1. Choose a topic and a format (Roundtable or Poster).
2. Use the downloadable worksheet and follow the guidelines for proposals before submitting it online.
3. Complete and submit the proposal submission form by the deadline.

Explore the table of contents on the AMWA Journal website. AMWA member login will be required to access subscription-only content.

The toolkit includes templates, checklists, slide decks, and knowledge checks to help you define and improve your value in 3 key areas:

• Quality
• Timelines
• Interactions with Key Stakeholders

Explore the toolkit (AMWA member login required). Special thanks to the AMWA Value of Medical Writing, Measures of Success workgroup for providing their time, expertise, and support for the creation of this toolkit.

AMWA members receive special discounts on a variety of products and services designed to meet the needs of medical communicators. Find the full list of partner programs at www.amwa.org/Partner_Discounts.

• gives your employer or clients increased confidence in your credibility and knowledge of medical writing
• shows your commitment to continued professional development in the field
• increases your marketability with opportunities for career advancement

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Apply for the June 2024 exam by April 18, 2024. Explore the Applicant and Candidate Handbook, review eligibility requirements, and read the MWC FAQs.

The Medical Communicator's Guide to Regulatory Writing describes the regulatory writing ecosystem, provides details about breaking into the field, and outlines the core knowledge needed to launch or advance a career as a regulatory medical writer. Explore the rewarding profession of regulatory medical writing!

The Medical Terminology: Quick Reference Guide for Medical Communicators provides the basics for mastering medical terminology. Whether you need to brush up on the basics or train a team of new medical communicators, this quick reference guide is an essential resource for a medical writer or editor's toolkit. 

To find more of our toolkits and guides visit our resources page.

In this issue we invite you to explore global medical communication with guest editor, Elizabeth Kukielka. Read articles on the role of open access, plain language, and translation in medical writing. It also contains new pieces in the Conscious Writing, Science Series, and Freelance Focus columns, as well as spotlight articles on the 2023 AMWA Award recipients. 

Explore the table of contents on the AMWA Journal website. AMWA member login will be required to access subscription-only content.

Joan Affleck to Receive Harold Swanberg Award

The Swanberg Award recognizes distinguished contributions to medical communication and is one of the highest awards an AMWA member can receive.  

Joan Affleck, MBA is an associate vice president at Merck & Co., Inc. as well as a Lang Center Innovation Fellow and regular guest lecturer at Columbia University. Over the past 25 years, Joan has built from the ground up several medical writing departments all over the world. She has used her extensive experience to support AMWA’s strategic planning as previous chair of the Executive Council (2018-2021), in developing the AMWA Workforce Training Committee, and most recently implementing the Value of Medical Writing Work Group. In 2020, Joan received the AMWA President’s Award, and she has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2021. Joan has had an active role in shaping the evolution of medical writing over the last two decades and we look forward to honoring her with this award at #AMWA2023!

Donald Harting to Receive President's Award

The President's Award honors AMWA members who have made distinctive contributions to the association at the chapter or national level.

Donald M. Harting, MA, MS, ELS, CHCP is president of Harting Communications LLC and has 20 years of experience in print journalism, and 15 years of experience in continuing medical education (CME). He has published original, collaborative research on best practices for writing needs assessments and has shared his results with the AMWA community as posters, workshops, a mini-tutorial for AMWA members, and in the AMWA Journal. Don is an active member of AMWA's Delaware Valley Chapter and has served on several committees at the national level. Currently, Don and several collaborators are developing the first-ever competency model for the next generation of medical writers developing content for continuing education in the health professions. The new CME writers’ competency model will be presented at the 2023 Medical Writing & Communication Conference!

Hope Lafferty to Receive Golden Apple Award

The Golden Apple Award recognizes AMWA workshop leaders who have demonstrated excellence in teaching in the AMWA education program.  

Hope Lafferty, AM, ELS is a coach, writer, speaker, performer, and a faculty member of the Medical Writing and Editing Certificate program at the University of California, San Diego. She is a past president of the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences and has served on the editorial board of the last two iterations of the AMA Manual of Style. Hope has been leading highly rated workshops, roundtables, and hands-on intensives with AMWA since 2009. Beyond her national conference involvement, she has served two terms as the annual conference workshop coordinator and as a member of the education committee. She has been a member of at least five chapters and led workshops at even more AMWA chapter events. Join us at #AMWA2023 to celebrate Hope's contributions to AMWA and attend one of her intensives! 

AMWA Fellowships are awarded to members who have made significant contributions to the goals and activities of AMWA. It is one of the highest honors AMWA bestows upon members for service to the organization. 

Barbara O. Lightfoot, BS is a manager in Science Communication and Regulatory at Eli Lilly and Company. She has been an AMWA member since 2009 and served in many leadership positions for the Indiana Chapter between 2011 and 2023, including chapter president. At the national level, Barbara has served as a chapter delegate to the AMWA Board of Directors (BOD), a member of the National Chapter Advisory Task Group, and a chapter representative on the national Chapter Advisory Council.

Anita Misra-Press, PhD is an academic researcher turned freelance medical writer who specializes in writing content for continuing education in the health professions. She has been an AMWA member for over 10 years and currently serves on the AMWA Constitution and Bylaws Committee. She has led roundtables and educational sessions for AMWA conferences and contributed to the AMWA Journal as a peer reviewer. She previously served in leadership positions for the former Northwest Chapter. 

Shawn Watson, PharmD, PhD, BCPS, RPh, BSPharm, is currently a senior director of Clinical Development, program team lead, and interim head of Medical Writing at Recursion Pharmaceuticals. He has been an AMWA member since 2012 and is currently in his 4th year on AMWA BOD as a director at large. Shawn has served on several committees and task forces including the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, held various leadership positions of the New England Chapter, authored or contributed to multiple AMWA Journal articles, and has led roundtables and sessions at both the national and chapter level. 

Join us at AMWA's 2023 Medical Writing & Communication Conference as we celebrate their accomplishments and their well-deserved honors! The Fellowship recipients will also be featured in the upcoming Fall issue of the AMWA Journal.

This issue highlights trends and opportunities in medical communication that were presented at the 2022 Medical Writing & Communication Conference in Denver. It includes transcripts of award addresses, session reports, as well as feature articles on inclusive language, grantsmanship, and the use of artificial intelligence in medical communication. Readers will also find new insights in the Freelance Focus, Conscious Writing, and In the Service of Good Writing columns.

Read the full issue on the AMWA Journal website.

A Comprehensive Guide to Medical Editing provides information and resources on the growing field of medical editing including the education, skills, and abilities needed, the stages of editing and, the tools and resources needed to begin or advance a career. Behind every good scientific document is a skilled medical editor.

How to Identify Predatory Publishers eBook will help you understand the threat to scientific integrity, recognize the characteristics of predatory journals, learn how to avoid and stop the spread of profit-based publishers and, find resources and organizations that are exposing deceptive practices.

To find all of our toolkits and guides visit our resources page.

AMWA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement

AMWA is committed to creating and maintaining a culture that embraces a diverse community of individuals who value excellence in medical writing, editing, and communication. We believe that AMWA functions more effectively with diversity of thought and inclusion of varied perspectives in the shared pursuit of our mission. We strive to 

• Demonstrate the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Encourage the interest, participation, and leadership of underrepresented groups within our organization.
• Cultivate an inclusive, diverse, and accessible community of medical communicators.
  

Value of Medical Writing: The Medical Writer’s Perspective

Regulatory medical writing professionals encounter a common set of challenges with regard to recognition of both the medical writer’s role on project teams, and the nature and extent of the value that they contribute. In this session survey results are presented and compared with responses from regulatory reviewers from a parallel survey run by the AMWA working group.

Value of Medical Writing – the Regulator’s Perspective

In this session, we share the survey results from the regulator agency perspective, and discuss their implications for document quality, its impact on the regulatory review process, and the skills medical writers need to develop to bring value to this process.

This effort to define and promote the value of medical writing continues with additional articles and presentations development.

AMWA Diversity and Inclusion Assessment Task Force Members

• Emmanuel Bassey, MD, MSc, Vision Loss in Later Life Research Lab (VITAL), University of Western Ontario
• Demetrius Carter, MBA, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Services, Certara Synchrogenix
• Dean Colston, PhD, MA, Director of Social Media and Health Communications, A Flock of Scientists, LLC
• Gail Flores, PhD, Principal Writer, Encore Biomedical Communications LLC
• Karla Haack, PhD, Associate Medical Writer, Merck & Co.
• Cyndy Kryder, MS, MWC, Medical Communications Consultant
• Endia Santee Crabtree, PhD, MS, MLA, Senior Clinical Product Risk Scientist, Boston Scientific
• Jeanette Towles, MA, President and Owner, Synterex, Inc.
• Shawn Watson, PharmD, PhD, BCPS, Senior Director, Clinical Development and Program Team Lead, Bicycle Therapeutics
• Toni Willis, MFA, Medical Editor, RTI Health Solutions
• Vee White, BA, Owner/Senior Medical Editor, Vee White Editorial, LLC

Task force members will be selected from the AMWA membership with consideration of their diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experience with D&I initiatives. The work of the task force will be accomplished through virtual meetings and will be supported by AMWA staff. AMWA members interested in serving on the task force are invited to send a brief cover letter highlighting your interest along with a biographical profile summarizing your medical communication background and experience with D&I issues to AMWA Executive Director, Susan Krug, at skrug@amwa.org by February 15, 2022.

AMWA has also just published the first of many translations that will be created in partnership with our partner organizations, EMWA and ISMPP.  We thank Amanda Xiaoqing Mao and her team at Acurit Medical Communications for their support with the Chinese translation of this JPS. 

Read more about this joint position statement, and other statements by AMWA, at www.amwa.org/position_statement.

• Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Medical Writer
• Medical Writing: A Professional’s Guide to Advancing Your Career
• Expert Tips for Freelance Medical Writing

For those looking to enter into the field of Regulatory Writing, or for those in the field who are working to build a training program, AMWA created the Regulatory Writer Training eBook which outlines critical topics and provides a training path for regulatory writing.
 
More resources are in development, so continue to follow all AMWA Career Resources and Tools.

It is important to understand that just because you receive a spoofed email, it does not mean your email has been compromised. Email addresses are quite easy for bad actors to find from a variety of sources including online directories, social media accounts, and by simply following naming protocols for company emails. The best defense is to know the signs so you can spot the spoof and act accordingly.

• Look carefully at the sender address. Although the “name” may be familiar, if the email address is unknown, it is likely a spoof. For example, all official emails from AMWA will come from an amwa.org email address.
• Please note that the steps to view the email sending address may be different for each email client and each device type, so become familiar with how to view email headers for your inbox software.
• Never click links in a suspicious email. The text for the hyperlink and the URL assigned to that text may not match. Visit known webpages by typing them into your browser, rather than clicking on unknown links.
• Do not open attachments from suspicious or unknown senders.
• Remember the old adage “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” These unbelievable email deals and offers are most likely scams.
• Be suspicious of emails that create a sense of urgency or danger. Email the actual “sender” to inquire if they are truly in need of help or your support.
• Beware of emails supposedly from an official source with bad spelling or grammar. AMWA members definitely can spot this!

The statement warns that the public could lose trust in science if scientific and medical researchers choose to bypass the traditional high standards of peer-reviewed medical journals in the rush to get research data released, particularly during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Medical communicators, including writers, editors, and those involved in quality control, play a critical role in ensuring that clinical and scientific data are published and disseminated in an accurate and clear manner. In the current rush-to-publish environment, all stakeholders in the scientific and clinical research communities and press must ensure that the public have correct and actionable information from which to make health and medical decisions,” explained Gail Flores, PhD, President of AMWA.

In particular, the statement highlights the impact of preprints – preliminary scientific reports that are made publicly available online for anyone to read and discuss before they have been peer reviewed. While preprints enable rapid release and discussion of data, many are never revised or corrected, and only about a third-to-a half are ever fully published. This can also occur with articles submitted for post-publication peer review, in which an article is published in its original form, before expert peer reviewers are invited to critique it.

The statement recognizes the benefit of rapid publication, but alerts against the potential harms associated with an accelerated process. In seeking a resolution, the three organizations present recommendations and a Reviewers’ Checklist to provide a minimum standard of pre-publication vetting to enhance preprint publication processes.

Read this Joint Position Statement in CMRO. Find other AMWA position statements at www.amwa.org/position_statement.  

The AMWA Position Statement on Legislation That Negatively Affects the Livelihood of Freelance Medical Communicators was first issued in early 2020 in response to California's poorly written 2019 state bill, AB5, and other laws that were working their way through state legislative bodies, that failed to protect its intended targets and rather harmed contract workers who choose to work on a freelance basis. 

On March 9, 2021, the US House of Representatives voted to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, and it is now headed to the US Senate. To communicate AMWA's position on this legislation, AMWA released a press release and background information document reiterating the position statement. We encourage members who are concerned about this legislation to contact their US Senators.