what you’ve learned. Remember to check back then for the next post in this series. You can find the complete What’s in a Name? How to Write an Effective Title series here.
Source: Academic Medicine Blog - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Tags: Featured Writing Series health professions education medical education scholarly publishing scholarly writing Source Type: blogs