1. Paul Paulman, MD Professor, Dept. of Family Medicine
Case Report Writing 101
Paul Paulman, MD
Professor, Dept. of Family Medicine

2. Session Goal:
Help participants improve their ability to prepare a clinical case writeup
Case Report Writing 101

3. Session Objectives: During this session, the participants will:
Review common errors made by authors of case reports
Brainstorm strategies to overcome barriers to writing case reports
Case Report Writing 101

4. More Session Objectives:
Review techniques to improve your chance of manuscript acceptance
Review current opportunities for case report writeups (including letters to the editor)
Review examples of case report writeups
Start a case writeup, time permitting
Case Report Writing 101

5. Case Writing 101 Why do this? Promotion and tenure
Academic survival/expectations
Enjoyable
Leads to “next level” of writing
Our job, expand knowledge, spark research, improve education and patient care
Case Report Writing 101

6. Case Writing 101 My qualifications? Feature editor, FAMILY MEDICINE
Column co editor, Journal of Family Practice
Editorial Board, AAFP Home Study monograph series
Edited or editing 6 clinical or educational textbooks
Case Report Writing 101

7. Case Writing 101 My approach will be from an editor’s standpoint
Case Report Writing 101

8. Case Writing 101 Common Errors made by case report editors
Case Report Writing 101

9. Case Writing 101 1. Read instructions for authors
Case Report Writing 101

10. Case Writing 101 2. Read instructions for authors
Case Report Writing 101

11. Case Writing 101 3.Read instructions for authors
Case Report Writing 101

12. Case Writing 101 4. FOLLOW instructions for authors
5. Follow suggested form and format
6. Respond to deadlines
7. Mechanicals, missing info, references not cited, etc
Case Report Writing 101

13. Case Writing 101
Take Home Point (this is why you paid your money for this session….)
If you read and follow the author instructions, you’ll be at the head of the pack!
Case Report Writing 101

14. Case Writing 101
Ways to improve your chances of manuscript acceptance:
-Follow instructions
-Write for your reviewer/editor/audience
-Plain language, active voice
-Chose a case with “bite” (eg interest, illustrates a point, familiarity, timeliness)
-Have a colleague review your manuscript---should make sense to her
-Spell check, grammar check, needs to look good
-Include all requested info
Case Report Writing 101

15. Case Writing 101 Audience Participation:
How many have done case writeups?
How many would like to do case writeups?
What are some of the barriers you have or may encounter?
Case Report Writing 101

16. Case Writing 101 OK, what could we do to decrease those barriers?
Case Report Writing 101

17. Case Writing 101 Let’s look at case writeup examples: -IMRAD
-”Progressive reveal”
-Letters to editor
Narrative (statement of problem/concern, background, intervention/observation, discussion)
Case Report Writing 101

18. Case Writing 101
Let’s look at educational case examples as well as clinical
Case Report Writing 101

19. Case Writing 101
Participants: Where are you now? What is your next step in preparing a case writeup?
Case Report Writing 101

20. Summary Why do this? Common errors
Ways to improve your manuscript acceptance rate
Looked at your experience/barriers and ways to overcome them
Case examples
Looked at your current status
Case Report Writing 101

21. Any questions?
Feel free to call on me, if I can help in this process.
Thank you and happy writing!
Case Report Writing 101