Describes and analyzes the author's study of collaborative technical writing in an institutional setting - that of a group of nurses composing the writing of a hospital-based project. It discusses issues from writing in a collaborative group to institutional authorship for virtual audiences.

This work describes and analyzes the authors' study of collaborative technical writing in an institutional setting - that of a group of nurses composing the writing of a hospital-based nursing project. This study seeks to provide the context for the authors to draw conclusions on: writing in a collaborative group; the role of discourse in constructing the social dynamics of community groups; and on institutional authorship for virtual audiences.

A framework for discussion - composition in a hospital context
access, observation, and analysis
understanding nursing as a discourse community
contending discourses for head nurse writers
dimensions of the composing project
writing in a collaborative group
constructing community through discourse
conclusions - institutional authorship, virtual audience and iconic text.