Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing Pagination

Why submit to The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing?

Nursing's only journal of continuing competency for over 50 years
Published for more than 50 years
Indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, and other major databases
2021 Impact Factor: 1.071
Average time from submission to decision: 42 days

Submit an Article (Guidelines updated October 2022)

Authors wishing to submit a manuscript to The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing should refer to the following:

Information for Authors
Author Form
Editorial Manager Manuscript Submission(outside link)
Manuscript Preparation
SLACK Author Services
Scholarly Uses of Journal Articles
Public Access Policy for Non-Open Access Articles

Author Form

At manuscript submission, each author must complete and submit the form below. This combined Author Statement-ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest addresses copyright transmittal and any relevant disclosures.

Interactive Author Statement-ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest(preferred)

Download the form to your computer.
Open the form in Word, fill it out, and then save it to your computer.
Upload the form with your manuscript submission in Editorial Manager.

Note. If you have difficulty using the interactive form, please use the Noninteractive Form, which must be printed, completed, and then scanned and uploaded with your manuscript submission in Editorial Manager.

Information for Authors

Journal Description and Mission

The mission of The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing is to support continued career competency through continuing education, professional development, policy, and advocacy. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing advances the body of knowledge, theory, and methods about continuing competency in nursing by:

Advocating for excellence in learning opportunities for the profession.
Evaluating the impact that issues in health care, nursing, and education have on the field.
Supporting knowledge-derived solutions to complex problems facing health care practice, teaching, and research.
Disseminating research and performance improvement findings with rigorous evaluation to transform education and practice.
Presenting critical analyses on issues that influence innovation, policy development, and professional practice.
Analyzing issues related to career development, competency, and life-long learning.

The Journal offers an author-friendly approach from submission through publication. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing adheres to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (2021) of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

Authorship Criteria and Responsibilities

Criteria for authorship include contribution to:

Conception and design, or
Data collection, or
Analysis and interpretation

AND

Writing the manuscript, or
Critical revision of the manuscript

All individuals identified as authors should meet the necessary criteria for authorship listed above, and all individuals who meet the criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet the necessary criteria should be acknowledged (see Acknowledgments). Any issues related to authorship must be resolved before the manuscript is submitted to the Journal.

Authors should be accountable for the portions of the manuscript to which they have contributed. They should also have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of all other authors. All authors should have read the final manuscript prior to submission and be aware of its submission to the Journal.

One author must be identified as the corresponding author, who is responsible for (1) ensuring all authors meet the authorship criteria and complete the required Author Statement-ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest; (2) submitting the manuscript to the Journal and serving as the main contact during the review process; and (3) performing any related activities if the manuscript is accepted, such as reviewing proofs of the edited manuscript and answering editorial queries. The corresponding author will be identified as the primary contact in the published article.

Order of authorship must be determined and agreed upon by all authors before manuscript submission. Any disagreements should be resolved before submitting the manuscript. Changes in authorship (ie, order, addition, and/or deletion of authors) must be approved by all authors. Requests for changes in authorship after initial manuscript submission and before publication are required in writing (email preferred) signed by all authors.

Acknowledgments

Any individuals who contributed to the manuscript but do not meet the necessary criteria for authorship should be acknowledged. Acknowledgments should be limited to those who helped extensively, such as providing statistical help, essential equipment, or translating references.

Copyright Transfer

Manuscripts are accepted with the understanding that they have not been previously published (in print or online) and are not under simultaneous consideration by another publication. Accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the Journal and will not be published until the Author Statement-ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest has been completed in full by each author.

If a submitted manuscript has been previously posted in an open access repository (e.g., a dissertation or thesis posted in an open access university repository), the submitted manuscript must be unique and have less than 50% overlap with the posted paper.

Competing/Conflicting Interests and Sponsorship

If any author has a competing or conflicting interest in the subject matter of the manuscript, this must be indicated. If the manuscript discusses in any way a drug, a device, equipment, or an instrument, the authors must state whether or not they have any commercial or proprietary interest in the product or company. All reported competing interests are clearly indicated on all published articles.

If applicable, authors should describe the role of the study sponsor, if any, in study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing the report; and the decision to submit the report for publication. If the supporting source had no such involvement, the authors should so state. If applicable, authors must declare whether they had assistance with study design, data collection, data analysis, or manuscript preparation. If the manuscript reports on a registered clinical trial and has been assigned a trial registration number from a public trials registry, authors should provide this information.

Human Subjects Protection and Protection of Identifiable Subjects

Reports of studies involving human subjects must indicate procedures for the protection of their rights, informed consent, as well as Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.

If subjects' personal details are provided, measures should be taken to protect subjects' identity. If photographs are submitted with a manuscript, permission to publish must be obtained in writing from all individuals pictured. Measures to conceal the identity of an individual in a photograph, such as placing black bars over the person's eyes, should not be used.

Previous Publication, Preprint Server Posting, and Related Manuscripts and Reports

Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published or posted previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication, website, or preprint server.

Copies of all similar manuscripts and reports (ie, those containing substantially similar content or using the same or similar data) that have been previously published or posted or are under consideration elsewhere must be referenced and provided at the time of manuscript submission.

Public dissemination of manuscripts prior to, simultaneous with, or following submission to this journal, such as posting the manuscript on preprint servers or other repositories, is discouraged. Authors should provide information about any preprint postings, including a link to it, at the time of submission of the manuscript to this journal.

Manuscript Preparation

General Guidelines

The Journal now has a format-friendly submission policy, whereby INITIAL manuscript submissions are not required to be formatted to Journal specifications. However, after the first round of review by the Editor (for relevance of content for the Journal), authors of manuscripts chosen to undergo formal peer review will be asked to revise their manuscripts to meet the requirements below prior to peer review.

Please note: If your manuscript relates to undergraduate students and does not have implications for nurses in continuing education/professional development, it is not appropriate for the Journal.

Manuscripts must conform to the guidelines for manuscript preparation of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed. (2020). Manuscripts can range from 6 to 15 pages in length, excluding references, figures, and tables. All pages, including acknowledgments, abstract, text, references, figure legends, and tables, must be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins.

Changes between the 6th and 7th editions of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association are summarized here.

Manuscripts should not include a title page or any other author-identifying or institution-identifying information to ensure blind peer review. Authors are asked to use an "X" as a placeholder for identifying information until a final decision has been made.

IMPORTANT! Manuscript files uploaded for review should NOT include any of the authors' names or institutional affiliations to facilitate blind peer review. Files MUST include continuous page and line numbers.

Manuscript titles should be concise, specific, and informative, and contain the key points of the work. Overly general titles, as well as questions and declarative sentences, should be avoided.

Use of abbreviations should be limited to those that are commonly understood without explanation. All abbreviations must be spelled out at first mention in the text. Pharmaceuticals should be referred to by their generic names.

International submissions are welcome. They must relate to the mission of the Journal and meet the Journal's standards for manuscript preparation. Whenever possible, submissions should have broad applicability, including national and global perspectives. When terms specific to one country or institution are used, an accompanying sidebar defining those terms should be included. If there are relatively few distinctive terms, they may be defined in the text. Authors are encouraged to seek an expert in translation to assist with the manuscript's final development before submission to facilitate the review process.

Every manuscript should include clearly delineated implications for professional nursing development.

References

References must adhere to the style specified in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (2020). Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references, particularly author names and page numbers.

References should focus primarily on work that has been published in the past 3 years. Older citations should relate to the original work in the field, classic work related to the topic, or, in rare cases, the only other relevant work.

Names of journals should conform to PubMed/MEDLINE. The titles of those journals that are not listed in PubMed/MEDLINE must be provided in full. Journal titles should be cited as they existed at the time of publication.

Figures, Photos, and Illustrations

Each figure must be numbered and cited consecutively in the text. Figures will be printed in black and white only.

Permissions: Drawings or computer-generated images submitted with a manuscript require permission to publish from the artist. Authors must disclose whether any figures or tables have been previously published; such materials must be accompanied by a letter of permission from the publisher, which extends non-exclusive worldwide rights to reprint the material for all forms of media now or hereafter developed to SLACK Incorporated. Content from U.S. government websites (eg, NIH, CDC, USDHHS) is in the public domain and generally can be used without permission. However, some content on these sites may be from another source, in which case permission must be obtained from the copyright holder.
Legends: The legend should be a brief description that allows the figure to be fully understood. Legends, headings, or captions should not be included within the image files, and instead should be provided in the manuscript files.
Digital Requirements: Digital images should be black and white or grayscale, high resolution (at least 300 dpi), and saved in JPEG or TIFF format. Image files should be uploaded separately from manuscript text files. Images embedded in Word files and PowerPoint^® slides are not acceptable.

Tables

Tables should be placed at the end of the manuscript, one to a page. Each table must be numbered and cited consecutively in the text and should have a short descriptive title. Abbreviations used in tables that are not commonly understood terms should be explained in a legend. Material that is in the tables should not be repeated in the text.

Types of Manuscripts and Requirements

Research Articles

Research articles are either qualitative, quantitative, or mixed, and include appropriate analysis techniques, report findings, and discuss implications for continuing education and staff development. Research projects with limited sample size should be converted to a non-research format to share the ideas for further research. Research articles should contain a structured abstract of no more than 150 words with a focus on the findings and conclusions. The abstract should be divided under the following headings: Background, Method, Results, and Conclusion.

The Journal recommends that authors of research articles consult the following guidelines when preparing their manuscripts:

Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE)
Introducing the 7th Edition of the Publication Manual
Research on the Comparative Effectiveness of Medical Treatments

Non-Research Articles

Non-research articles are thought pieces or describe ideas and experiences that can be adapted by continuing education and staff development professionals and applied to or tested in settings other than the author's. This format is also appropriate for projects that started as research endeavors but had a small sample size. Non-research articles should contain an unstructured abstract of no more than 150 words summarizing the main points of the article.

Columns

Columns are short pieces that focus on a single idea or activity or provide an overview/update of a particular topic. They are topically focused on what educators of professional nurses and faculty need to know.

Columns are peer reviewed through an open process. Columns should be approximately 1200-1500 words, with no more than 4 references. Columns should be double-spaced, include a brief abstract of 50 words, and have a maximum of one small table or figure.

E-mail your column idea or manuscript to [email protected] and make the intended column clear in both your subject line and text. The column editors will review any submission to determine whether it meets the column guidelines.

Administrative Angles focuses on the practical aspects of continuing education and professional development administration, including organization, assessment, and evaluation.
Leadership and Development focuses on inspiring educators to prepare learners to become leaders in light of health care issues and trends.
Teaching Tips focuses on teaching strategies and the use of self-directed learning to enhance professional development and continuing education.

Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted via Editorial Manager^® or, if a column submission, e-mailed to [email protected]. Authors should contact the editorial office. with questions regarding the submission process.

Review Process

All manuscripts undergo pre-publication double-blind peer review by the Editorial Board and reviewers. Final decisions regarding manuscript disposition are made by the Editor, and the Editor mediates all interactions between reviewers and authors. Authors are notified by e-mail as soon as possible about the acceptability of their manuscript, usually within 6-8 weeks. It is recommended that novice authors have their manuscripts reviewed by their well-published peers, instructors, or mentors prior to submission.

Peer reviewers are required to declare all potential competing, or conflicting, interests related to manuscripts they are invited to review. A competing or conflicting interest is anything that interferes with, or could reasonably be perceived as interfering with, the full and objective presentation, peer review, editorial decision making, or publication of manuscripts submitted to the journal. Competing interests may be personal, financial, nonfinancial, intellectual, professional, political or religious in nature. They can be related to an organization or a person.

If a reviewer realizes a competing or conflicting interest during their review of a manuscript, either related to themselves or to the manuscript authors, they should contact the editorial office for additional guidance. If a reviewer suspects the identity of the author(s), they should notify the editorial office if this knowledge raises any potential competing or conflicting interests.

If the Editor of the journal authors or co-authors a manuscript, the Editor will not be involved in the peer review or decision-making process for the paper. Another Editor will assume those duties. If an Editorial Board member of or reviewer for the journal authors or co-authors a manuscript, that person will not be involved in the peer review or decision-making process for the paper.

Reviews completed for the journal are owned by the journal and are not published. Peer reviewers are required to maintain confidentiality about the manuscripts they review and must not divulge any information about a specific manuscript or its contents without prior permission.

Supplemental Material or Data

Supplemental material or data submitted with a manuscript will undergo peer review with the main manuscript. If the manuscript is accepted for publication and if the supplemental material is deemed appropriate for publication, the material or data will be posted online only with the article at the time of publication. Supplemental material will not be copyedited or formatted; therefore, the authors are responsible for the accuracy and presentation of the material.

Policy on Research Misconduct

The publisher and editor will take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including but not limited to plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication. Per journal policy, final manuscript acceptance is contingent upon successfully passing a plagiarism software check using Similarity Check. If an allegation of research misconduct is made related to an article published in the Journal, the publisher and editor will follow the guidelines provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) to address such allegations.

Open Access Publication Option

The Journal offers an open access publication option to authors of accepted peer-reviewed articles. With this option, articles are made freely available online immediately upon publication in exchange for payment of an article-processing charge of $1500. SLACK Incorporated's Open Access Publication Policy can be found here.

SLACK Incorporated has partnered with Copyright Clearance Center's RightsLink service to offer a fast and convenient way for authors to pay publication charges.

Copyediting and Author Proofs

All accepted manuscripts are professionally copyedited to adhere to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (2020), and journal style. The Journal reserves the right to delete extraneous or excess material, and change or add titles and headings. Article references are processed using Edifix, and references that cannot be verified and formatted by Edifix are checked manually.

Proofs of the edited article are provided to the corresponding author for review and approval. Rewriting the manuscript or making frivolous changes at the proof stage is unacceptable. Authors are responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made during copyediting and production that are approved by the corresponding author.

Author Complimentary Access

After publication, the corresponding author will receive a link that allows 50 complimentary PDF downloads.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor may be correspondence regarding articles previously published in The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing or other topics relevant to continuing education or staff development. Letters regarding a previously published article must be submitted within 12 months of the article's publication to be considered for possible publication, and the author of that article will be given the opportunity to respond.

Letters should be no longer than 500 words, including references, if any, and must contain a clear message or point for readers. Letters may be edited for clarity or length, and letter authors must disclose any competing or conflicting interests, if applicable. All letters are published at the Editor's discretion. Letters should be submitted by email to the editorial office.

Corrections, Errata, and Retractions

Requests to publish corrections should be emailed to the editorial office. Corrections and errata are reviewed by the Editor, published promptly, and linked online to the original article. Significant corrections will be indexed by PubMed.

If clear evidence points to retraction of an article, a notice will be placed on the website and linked to the retracted article with an explanation, according to COPE guidelines.

Article Reprints, Eprints, and Licensing Opportunities

For article reprints, eprints, and licensing opportunities, contact Sheridan Content Solutions.

Archiving

The publisher works with Portico to ensure electronic backup and preservation of access to Journal of Nursing Education content.

JCEN Innovation Award

The JCEN Innovation Award recognizes (a) excellence in writing and evidence of the expansion and/or dissemination of knowledge in the field of nursing continuing education and professional development related to creativity and innovation in the design and delivery of professional development activities; (b) innovative educational strategies based on evidence-based nursing education; (c) evaluation methodologies used to assess effectiveness of the education; (d) documentation of changes in practice that have occurred as a result of an educational experience; and (e) contribution to the development of new knowledge or best practices in nursing professional development. Authors wishing to have their manuscript considered for this award should so state when the manuscript is submitted via Editorial Manager.

Editorial Office

Questions regarding the Journal should be directed to the editorial office.

SLACK Author Services

Authors interested in services that include English language editing, publication support, translation services, and research communication (including research summaries, research infographics, and posters) can click here to access SLACK Author Services (in collaboration with Editage). Fees apply to services selected. Use of SLACK Author Services does not guarantee acceptance by any SLACK journal.

Scholarly Uses of Journal Articles

Acceptable uses of SLACK Incorporated journal articles that are not published open access are outlined in the chart below (click to enlarge).

Open Access Articles

Articles that are published open access in the Journal may be shared at any time as long as the applicable Creative Commons license is observed and remains in place.

For details and more information about publishing open access, access the Journal's Information for Authors.

Commercial Uses and/or Systematic Distribution

Authors of non-open access articles published in SLACK Incorporated journals may reuse the articles only for the scholarly purposes as set out above but may NOT use or post them for commercial purposes or under policies or other mechanisms designed to aggregate and openly disseminate manuscripts or articles. This includes the use or posting of articles for commercial gain or to substitute for the services provided directly by the journal, including the posting by companies of their employee-authored works for use by customers of such companies (eg, pharmaceutical companies and physician prescribers); commercial exploitation, such as directly associating advertising with such postings; the charging of fees for document delivery or access; and the systematic distribution to others via email lists or list servers, whether for a fee or for free. Please note that scholarly social networks such as ResearchGate and Academia.edu are commercial entities and that posting the final published version of an article to these sites is considered commercial reuse.

Public Access Policy for Non-Open Access Articles

SLACK Incorporated's journal copyright agreements enable authors funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to deposit their accepted manuscripts to PubMed Central for posting 12 months following publication by SLACK Incorporated. The agreement also allows posting of accepted manuscripts on authors' institutional repositories 12 months following publication by SLACK Incorporated. Authors should include a link to the final published article on the journal website. SLACK Incorporated will retain copyright for these articles, which prohibits republication elsewhere, and SLACK Incorporated will retain the right to charge a fee for the final published versions of these articles in whatever format they appear.

For uses that do not fall within the situations listed above, please visit healio.com/permissions.

Questions? Contact: SLACK Customer Service, 1-800-257-8290 (856-848-1000 in NJ) or [email protected]

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Source: https://journals.healio.com/journal/jcen/submit-an-article