Communicating Scientific Evidence: Scientific Writing for Integrative Health

Course Title: Communicating Evidence-Based Research: Scientific Writing for Integrative Health

Format:  Online, Self-Paced Course (6 modules) with 1:1 support of a Professional Mentor

Time to Complete: 14 weeks*

*Special requests to extend access for completion on a case-by-case basis.

Category: Professional and Continuing Education – Online Mentor-led Course

Location: Online

Level:  Advanced

Credential: Certificate of Completion

CEUs:  18 CEUs (MUIH)

Pre-Approved for CEUs by the following organizations:

• National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP)
• Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA)
• MUIH is accredited by the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists℠ (BCNS℠) to provide Nutrition Professional Continuing Education (NPCE) credits for Certified Nutrition Specialists® (CNS®). MUIH designates this activity/material for a maximum of 18 NPCE Credits.

Various other professional organizations and boards may accept this offering for continuing education requirements. Please verify with your respective relevant professional organization and email ce@muih.edu with questions.

Course Overview:

Translating evidence-based health information is difficult, even for experienced health practitioners. Join us in this comprehensive six-module course with the support of an experienced mentor, and we’ll get you started in creating evidence-based compositions that you will be proud to share with your clinical community. 

Read our related blog article: 3 Tips to Evaluating Health Information

Full Course Full Description:

Translating evidence-based health information is difficult, even for experienced health practitioners. Join us in this comprehensive six-module course with the support of an experienced mentor, and we’ll get you started in creating evidence-based compositions that you will be proud to share with your clinical community. 

Peer-reviewed evidence expands new theories or concepts to a broader scientific community. The ability to summarize and combine multiple pieces of evidence into useable knowledge furthers the field as a whole. This course provides a foundation for summarizing and synthesizing conclusions from existing research. We will focus on translating integrative health research to a clinical population.

As a result of this course, you will improve your evidence-informed writing as an integrative health professional. These skills are used writing practice-based newsletters, scientific manuscripts, and even social media content for clients/patients that are appropriately grounded in science, thus maintaining credibility and standing among the public and clinical peers. The skills can also be applied toward science-based writing for digital and print trade publications or providing editorial content in other media for clinicians. Such writing can improve professional exposure, impact, and opportunity as a clinician.

Over the course of six modules, learners will be introduced to methods for creating balanced and evidence-backed compositions. We begin the course by discussing the uses of appropriate and balanced evidence and will begin to summarize the evidence students brought to the course. Summaries will then become the basis for our written synthesis draft. Through the process of self-appraisal, students will refine their original piece into a clear, focused, and coherent written work that they can then share with their clinical community.    

The added value of personal feedback from a professional course mentor on your final piece is a tremendous benefit to make your work stand out!

Learning Objectives:

As a result of this course, you will be able to:

• Differentiate between several different types of scientific writing, (original research, review, clinical communication, media reporting, etc.) and use these comparisons in creating quality communications.
• Outline the unifying themes found within multiple pieces of evidence alongside new theories derived from the evidence.
• Summarize research findings from Complementary and Integrative Health literature.
• Synthesize ideas from various peer-reviewed sources into a coherent discussion of the current evidence.
• Write a summative review of pertinent peer-reviewed literature for a clinical or professional audience
• Apply knowledge gained from the self-review process to enhance writing quality.

Course Modules:

Module 1: Appropriate Evidence and Balance

Module 2: Summarizing the Evidence

Module 3: Synthesizing of New Concepts from Evidence

Module 4: Self Appraisal & First Draft

Module 5: Audience-Appropriate Communication & Draft Revisions

Module 6: Final Piece Review/Mentor Feedback & Reflection

Who should participate:

Integrative health professionals, researchers, faculty, and students looking to improve their ability to use scientific evidence to convey information to their clinical community. Health information translators (clinical staff, communications professionals, etc.) who want to improve their use of evidence in written compositions.

Pre-requisites: 

Students must come to the course with 3-5 pieces of primary research evidence they would like to combine into a summary and synthesis. For those who need assistance in obtaining the requisite literature, we strongly encourage you to enroll in the following self-paced module:

Finding the Research for Evidence-based Practice http://ce.muih.edu/browse/ce/courses/course-2-finding-the-research-for-evidence-based-practice 

Registration Fee(s): 

This program is NOT eligible for the PCE MUIH Community Benefit Program.

$697 Standard Rate

$597 MUIH Alumni, Faculty and Staff Rate

$497 MUIH Current Student Rate

Note:  3-month Payment Plans are available upon request. Email ce@muih.edu to request accommodations.

What you will get:

• Course workbook
• Evidence-based Research templates
• Final product to share with the clinical community
• Unlimited access to review the course content
• Personalized feedback from an experienced course mentor 
•  Certificate of Completion & CEUs (upon successful achievement of program assessments)

*CEUs should be verified with the individual professional organization(s) for which you are seeking continuing education credit.

Developer Bio:

Daryl Nault is an Adjunct Professor of Research Literacy and Scientific Writing with MUIH. She has a variety of professional experience in the mental health, fitness, wellness, and nutrition fields. Daryl has assisted on integrative health studies for several years now, with experiences ranging from basic science bench work and clinical trials, to qualitative analysis and systematic reviews.

Daryl’s personal research interests center around the exploration of “health cognition” within integrative health users.  She seeks to examine how and why we as humans process and apply health information. Currently, Daryl is working on publishing her thesis work in the electronic health literacy of integrative health users. Her most recent submission for publication is a piece on the influence of media reporting on the public use of scientific findings. 

After earning her BA in Psychology at Roanoke College, Daryl worked in mental health, fitness, and wellness for several years. She holds two MS degrees. The first, an MS in Nutrition through the University of Bridgeport, and second is an MS in Integrative Medical Research through the National University of Natural Medicine.

 

Offering Details:

This PCE offering is NOT eligible for the free MUIH Community Benefit program.  Individuals that enroll in this course under the MUIH Community Benefit Program will be contacted by the PCE Office and disenrolled until payment is arranged.  However, MUIH Students, MUIH Faculty/Staff, and MUIH Alumni are eligible for tuition discounts on this particular offering.  Please contact ce@muih.edu to verify your MUIH affiliation and to request a Promo Code to use upon checkout.

For registration technical support, please contact 1-844-414-5052 or support@instructure.com.* For a helpful video tutorial for Catalog registrations and payments; and Canvas, your online learning platform, click here.

For other questions about this offering, or CEUs, contact ce@muih.edu.

Refund Policy:  This program is non-refundable 7 days after enrollment/purchase.  Email ce@muih.edu to request a refund within this timeframe. 

*For continuous access to your Catalog PCE Student Dashboard and PCE courses, it is recommended that you register for a new Catalog account with a NON-MUIH email address you access frequently.