AMWA’s Giving Back Program

We are gathering in Columbus to serve each other as educators and colleagues, and it is therefore fitting that we take the opportunity to serve the host community. This year, we have arranged for conference attendees to give back by donating nonperishable food or monetary donations to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

The Mid-Ohio Foodbank has been serving central and eastern Ohio for more than 30 years and now distributes food to more than 550 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, after-school programs, and senior housing sites. The foodbank provides a vital resource to organizations that serve children, the elderly, the homeless, and the poor. It does so with a high level of accountability and at a low administration cost: it is a 4-star organization on Charity Navigator, with almost 95% of expenses going to programs, less than 4% to administration, and just over 1% to fundraising.

The AMWA conference site is not near grocery stores, so please find space in your suitcase for a nonperishable food item. If you don’t have space (or forget), consider a monetary donation (cash or check). Food and money are both helpful, especially as the busy holiday season approaches. Every $1 you donate can buy a needy family, child, or individual $11 worth of groceries.

Look for the Mid-Ohio Foodbank donation box in the AMWA registration area at the conference (Country Foyer) to leave your gift. And thank you for your help as we give back to the community that is so graciously hosting us!


—Tim Peoples, MA, ELS, CMPP

Making Things Clear: Tips and Hints for Working with Non-Western Clients

Most Western readers think it is the writer’s responsibility to make things clear for the reader. However, some non-Western cultures assume that it is the reader’s responsibility to figure out what the writer meant. This assumption can add to the difficulties experienced by non-Western authors as they write for publication and international regulatory approval.

Given that considerably more than half of the world's research is done by researchers whose native language is not English, the demand is growing for people who can assist in writing clear, understandable English in an international context. Of particular note, this “clear understandable English” is not necessarily the same as idiomatic “native English-speaker” English.

You can learn about the challenges and opportunities of writing for this emerging market at the AMWA Annual conference session “The West and the Rest: Working with Non-Native English Authors and Readers in Asia and Eastern Europe.” Panelists Lee Seaman of the Northwest Chapter; Mary (Mimi) Wessling of the Northern California chapter; and Mieko Onuki, an AMWA member residing in Japan, will share their experiences.

Here is a sneak peak at some of what that these panelists will be talking about.
• The English that readers in Asia and Eastern Europe need.

• Principles for making your English easier to understand: The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine has PLAIN language principles that can be applied to all types of writing. Japanese writers can also find advice for better English medical writing.

• When working through a writing/editing agency, which demands are reasonable and which not? How do you decide?

• How can you “upscale” your services to appeal to higher-end agencies and end-users?

Bookmark or schedule this session in the AMWA Annual Conference app and join us!

--Noelle Demas, 2013 AMWA Annual Conference Committee

Think Outside the Pharmaceutical Industry Box at AMWA Annual Conference

Whether you’re a veteran medical writer with extensive pharmaceutical and biotechnology experience, or a newcomer to the medical writing profession, this year’s AMWA Annual Conference program offers a number of opportunities to broaden your professional horizons with sessions focused on the medical device industry.

Terminology, FDA structure, regulatory requirements, standards for clinical trial design and product promotion, and key professional qualifications for medical writers can differ significantly between the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. A basic understanding of these differences can give medical writers an entrée into a potential new market for their services.

For an overall introduction to the field, there’s “Scope of Medical Communication,” where Scott Thompson, a writer in the medical device field, will provide an overview of the medical device setting; discuss career opportunities in the field; talk about the knowledge, skills, and attributes that increase the likelihood of success; and tell you what you can expect to earn. Open sessions featuring content related to medical devices include “Current Regulatory Challenges for Reporting Drug Safety Information for Approved Drugs, Biologics, and Devices,” presented by Mary Whitman, and “FDA’s Other Box: Medical Device Regulation for Pharmaceutical Writers,” featuring a panel of device-industry veterans.

“The ‘FDA's Other Box’ panel discussion should appeal to medical writers working in the device or pharmaceutical industries,” says Cynthia Carr, PhD, a senior medical writer at Ventana Medical Systems Inc. and one of the panelists at the session. “Working for a device manufacturer, I've seen a huge increase in the number of collaborations with pharmaceutical partners in recent years. Our clinical study managers have expressed repeatedly how beneficial it is to the collaborative effort when our pharmaceutical partners have some basic understanding of device regulations.”

Medical devices is also a topic in this year’s Alvarez Award Address, titled “Medical Devices: Policy, and Politics. ” Gregory D. Curfman, MD, executive editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, and the 2013 Alvarez Award winner, will also discuss policy issues currently affecting the industry.

The growing number and popularity of device-focused sessions at AMWA conferences had its genesis after the 2011 annual conference in Jacksonville, when a small group of device writers noticed that the industry was underrepresented at the AMWA conference. Many had been flying under the radar for a few years and thought it was time they shared their knowledge to help enhance their fellow AMWA members’ knowledge and career prospects.

"I'm a medical device specialist, so I'm somewhat biased," says Christine Welniak, principal of Upside Communications and a long-time a champion for efforts to increase medical device educational content at the conference. "But I love that AMWA is expanding its educational offerings to include device-oriented sessions. In terms of unmet need, there's a dearth of people who specialize in devices. AMWA is a logical place for manufacturers and medical communication agencies to seek writers and editors. I hope attendees capitalize on the programming at this year's annual conference. They can quickly learn device nomenclature and unique considerations, such as patient selection or types of adverse events. That way, they'll be able to take advantage of the many and varied opportunities in the field."

Be sure to bookmark this session or add it to your schedule in the AMWA Annual Conference app.

--Jeanne McAdara-Berkowitz, PhD

Are You Professionally Invisible?

Do you feel like you have control over your career? Does your boss recognize the value you offer? If you answered no to either of these questions, you’ll want to learn to create visibility in your career. Enhancing your visibility can help get you noticed for new opportunities and may even help reduce the risk of losing your position during a “reorganization.”

You can learn how to get noticed in your work by attending the Intensive Seminar “Create Visibility and Influence to Fast Track Your Career,” held at the AMWA Annual Conference on Wednesday, November 6.

You want your boss and other senior people to regularly think about how they could get you involved in new and interesting initiatives, says John West Hadley, Career Search Counselor, John Hadley Associates, LLC. “The key to making this happen is to consistently communicate value in everything you do, without appearing to brag. It’s about what you say (or write) and how you say (or write) it, and even about when you do it,” says Hadley.

“The vast majority of us fall down badly in this, assuming that our good work will speak for itself. It may, but only if it gets noticed, which often doesn’t go beyond your immediate superior.”

Hadley also notes that when we have a rare opportunity to have a conversation with a senior executive or other people in key positions in our companies, we don’t take advantage of the opportunity to make it an “influential conversation.” Medical writers have a natural mindset for providing information, he says. And the more we focus on pushing information on people, the less engagement and the lower the influence level of the conversation. In his seminar, he will describe the mindset necessary to consistently get into seriously influential conversations, and he will provide a “model” for how to conduct such a conversation successfully.

Hadley has given several popular seminars and talks, including one on networking at a 2012 AMWA Delaware Valley Chapter event. He also participated in a podcast on networking for the AMWA Journal. In addition to his Wednesday seminar at this year’s AMWA Annual Conference, he is also leading a session on networking on Thursday. Don’t miss either chance for a face-to-face experience in learning strategies for taking charge of your career and marketing yourself better.

You must register separately for “Create Visibility and Influence to Fast Track Your Career.” If you have already registered for the AMWA Annual Conference, send an e-mail to annual_conference@amwa.org to ask about adding the seminar to your registration. If you have not registered yet (why not???), you can register for both the conference and the session onsite.

Getting Around at the AMWA Annual Conference

We can count on many things being the same at the AMWA Annual Conference year after year: outstanding educational offerings, great networking opportunities, and the chance to see old friends and colleagues. But each AMWA Annual Conference is different too, especially with AMWA’s added emphasis on innovative programming. Making our way across the meeting space and around the host city is always new.

Thanks to modern technology, you can become more familiar with your conference surroundings from the comfort of your home (or, if you’re a procrastinator, as you travel to Columbus).

There’s an App for That
Yes, there’s an app for the AMWA Annual Conference—the most exciting thing to happen to the conference since…well, I’m not sure what. If you haven’t downloaded the app, do yourself a favor and download it before you leave for the conference so you have plenty of time to become familiar with it. You can download the conference app for free to your iPhone, iPad, or Android device. Just search for the app in the iTunes store or Google Play store with the search term “AMWA.”

First, make sure to create an account and profile after you download the app. You can make contact information public or private. One feature of the app allows you to download contact information for other attendees—great for networking! Attendees can download your contact information only if you make your information public, so be sure to consider this.

Want to see the conference schedule? With the app, you can review the schedule in a variety of different ways. First is the traditional by day. If you don’t want to think linearly, try looking at the schedule by track or by topic. Or, look up the schedule by speaker. If all else fails, you can search for a word or words.

Once you find sessions you want to attend, you can create your own personal schedule. And, you can even set a reminder for the sessions in your schedule. If you’re not sure about whether your schedule can accommodate a session, bookmark it. Later, you can look at your bookmarked sessions to see what you can get to.

The app includes the rooms of sessions, as well as maps of the meeting space at the Hyatt. No more waiting until you’re onsite to see where your sessions are and how far you have to run to get from one to the next. Map it out in advance!

Also become familiar with some of the things you’ll be able to do with the app during the conference…like take notes at sessions, connect through your social media accounts, rank sessions. We really hope the app enhances your conference experience from beginning to end!

If you really don’t have time to play with the app before the conference, staff will be on hand in the registration area to help you. And tips for using the app will be available at the Editorial Rx Press exhibit table, the sponsor of the app.

Get Out!
Yes, the AMWA Annual Conference is packed with opportunities to learn and to network. But be sure to get out at some point to enjoy this unbelievable city! Right around the corner from the convention center is the Short North, the culturally rich neighborhood known as the “art and soul” of Columbus. You’ll enjoy walking through this city gem.

Also just steps from the Hyatt is the North Market, which describes itself as “…the fabulous foodies, persnickety purveyors, and artful artisans peddling the fresh, the tasty, the exotic, the beautiful, and the special.” As a bonus, a Farmer’s Market is featured every Saturday. Wouldn’t some nice fruit or fresh flowers look good on your hotel desk?

A little farther out is the German Village, a tiny neighborhood that is one of the premier historic districts in the country. It’s packed with fun places to eat and drink.

Learn more about what Columbus offers at My Columbus. Also, members of the Ohio Valley Chapter will be available in the registration area (and by phone) to help answer your questions about the area and make suggestions. The AMWA Conference app also includes a list of some restaurants compiled by Ohio Valley Chapter members.

When you do venture farther away from the Hyatt, remember Columbus’ famous saying: “All you need is 4’s.” That’s the motto of Yellow Cab of Columbus, which has been operating since 1928. The background to the saying is the cab company’s phone number: 444-4444 (area code 614). And, to capitalize on the 4 theme, four people can ride for the price of one. Sounds like a good way to get around (and traveling in groups is always best). Besides the easy-to-remember phone number (you’ve memorized it, right?), Yellow Cab offers 4 ways to order a cab: phone, online, an app (available in the App Store), and even by text message (you send your pick-up address to 777222—hey, what happened to the 4s?). So, there’s no excuse for not exploring Columbus—or not getting back to the hotel on time.

I look forward to exploring Columbus with all of you!