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Other Northwest Events of Interest "Science by the Dozen" NW Science Writers meeting Jan. 11
Join the Northwest Science Writers at the Institute for Systems Biology on Wednesday, 6-10 p.m., for the annual
event "Science by the Dozen."
http://nswa.roundtablelive.org/events
Tickets are available for $20 for NSWA members
and $25 for non-members. Many thanks to our gracious sponsors: Seattle Childrens, ISB and Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical
Association. Their help keeps our admission low and allows more of our growing community to enjoy this once-a-year opportunity.
There will be
short tours of the Institute's remarkable building, where some amazing basic science gets done, and delicious food and
spirits.
Employment Opportunities AMWA-NW Chapter E-mail Jobs Lists: We circulate job listings to our chapter e-mail lists. If you
would like to receive job listings, please contact Lauren Baker, AMWA-NW secretary, by email (laurenb_wa<at>yahoo.com). Please provide Lauren with your name, e-mail, and the city
and state in which you live. Our lists serve those living in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and British Columbia.
To advertise a job opening, send the details to Lauren Baker at laurenb_wa<at>yahoo.com. There is no charge for advertising a job to our e-mail list
members. Please note: we only post jobs located in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and British Columbia. Freelance
or contract jobs that can be done remotely will also be advertised. AMWA Jobs Listing: AMWA members may click this
link to view jobs on the national AMWA website.
News from the AMWA Northwest Chapter New AMWA-NW
Officers Approved May
16, 2011. Cory Smith has been nominated and approved as president-elect of the AMWA-NW chapter. Lauren Baker has
been nominated and approved as chapter secretary. All officers' terms run from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012.
Your other AMWA-NW officers will be president Genevieve Long (who also serves as delegate to the AMWA board of directors)
and treasurer Anita Misra-Press. Immediate past president for this term will be Sandy Evans.
The chapter's president-elect attends general, business, and executive board meetings,
presides in the chapter president's absence, acts as chairperson of the Nominating Committee each year, and may act
as program chairperson. For AMWA-NW, the program chairperson is Jean Feagin, who will remain in her role in the 2011-2012
year.
The chapter secretary attends general, business, and executive board meetings, takes minutes at business
and executive board meetings, prepares and sends out chapter meeting and other announcements, and orders supplies as necessary.
All
AMWA-NW members are encouraged to participate in the work of our chapter and attend meetings and social gatherings. The
2001 Annual AMWA-NW chapter symposium was held Saturday, June 4, at the Talaris Conference Center in Seattle, Wa.
2011 Events Chapter
Meeting Held October 1, the Crab Cracker, Kirkland, WA
Sandra
Ripley Distelhorst presented Writing Evidence-Based Patient Content; we had plenty of laughter and networking opportunities at our favorite lunch spot.
Chapter Get-Together Held in Portland August 31 A "Coffee and Dessert" informal gathering of the Northwest
Chapter was held at President Genevieve Long's home.
Talaris Annual Symposium June 4, 2011. AMWA Northwest Chapter Annual
Professional Development Symposium at Talaris
Over 50 AMWA members and other medical communicators (from as
far as Montana and Africa) attended the 2011 Symposium at Talaris Conference Center in Seattle. Four Credit Workshops and four
Enrichment Sessions were offered. See photos from the symposium here. March AMWA Northwest Chapter
Meeting: March 26, 2011
Green Lake
Library, Seattle
Tom Lang presented his PQRST approach to communication design: a set of questions to be considered when preparing
written communications. Detailed in
Tom’s book, How to Write, Publish, and Present in the Health Sciences, it is the culmination of his 30 years
as a technical communicator and his graduate studies in communication. January
AMWA Northwest Chapter Meeting, Green Lake Library, Seattle
Bioinformatics and Its Importance
to the Medical Writer
Speakers from the NWABR (Northwest Association
for Biomedical Research) group spoke about bioinformatics and how it influences medicine, and hence, medical writing. Topics
included ethical issues related to bioinformatics and NWABR educational programs, including the NWABR Bioinformatics Program. 
AMWA NW members attend 2010 Annual Conference in November in Milwaukee,
WI
 Thanks from AMWA Headquarters: Steve Palmer, Administrator of Chapters and Membership, sent an email thanking the Executive Committee of our
chapter for their generosity: "The Northwest Chapter of AMWA has contributed $1,000 toward sponsoring the beverages
that will be available in the hospitality area during part of this year's Annual Conference. Their contribution, like
that of the Ohio Valley Chapter, will be acknowledged in the on-site program and on signs in the hospitality area.
Thanks, AMWA Northwest!"
Fall
AWMA Northwest Lunch The Fall AMWA NW
Lunch was held at the Crab Cracker, 452 Central Way in Kirkland on October 23.
July 2010 Meeting in Seattle Members and friends of the AMWA NW chapter held an informal networking meeting on July 18th
at Northgate Mall's Macaroni Grill. Several members from as far south as Portland attended. Discussion about the health
of the NW Chapter was lively among the 14 attendees plus nearly everyone had the opportunity to meet someone new. We heard
from all at the table -- current work, past accomplishments, future plans and, of course, the election of AMWA-NW officers.
We talked about current challenges in the field of medical writing -- what's going well and where we could focus to
offer more assistance to AMWA-NW members. Our more experienced members contributed valuable perspective. A few officer
candidates came forward at the meeting, and I was pleased to see how many individuals were interested in participating in
chapter events and symposiums. Involvement from more people will allow us to host more events and continue to build AMWA-NW.
Cheers to the start of a new AMWA-NW year! -Submitted by Nona Clifton, immediate past Secretary
Portland Members of AMWA-NW Meet for Coffee, Conversation, May 2010
Members of the AMWA-NW chapter who live in the Portland metro area met for coffee
and conversation on May 15, 2010, at the Hillsdale branch of Multnomah County Library. Fueled by Starbucks coffee and tea,
several members gathered from 10 a.m. to noon to socialize and discuss AMWA business. Chapter president Kristi Weber briefed members on the AMWA Board of Directors meeting in April
2010. Highlights included: - AMWA members are
noticing more frequent updates to the AMWA Web site, now designed in-house
- AMWA's
educational self-study modules are now designed in-house, giving AMWA more control over production.
- The national president-elect is Barbara Snyder, who will replace current president Tom Gegeny. Doug Haneline is
secretary-elect, and Judy Pepin remains treasurer.
- Directors discussed
having an independent agency put together a certification exam for medical communicators similar to the BELS exam. Such an
exam would set a standard for proficiency in medical communication, raise awareness of the skill set for medical communicators,
and increase awareness of ethical standards. Members could take a general examination and be tested in chosen specialty
areas.
- In general, AMWA chapters are working to hold meeting costs down.
Kristi Weber commended Portland members for using an attractive, free facility for the meeting.
- AMWA membership is down, but AMWA has made judicious budget cuts, so the organization is doing well financially.
Kristi Weber reviewed the high points of Karen Woolley, Ph.D.'s
keynote address, Getting Respect-Two Steps Forward and ?, from the 2009 national meeting. She recommended that members
who did not have a chance to attend the address view the talk online.
There
was some discussion of AMWA subgroups on LinkedIn, and whether members could belong to the national AMWA group and all chapter
groups or only their own chapters. Kristi Weber will keep the group posted on these developments. The meeting included one student member, new to AMWA. The other members present,
all freelances, shared tips on breaking into medical communication and opportunities to write or edit in graduate school
(volunteering to write a department Web page, writing grants, etc.) Members discussed meeting two or three times each year so Portland-area members can socialize and have opportunities
for professional development without traveling to Seattle. (Regular AMWA-NW chapter meetings will continue in Seattle for
those who can attend.) The group agreed to meet again in fall 2010. --Submitted by Genevieve Long AMWA Northwest Annual Chapter Meeting January 9, 2010
AMWA Northwest chapter members met at the Green Lake Library Meeting Room in Seattle,
WA. Members listened to a presentation by Karen Wooley, PhD, featuring the keynote presentation from the 2009 AMWA National
Conference: Getting Respect—Two Steps Forward and ?
2009 Events "Substantive Editing," March
20, 2009 Twenty AMWA members and
guests attended the March 7 Chapter Meeting at the Green Lake Library Branch, 7364 E. Green Lake Dr. N., Seattle, WA, to
hear Alexandra Howson’s excellent presentation, Introducing Substantive Editing: Why Medical Writers Need It and
How to Begin. Group discussion following the formal presentation was both interesting and valuable, and many attendees
stayed afterward to visit among themselves.
Alex has provided the following list of texts and resources, which
she referenced at the meeting:
Stott,
Bill. Write to the Point. NY: Columbia University Press; 1991. Writer's guide to structure and organization.
Plotnik, Arthur. The Elements of Editing. NY: Macmillan; 1982. Over 20 years old but has some great pearls on the sensibilities of editors and good insight
into editor/author relationship.
Williams, Joseph. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. NY: Longman;
2003. Principles of creating (or editing)
texts for cohesion and coherence.
Zinsser, William. On Writing Well. NY: Harper Collins; 2001. No-nonsense nonfiction writing
guide.
Cook, Claire Kehrwald. Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin; 1985. Principles of sentence repair without losing
sight of the big picture.
Einsohn, Amy. The
Copyeditor's Handbook. Berkeley: University of California Press; 2006. Indispensable resource.
Organizations:
Editorial Freelancers Association http://www.the-efa.org/
Bay Area Editors Forum http://www.editorsforum.org/
Editors Association of Canada http://www.editors.ca/ Bay Area Editors Forum http://www.editorsforum.org/
Editors Association of Canada http://www.editors.ca/
Simon Fraser University (Distance courses in substantive editing and also summer workshops) http://www.sfu.ca/wp/eeai-d.htm/ Alexandra Howson, PhD has a background as a trauma
nurse and as a medical sociologist. She has been teaching, writing, and substantively editing for twenty years. Through
Thistle Editorial, LLC she provides research, writing, and editing support for medical, health, and human service organizations.
She also serves as our Chapter Liaison to the national American Medical Writers Association.
"Transitioning to WORD 2007," January 10, 2009
About a dozen AMWA members braved the elements to attend the first chapter meeting of 2009, held at Everett's
PUD facility. Letty Barnes, Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor and a Microsoft Certified Applications Specialist,
led a fast-paced session covering the new features of WORD 2007. Fielding questions and adapting content to individual needs,
Letty provided much valuable instruction in a short time. Her class proved so valuable, it will be offered in expanded format
at our May 2 Symposium.
Ninth Annual
Symposium, May 3, 2008
Seattle’s Talaris Conference Center
continues to be a favorite venue for the AMWA-NW Symposium. A new feature was a hospitality room that provided a place for
members to network and to peruse job postings. Several local authors displayed their work. Plans next year call for making
space available during the day for recruiters who would like to meet individually with symposium attendees.
“Getting Organized,” September 20, 2008
The annual get-together at the Crab Cracker in Kirkland proved helpful to
those who want their home offices to be better organized. Guest speaker Leah Stahlsmith from Savvy Solutions Organizing,
Inc. presented an organizational approach designed to minimize the number of times paper needs to be handled. Attendees
came away with several new ideas for organizing home and office paperwork.
AMWA's 68th Annual National Conference, October 23-25, 2008
Forty-two Northwest chapter members attended AMWA’s 68th Annual Conference, held October 23-25, in Louisville,
KY. Participants working toward certificates found several new course offerings this year. In addition, some of our chapter
members organized or presented open sessions.
A highlight was Thursday night’s “Chapter Greet and
Go.” After meeting for a short visit in one of the main conference meeting rooms, many members attended an informal
chapter dinner at Bristol Bar & Grille, one of Louisville’s premier restaurants.
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