Writing a winning bioethics manuscript: Tips from authors and editors for empirical, normative, and case-based papers

Saturday, October 25, 2025

9:15 AM - 10:15 AM Pacific Time

Robert Truog, MD, MA (he/him/his)

Frances Glessner Lee Distinguished Professor of Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, and Bioethics
Harvard Medical School
Cambridge, Massachusetts
JB

Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, PhD, MA (she/her/hers)

Cullen Professor of Medical Ethics, Associate Director of The Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
Alex Kon, MD, HEC-C

President
Ethics Consultants, Inc.
SAN DIEGO, California

Abstract: In this session, three prominent bioethics authors and editors will discuss key aspects of writing and publishing papers. The presentations will cover writing, submitting, and responding to reviewers’ and editors’ comments to assist attendees understand how to position their work for the best chance of publication.

The first presenter, a clinician who is a nationally recognized bioethics expert and has published over 280 papers in leading journals, will explain the standard rubric for case-based ethics papers, discuss differences in manuscript style for different audiences, and consider strategies for finding the right journal for a specific piece.

The second presenter, a philosopher who is a national leader in bioethics and has served as an associate editor of two of the leading bioethics journals, and who has published over 150 papers in leading journals, will discuss key strategies in writing normative and conceptual ethics papers.

The third presenter, a clinician-researcher who served as editor-in-chief of a leading empirical bioethics journal and has published over 100 papers, will discuss best practices in preparing a report of an empirical study for publication. The discussion will review the standard sections of empirical papers with emphasis on what to include, and what not to include, in each section. This discussion will also review how best to respond to reviewers’ and editors’ comments.

After the presentations, attendees will be invited to ask questions of the panel members and discuss their own experiences and pearls in writing and publishing.

Keywords: writing, publishing

Learning Objectives:

After participating in this conference, attendees should be able to:

Upon completion, participants will be able to identify key elements in writing a case-based ethics paper.
Upon completion, participants will be able to identify key elements in writing a non-case-based normative ethics paper.
Upon completion, participants will be able to identify what to include, and what not to include, in the standard sections of reports of empirical bioethics projects.