Robert Tasker, Editor-in-Chief of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and Harvard professor, shares concise strategies for scholarly writing and academic productivity. He discusses the 3,000-word structured report, building writing habits with small projects, forming collaborative groups and mentorship, choosing the right journal audience, and the emerging role of AI in scholarship.
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volunteer_activism ADVICE
Use A Small Recurring Writing Group
Join a small recurring writing or lab group to stay accountable and move projects forward.
Tasker meets a geographically dispersed team by Zoom every other week to brainstorm, write, and troubleshoot ideas.
insights INSIGHT
Small Projects Can Seed Bigger Work
Smaller scholarly tasks can be stepping stones if they arise from genuine clinical curiosity.
Case reports, posters, or a first book chapter built writing habit and sometimes lead to larger sustained projects for Tasker.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Say No Unless It Matches Your Focus
Learn to say no selectively by matching asks to your interests and available time.
Tasker suggests accepting work that aligns with your trajectory (eg, a chapter in your field) and declining tasks outside your focus or bandwidth.
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In this World Shared Practice Forum Podcast, Dr. Robert Tasker, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, discusses strategies for successful scholarship in pediatric critical care with a lens towards fellows and junior faculty. In discussion with co-hosts, Drs. Ruth Riedl and Katherine Rosengard, Dr. Tasker reviews clinical reports, effective engagement with the literature, and the role of mentorship in academia. He shares insights on pivotal themes in pediatric critical care literature, encouraging clinicians to engage actively with published research and contribute to evidence-driven practice.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Recognize the significance of structured clinical research reports in pediatric critical care
- Develop strategies for effective engagement with and utilization of medical literature
- Identify the role of mentorship in academic scholarship and career development
- Review the importance of the audience in academic projects and the implications for publication
AUTHORS
Robert Tasker, MBBS, MD
Editor-in-Chief, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Senior Associate in Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine
Boston Children's Hospital
Professor of Anesthesia
Harvard Medical School
College Lecturer in Medicine and Graduate Tutor
Selwyn College, University of Cambridge
Ruth Riedl, MD
Chief Fellow, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Boston Children's Hospital
Katherine Rosengard, MD, MBA
Chief Fellow, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Boston Children's Hospital
Traci Wolbrink, MD, MPH
Senior Associate in Critical Care Medicine; Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine
Boston Children's Hospital
Associate Professor of Anesthesia
Harvard Medical School
DATE
Initial publication date: February 24, 2026.
TRANSCRIPT
https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/at/84nhn6mvprnkpqjm3cq57pm8/202602_WSP_Tasker_Transcript.pdf
Please visit: http://www.openpediatrics.org OPENPediatrics™ is an interactive digital learning platform for healthcare clinicians sponsored by Boston Children’s Hospital and in collaboration with the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. It is designed to promote the exchange of knowledge between healthcare providers around the world caring for critically ill children in all resource settings. The content includes internationally recognized experts teaching the full range of topics on the care of critically ill children. All content is peer-reviewed and open-access thus at no expense to the user. For further information on how to enroll, please email: openpediatrics@childrens.harvard.edu
CITATION
Tasker RC, Riedl R, Rosengard K, Wolbrink TA. Navigating Scholarly Writing and Academic Productivity. 02/2026. OPENPediatrics. Online Podcast. https://soundcloud.com/openpediatrics/navigating-scholarly-writing-and-academic-productivity-by-rtaskeretal.
OPENPediatrics 