The purpose of the NACNS Publication Mentorship Program is to support CNS scholarship by providing guidance for NACNS Members to develop a manuscript from a poster or podium presentation ready for publication in a peer reviewed journal.
Expectations of Program Involvement
- Mentors and mentees will communicate regularly via email and meet a minimum of once a month via phone or virtual platform. More frequent meetings may be needed which would be arranged at the discretion of the mentor and mentee
- Mentors and mentees will establish a timeline including meeting frequency for the writing project with clearly designated milestones
- Mentors and mentees will commit to remaining in the mentorship until the completion of the writing manuscript or if there is mutual agreement in termination of the relationship
- Completion of electronic survey after the conclusion of the mentorship evaluating the effectiveness of the program
In the event the mentor-mentee match is not a good fit, the Chair or designee of the Research, EBP and Scholarship Committee should be contacted for resolution of the issue. If a match is not available, the Chair or designee of the Research, EBP and Scholarship Committee will work with the mentee to determine what other assistance might be available.
Selection:
Mentors and mentees will be matched by the Research, EBP and Scholarship Committee based on interests, area of content expertise, time commitments, and availability of mentors. It will then be the responsibility of the mentee to communicate with the mentor. If no mentor is available, the mentee will be notified via email.
Levels of Mentorship within the Program
Level 1: This level is for a mentee/mentor relationship where the mentor’s role is essentially that of an editor, and authorship is not anticipated but should be negotiated at the beginning of the mentorship. The mentee has a complete and polished manuscript, with a journal identified for submission, and the manuscript meets the submission requirements for that journal. The mentor must commit to providing timely feedback to support the mentee in a successful submission. The time commitment for the mentor may be minimal but up to 45 days.
Level 2: This level is for a mentee/mentor relationship where the mentee has a manuscript started or has a topic/idea/project but is unsure of how to proceed to publication. The mentee may or may not have identified a journal for submission and needs assistance with this process. The mentee may need writing assistance from the mentor. If the mentor provides writing assistance, the option of the mentor being listed as a second author should be negotiated early in the process. The mentor must be able to devote time to the mentee for both writing and editing, which may take 3-6 months.
Level 3: This mentee/mentor relationship involves a mentee who has completed a podium or poster presentation but does not know how to proceed with publication. The mentor would serve as a second author and have shared responsibility for completing the manuscript and participating in writing a section of the manuscript. The mentor should have content expertise in the manuscript topic. Together the mentor and mentee would select a journal for submission, contribute to writing and editing the manuscript, and meet the requirements for publication. This level will require the most time from a mentor, which may take 6-12 months.
Level 4: This level is for a group project involving two or more mentees with a mentor. The mentees have completed a podium or poster presentation and may or may not have identified a journal for submission. The mentor and mentees will collaborate on the manuscript to develop it through publication. In this case, the mentor would serve as the last author of the manuscript. This level will require additional time for the mentor since he/she will work with more than one mentee. The time commitment could take 4 to 12 months.
Instructions:
Complete the appropriate application below:
Mentors will be asked to provide a short biographical sketch including their experience with publishing and area(s) of expertise.
Mentees will be asked to provide an abstract of the podium or poster that they wish to develop into a manuscript (for mentorship level 2 or 3), or an abstract of the developed manuscript (mentorship level 1).