GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING CE/COVER ARTICLES

Feature articles published in MLO are peer reviewed. Continuing Education/Cover articles are also approved by a Continuing Education Coordinator and a P.A.C.E. committee member to qualify for CE credit.

Remember to write for the MLO audience — the medical laboratorians. Try to avoid "medicalese" without oversimplifying the article. The ideal writing style is unpretentious, easy to understand, and free from jargon and undefined abbreviations and acronyms.

The overall organization of the article should be apparent. Judicious use of headings will help clarify transitions from one topic to another, thus avoiding confusion for the reader.

WRITING THE ARTICLE

The objective of MLO's CE Program is to provide timely, concise reviews of salient topics. The reader will most likely benefit from some review of basic science — anatomy, physiology, physics, and chemistry. A good CE article will update the reader’s knowledge of particular tests or methods without giving an exhaustive history on any one aspect of the topic. The purpose of the article should be made clear in the introduction. A typical MLO CE article might include:

1. an introductory paragraph that establishes the clinical relevance of the topic at hand and piques the reader’s interest. This can be accomplished by using a case study to “set the stage;”

2. a review of the necessary basic science; and

3. a detailed discussion of the laboratory’s role in the matter under discussion. Avoid digressions on a particular topic that are not relevant to the laboratory.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Authors can suggest at least four learning objectives to be used by Northern Illinois University in developing the CE test, made up of at least 20 questions which typically qualify for 1.0 contact hour or 0.1 CEU. Authors are encouraged to make suggestions about what points in their articles should be tested.

LENGTH AND STYLE

The ideal length of a CE article is between 3,500 and 4,200 words. Word counts should also include tables, figures, graphs, photographs, and references. (Number of actual printed magazine pages will vary depending on how many tables and figures are used, as well as variations in font face and size.)

Care should be taken to avoid errors of fact or ambiguous statements. If procedures or test methods are referenced, make certain they are described in enough detail to enable readers to duplicate them in their own labs.

If possible, please use MS Word, and do not imbed tables, graphs, or charts within the text blocks. Instead, put them at the end of the text and number all pages. Indicate if you have used ENDNOTES when submitting a final manuscript.

REFERENCES

References should adequately cover the topic being reviewed and provide sufficient information for further reading without giving the entire history of a lab test or method. Long reference lists may merit publication, but they are costly to produce and interest only a few readers. Excessive reference lists also take away from the space that can be allocated to the article itself. Avoid citing inconsequential, non-pertinent references (e.g., newspapers, in-house newsletters), or references older than five years.

TABLES

Tables should stand as independent units, provide adequate identification of heads and subheads, and should be organized in some logical way (i.e., by a chronology or in decreasing order of frequency). The form and arrangement of table elements should make the table easy to understand. When appropriate, please also cite the source (i.e., give a reference) for any tables and indicate whether it was copied verbatim or “adapted” in some way for the article.

FIGURES

Authors may submit computer-generated charts or graphs, but should also submit all data points used to create the charts so that MLO's art department can accurately recreate them for publication. Neat, hand-drawn diagrams are also acceptable.

SUBMITTING THE ARTICLE

Manuscripts should be emailed directly to cbersch@nelsonpub.com.

Articles must be original and not published or under consideration by any other publication. Please note that any material submitted to MLO that is used in part or in total by another publication may violate copyright laws.

All authors are asked to sign an agreement transferring ownership of copyright to the MLO publisher, as well as to provide specific information, including name, address, home and business telephone numbers, place of employment, and Social Security number of the author to whom the applicable honorarium should be sent.

PEER REVIEW

Prior to final acceptance, two to four peer referees, as well as the editor, review the manuscript. In most cases, the author will be asked to make revisions based on the feedback from reviewers. After the revision is received, the article is forwarded first to the test designer at Northern Illinois University, and then to the P.A.C.E. CE program coordinator for review and assignment of credits. Occasionally, further revisions may be necessary for the article to qualify for CE credit.

PUBLISHING THE ARTICLE

Manuscripts are subject to editing, from a light edit to possible heavy condensing and extensive restructuring. In every instance, the MLO editorial staff will try to preserve the author's ideas. Authors are given a PDF of the edited galley to review prior to publication.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING MATERIAL TO MLO

Cover Story / CE Test

Clinical Issues / Lab Management

Education / Special Features

New Products / New Technology