Date: Friday, October 8 at 3:30 p.m.
Location: Medtronic in Fridley, MN

A full description of the fall program is here.

2. Make the Most of Your Conference Experience
Planning to attend the AMWA conference in November? This slide show, Getting the Most From the AMWA Annual Conference, provides an overview of AMWA’s certificate program, highlights conference aids and services, and offers suggestions on managing your time and budget while in Milwaukee.

3. Greet-and-Go at the National AMWA Conference
Please join us for dinner while at the annual conference in Milwaukee on Thursday, November 11, 2010. We will meet at the chapter greet-and-go location (5:30-6:15) and leave together for a nearby, but as yet undetermined, restaurant. We look forward to seeing you there!

4. Learning About the Medical Communication Field
If you or someone you know would like to learn more about the medical communication field, visit the About Medical Communication page at AMWA’s Web site. The page includes information about what medical communicators do, where they work, and what they earn.

Member Profile – Jeanne Mettner
By Paul W. Mamula, PhD

Jeanne Mettner always knew she wanted to write, but her career turned out far different from what she envisioned in college. Jeanne is a freelance writer and principal of Planetary Ink, a sole proprietor company she launched in July 2002. She does medical writing, editing, and production coordination for health care and medical communications projects.

In college, Jeanne knew writing was the career for her, but never thought that she would be able to integrate her natural curiosity with her love of writing—and make a living at it. She said, “I thought I would end up teaching high school English somewhere while I worked on short stories on the side.”

Jeanne earned a BA in journalism and English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After college, she worked as a junior copywriter and spent most of her time writing or editing medical-related projects. She discovered that she liked doing that and sought another degree to integrate the two fields.

“Writing was something I always wanted to do, but I didn’t know I would end up writing or editing mostly medical-related projects until I worked as a copywriter,” Jeanne said.

She said, “All of the clients I worked with were health care systems or clinics, and I ended up doing mostly annual reports, stories, and articles—rather than advertisements. I realized I enjoyed the integration of medicine and journalism immensely, so I returned to school to get more specialized training.”

Jeanne earned a Master’s degree in journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia, emphasizing healthcare journalism. The two degrees helped her navigate her way through medical writing, but she notes that much of her training has been on the job. She noted that the dramatic changes in medicine make it a “learn-as-you-go” approach for many projects.

Before joining the freelance ranks, Jeanne had worked in full-time positions at several organizations. She was a publications manager at Park Nicollet Clinic, an environmental health editor, and a senior editor at Postgraduate Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal for family care physicians. After working for Postgraduate Medicine, Jeanne became a full-time freelancer.

The freelance business complements her lifestyle well. Jeanne has two children, ages 4 and 8, so a flexible schedule provides time for family life. She often does her interviews early in the morning or late in the evening. These are the times when many physicians are free from patient duties.

Jeanne doesn’t mind the odd hours, “Number one, because I love my job, and number two, because I know that those late nights and early mornings help open up a little more time to spend with my family during the day.”

Jeanne learned about AMWA while she was a publications manager at Park Nicollet Clinic in the mid-1990s. She joined after receiving a flyer in the mail and attended her first conference that same year.

When she began her career, Jeanne found that AMWA gave her the opportunity to get the extra training she needed to become more proficient at work tasks. The conferences helped her master online research, publication coordination, project management, and statistical interpretation. Today, AMWA provides Jeanne with a different but equally important resource. AMWA helps to keep her connected with colleagues who are involved in similar projects—fellow freelancers with whom she cannot always interact with personally.

Jeanne is grateful for the opportunities that led her to her current business. She says, “More and more, I am hearing that people are not happy in their work. I feel so fortunate to be able to say that I love my job, and I do my best not to take it for granted.”

Upcoming Activities

1. SE Minnesota AMWA Writers and Editors Discussion Group—August Meeting
The next lunch is scheduled for Friday, August 27, 2010, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. These every-other-month, bring-your-own-lunch gatherings are informal. All AMWA members and guests are welcome.

Mayo Clinic Campus
Plummer Building, conference room 1050
100 2nd Ave SW Rochester, MN 55905

For the full meeting schedule and directions, please click here.

2. AMWA North Central Chapter Book Club
by Mary Knatterud, book club organizer
The next meeting is Monday, September 27, 2010. The selected book is Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality by Pauline W. Chen. We will continue to meet at 11 a.m. at The Egg & I (2550 University Avenue, in the northwest corner of the old International Harvester building, now renovated, just west of Highway 280 near the Minneapolis-St. Paul border—with 2 free parking lots, a small one north of the restaurant and a large one east of it). RSVP by 9 a.m. on Book Club Monday to me via email (MKna…), so that I can call ahead to have a table waiting for us. For more information about the book club, including future selections, please click here.

1. New Chapter Officers
Nominations are now closed for President-Elect and Co-Treasurer. Because there was only 1 nomination for each office, voting was not necessary. The AMWA North Central Chapter is pleased to announce that Karen Steinhilber will be the new President-Elect and Alexandra Woods the new Co-Treasurer. We are grateful to both for their enthusiasm and willingness to serve. Their terms will begin October 1.

Karen Steinhilber has been a freelance medical instructional designer for more than 10 years. She received an MLS from the University of Minnesota in 2005 that focused on curriculum and instruction for adult education in health care. Before launching out on her own, she worked as a technical writer, project lead, and global education curriculum manager for local Twin Cities medical companies. It is not uncommon to find her up in the wee hours of the night developing physician education or product launch curricula for medical device and pharmaceutical sales representatives. Her free time is spent with her husband and son, working on her organic berry garden and tap dancing competitively with the Studio One Monday Night Ladies.

Alexandra Woods earned a BA in Philosophy from Wellesley College and an MBA emphasizing Finance from Harvard University. Following a career in corporate finance and investment banking for technology firms, she took some time off and accepted what was supposed to be a short-term assignment as a project manager for a large new drug application submission. She soon found that many of her writing, editing, document management, and cross-functional team management skills were transferable to the pharmaceutical industry, and she decided to pursue regulatory medical writing as a career. Eventually, she was able to take on assignments independently and work from home, which she has been doing for the past seven years. A member of AMWA since 2002, Alexandra lives in Golden Valley with her three young children.

2. Greet-and-Go at the National AMWA Conference
Please join us for dinner while at the annual conference in Milwaukee on Thursday, November 11, 2010. We will meet at the chapter greet-and-go location (5:30-6:15) and leave together for a nearby, but as yet undetermined, restaurant. We look forward to seeing you there!

3. Conference Registration Opens on July 26
Registration for this year’s annual conference opens in less than 2 weeks – on July 26. Now is a good time to talk to employers about why they should send you to this valuable educational opportunity. If you freelance, be sure to remember the value of networking when asking yourself if you can afford to come. Can you afford not to attend? See PDF for answers to the question: What’s at the Annual Conference for me?

Reference Review – The Immunoassay Handbook, edited by David Weil, 2nd ed., 2001
by Todd Jensen

The Immunoassay Handbook is a 906-page reference manual for anyone who is interested in a wide range of topics related to immunoassays and their application. Written by nearly 85 experts in the field, it is easy to understand and comprehensive in its scope. It includes 4 main sections: Principles, Product Technology, Laboratory Management, and Applications. The Principles section begins with a basic explanation of the technology by comparing an immunoassay to someone fishing for metal particles in a stream with a magnet on a pole. The magnet represents an antibody and the metal particles, the analyte being measured. After this elementary explanation, section 1 expands into a total of 14 chapters which explain the mechanisms behind different assay strategies, how assay systems are calibrated, and the basic approaches applied by the diagnostics industry.

Section 2 on Product Technology presents an overview of the most prominent immunoassay methods in commercial use. This includes everything from the earliest methods such as agglutination assays (radial immunodiffusion, immunoelectrophoresis, nephelometry and turbidometry) to random access walk-away systems capable of doing hundreds of tests per hour. This is followed by chapters on market trends, how to choose an automated system, and features available. The section concludes with 28 chapters featuring the details of most of the major manufacturers’ products, giving detailed descriptions of the assay methods involved as well as instrument technologies.

The third section of the book covers Laboratory Management. Major considerations in running a clinical laboratory are discussed beginning with the critical importance of proper sample collection and handling. Separate chapters discuss quality assurance principles and point-of-care testing. The final chapter of section 3 is one of serious practical importance – troubleshooting. For nearly 40 pages, guidance is given on how to identify the root causes and solutions for the most common issues seen with poor assay performance. This information is invaluable not only to end users in clinical laboratories but also to manufacturers who need to track down the source of a problem and correct it as quickly as possible.

The final section on Applications is virtually a book in itself, covering about 360 pages. This includes general body system/disease categories such as thyroid, bone metabolism, diabetes, cardiac, cancer markers, etc. Each chapter in this section begins with a concise explanation of normal function followed by the predominant disease states. The important analytes to be measured for diagnostic purposes are described with reference intervals, clinical applications, and the usual assay technology employed. This virtual encyclopedia of immunoassays finishes with chapters on life-science research applications and the common uses in veterinary diagnostics. A third edition was published in 2005 with much of the same information as well as several updated topics.

Member Profile – Norma Lechtman
by Deb Sugerman

Norma Lechtman, DVM, an AMWA member for approximately 10 years, began her academic career as a Chinese language major. After earning her master’s degree in East Asian studies, she moved with her husband to Ohio and then, when he took a position at the University of Tennessee, to Knoxville. The university was planning to open a vet school, news of which prompted Norma, an animal lover, to make a major career shift. To meet the challenge of adjusting from full-time parent of two – “I had been watching a lot of Sesame Street,” she recalls with a laugh – to a new academic field, she developed what she called her “Marshall Plan” – a five-year program that involved basic science and math prerequisites, followed by three years of vet school.

Norma completed her DVM degree and went into small animal practice. She moved to California, eventually returning to Minnesota by way of Florida and Virginia. By this time she was the single mother of three and found solo veterinary practice too time-consuming. So she took on relief work, filling in for other vets. But before too long, she grew eager for new challenges. Choosing to remain in Minnesota, she sent her resume to a state database, which forwarded it to a small Belle Plaine pharmaceutical company advertising for a DVM.

Her new job responsibilities included writing – protocols, equipment qualifications – and training. “I thought, ‘I have all these language skills – I can use them here,’” Norma recalls. She continued to keep her hand in veterinary practice, doing occasional relief work and keeping her license current.

Norma’s move to her current employer, Boston Scientific, as a contract technical writer took place a little over ten years ago, by way of a recruiter. “I went into writing in the product development area, which in the medical device world means engineering,” she explains. The change necessitated acquiring yet another set of knowledge skills. After a couple of years, she moved into the pre-clinical area as a writer. “Since ‘pre-clinical’ involves safety studies using animals, that was a really good fit,” she recalls. “Then there was an opening in the pre-clinical quality department and I crawled through that window of opportunity.”

“Writer/auditor is not that different from writer/editor,” she quips. Her primary writing task consists of audit reports, but she also writes procedures, revisions and edits to procedures and reports, and staff communications. As an auditor, Norma is responsible for determining whether a pre-clinical laboratory or study has followed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) GLP, or Good Laboratory Practice, regulations. GLP broadly refers to a system of management controls for labs and research organizations. When a company is developing a new device that it plans to submit to the FDA for approval, it needs to comply with GLP regulations.

“We use both internal and external labs,” Norma explains. “We look at the labs’ procedures and records, look at data, review protocols. We review data for accuracy and integrity and whether the study has been conducted in GLP compliance. After audits, we write reports.” For example, her team may check a company’s records for equipment calibration. If a calibration is overdue, an “observation” may result. A number of such observations could be presented in support of a “finding,” which describes a problem that could be more systemic in nature. “The writing of findings is quite an art form,” she says. “They must be identified with the applicable regulation and be documented.”

Norma first learned of AMWA when she joined Boston Scientific. She recalls thinking the organization provided good value, and continued her membership when she transferred to the pre-clinical group. Over the years, she’s attended two or three annual conferences. She’s taken the basic certification courses as well as courses offered at the conferences, including literature searching, statistics, copy editing, grammar – even test-question writing. She’s attended a few chapter events and would participate in the book club if her work schedule permitted. “The chapter has become more vibrant since the days when I first joined,” she notes.

Besides AMWA, Norma’s other professional involvement includes the Society of Quality Assurance (SQA), for which she currently volunteers her time to write test questions. She also belongs to the Minnesota chapter of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and remains a member of the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association. And she still works as a veterinarian one Saturday morning a month. If Fido gets in a fight, Norma can pick up a needle instead of a pen – and stitch him up.

Upcoming Activities

1. SE Minnesota AMWA Writers and Editors Discussion Group—August Meeting
The next lunch is scheduled for Friday, August 27, 2010, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. These every-other-month, bring-your-own-lunch gatherings are informal. All AMWA members and guests are welcome.

Mayo Clinic Campus
Plummer Building, conference room 1050
100 2nd Ave SW Rochester, MN 55905

For the full meeting schedule and directions, please click here.

2. AMWA North Central Chapter Book Club
by Mary Knatterud, book club organizer
The next meeting is Monday, September 27, 2010. The selected book is Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality by Pauline W. Chen. We will continue to meet at 11 a.m. at The Egg & I (2550 University Avenue, in the northwest corner of the old International Harvester building, now renovated, just west of Highway 280 near the Minneapolis-St. Paul border—with 2 free parking lots, a small one north of the restaurant and a large one east of it). RSVP by 9 a.m. on Book Club Monday to me via email (MKna…), so that I can call ahead to have a table waiting for us. For more information about the book club, including future selections, please click here.

1. New Chapter Officers Needed
The Nominating Committee is soliciting nominations for President-Elect and co-Treasurer for 2010-2011. Serving as an officer helps ensure the vitality of the chapter and represents an important professional achievement. Both positions carry a 3-year commitment. The President-Elect will become President in 2011-2012 and then Past President in 2012-2013. The new co-Treasurer will work with the present Treasurer in 2010-2011, assume sole responsibility in 2011-2012, and work with a new co-Treasurer in 2012-2013.

Nominations will close on June 30. Until then, you may nominate yourself or others. So far, there is 1 candidate for President-Elect and 1 candidate for co-Treasurer. All candidates will be announced in the July newsletter. If there is more than 1 candidate for an office, the Secretary will send electronic ballots to all voting members by August 15, and the elections will close on August 29.

For more information on the duties of each office, please see the chapter bylaws (Article IV, Officers). You are also invited to contact the current President-Elect and Treasurer with any questions that you might have via the Officers page. Please e-mail any nominations to Michael Franklin (pres…).

2. Sign Up to Receive Local Job Information
The chapter is pleased to announce a new member benefit: chapter members can now opt in to an e-mail service that forwards announcements of local freelance opportunities and job openings. A new form on the Web site (see the “Advertising a position” permalink on the sidebar) allows potential employers (freelance or otherwise) to describe open positions. These descriptions will then be e-mailed only to those who have asked to receive these announcements.

The local chapter does not actively seek out job opportunities and it does not accept jobs posted by recruiters, instead encouraging them to use the national paid site. All members seeking freelance or permanent work are reminded to closely monitor the national Jobs Online site for opportunities. This new service is meant to supplement, not supplant, those lists. The chapter hopes that providing this communication channel for local employers can be an additional local resource for those seeking work.

We will send an e-mail to chapter members next week detailing how to opt in to receive job listings.

3. Start Planning for AMWA’s 2010 Annual Conference
You can now read about the 40 open sessions that will be conducted in Milwaukee at the American Medical Writers Association’s 70th Annual Conference. All open sessions are included in the registration fee. There is no limit on the number of open sessions registrants may attend.

The 2010 Conference Workshops information is also posted for your review; 94 workshops will be offered at the annual conference. AMWA is pleased to announce that 16 new workshops will be presented for the first time in Milwaukee!

Workshops fill up early, so start planning your list of the workshops you need for an AMWA certificate or for your continued education. The conference registration brochure will be posted in early July. We look forward to seeing you in the great city of Milwaukee for AMWA’s 70th Annual Conference!

4. AMWA Board of Directors Meeting Summary Posted
A summary of the AMWA Board of Directors April/May 2010 meeting is posted under Archives in the left sidebar. Among the topics discussed: the upcoming national conference, professional certification for medical communication, and ideas for chapter programs.

Spring Chapter Event Review
Mayo in May: From Maud Mellish to Mod Mannequins
by Mary E. Knatterud, 2009-10 Chair, Program Committee

Whether seated under a stately oil painting of an early-20th-century manuscript editor or standing over the eerily lifelike form of an early-21st-century mannequin, members of the North Central chapter relished an enthralling Mayo Clinic tour on May 21. It was a tour de force from start to finish.

Maud Mellish’s Mentees
Check-in that Friday forenoon was in the Plummer Building, the Art Deco masterpiece that towered above the downtown buildings of Rochester and the surrounding farmland when it opened in 1928. On the 10th floor, 15 AMWA attendees stepped from ornate elevators into the architecturally stunning reception area of the Section of Scientific Publications, one of the largest in-house editing groups in academic medicine.

Section head and longtime AMWA member LeAnn Stee presided over an engaging 20-minute PowerPoint presentation showcasing the legacy of Dr. William Worrall Mayo and his surgeon sons, Will and Charlie, better known as the Mayo Brothers. Stee paid homage to Maud Mellish Wilson (1862-1933), one of the world’s first and longest-reigning medical editors, whose regal face on the day of our tour graced everything from the conference room wall to bookmarks handed out at the end. Stee’s talk focused on the inner workings of her Section, which has offered professional editorial assistance to Mayo Clinic physician-authors since 1907 (when Mellish was hired to take care of “the literary end of the business”). Nowadays, the Section processes up to 600 journal articles each year, along with textbooks and related educational material. Stee left plenty of time for an array of questions from our group.

A Mini-Meeting
Incoming 2010-11 chapter president Michael Franklin conducted a refreshingly truncated business meeting, with various AMWA officers giving succinct updates on ongoing committee work and on the quarterly book club.

A Meal
Our Mayo-based AMWA hosts gamely led our group through brightly lit concourses of several interconnected Mayo campus buildings to the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center cafeteria, where both the food and the conversation made for a nourishing break.

Machines and Mannequins
The Mayo Clinic Multidisciplinary Simulation Center was a several-minute walk away in the Stabile Building. At this high-tech virtual hospital, learners strive to master complex care delivery without endangering actual patients. The 10,000-square-foot facility, which opened in 2005, reproduces the look and feel of the typical operating room, emergency department, intensive care unit, endovascular suite, and patient examining room. It uses 3 error-forgiving methods: standardized patients played by real-life actors, virtual-reality task trainers (computerized modules for practicing diagnostic and surgical procedures), and high-fidelity life-size mannequins that can physiologically respond to treatment.

AMWA member Todd Jensen with a simulated “patient” at the Mayo Clinic. (Photo taken by AMWA member June Oshiro.)

After a 7-minute introductory video, our group was split into 2 smaller ones, allowing us ample opportunity to interact with our tour guide (and with our still-in-need-of-resuscitation mannequin). In addition, we each were able to take over a console and try our hand at “surgery.” I can personally attest to how hard it is to perform (or rather, sheepishly try to) even a single minor step of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

AMWA member Randy Fritz at the controls of a Mayo Clinic virtual-reality task trainer, while AMWA member Mary Knatterud looks on from a safe distance. (Photo taken by AMWA member June Oshiro.)

The sights and sounds of our May 21 meeting on the heritage-rich, leading-edge Mayo campus are best summed up in Dr. William J. (Will) Mayo’s own words, as printed on one of the Simulation Center’s brochures: “The glory of medicine is that it is constantly moving forward, that there is always more to learn.”

Acknowledgments
Special thanks to LeAnn Stee for her superb presentation and to all of her Section of Scientific Publications colleagues who graciously showed us around their offices (formerly patient examining rooms!); to our friendly and informative Simulation Center volunteer tour guides, Mike Goodman and David Velasquez; to North Central chapter stalwarts June Oshiro, Roxanne Landon, and Liz Davies for adroitly handling umpteen scheduling, publicity, and registration details; to 2009-10 president Kimberly McGhee; and to all of the members of the 2009-10 Program Committee: Michael Franklin, Joy Frestedt, Marty Heiberg Swain, and Anne Marie Weber-Main.

Upcoming Activities

1. SE Minnesota AMWA Writers and Editors Discussion Group—June Meeting
The next lunch is scheduled for Friday, June 25, 2010, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. These every-other-month, bring-your-own-lunch gatherings are informal. All AMWA members and guests are welcome.

Mayo Clinic Campus
Plummer Building, conference room 1050
100 2nd Ave SW Rochester, MN 55905

For the full meeting schedule and directions, please click here.

2. AMWA North Central Chapter Book Club
by Mary Knatterud, book club organizer
The next meeting is Monday, September 27, 2010. The selected book is Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality by Pauline W. Chen. We will continue to meet at 11 a.m. at The Egg & I (2550 University Avenue, in the northwest corner of the old International Harvester building, now renovated, just west of Highway 280 near the Minneapolis-St. Paul border—with 2 free parking lots, a small one north of the restaurant and a large one east of it). RSVP by 9 a.m. on Book Club Monday to me via email (MKna…), so that I can call ahead to have a table waiting for us. For more information about the book club, including future selections, please click here.

A regular meeting of AMWA’s Board of Directors was held in Rockville, MD on April 30-May 1, 2010. The meeting convened at 2:00 pm, with President Tom Gegeny presiding, and Mary Royer serving as Secretary. All chapters were represented by at least one voting delegate, with the exception of one chapter. Official minutes will be available on the national AMWA Web site after their approval at the Fall 2010 Board of Directors meeting in Milwaukee. In the meantime, I have prepared the following abridged report of notable items of business from the meeting.

National Bylaw Amendments
A proposal to change Article 1.9 of the national bylaws was approved. Under the previous version of Article 1.9, suspension or expulsion of AMWA members could be discussed in a regular or special meeting. However, grievances against members can only be discussed in a special meeting. Thus, the bylaw was changed from “in a regular or special meeting…” to “in a special meeting.”

Budget
The national organization is fiscally sound. For the fiscal year 2009-2010, the excess income over expenses was $8,099. Compared with previous fiscal years, this surplus of revenue is small, in part because of decreased revenue from the 2009 Annual Conference and increased personnel expenses. The projected net revenue for 2010-2011 is $1,848. Total reserves are $1,011,779.42, which exceeds the target amount for the “rainy day” fund.

Membership
Membership numbers have dropped slightly from last year’s all-time record high. We had 5,637 members in March 2009 compared to 5,336 members in March 2010.

Endowment Fund
The interest from AMWA’s endowment fund, established in 2004, is projected to be $5,500 for this coming year. The Board of Directors unanimously approved spending this interest to fund the annual subscription to MD Consult.

Student Research Award and Published Research Award
There were no entries this year for either the Student Research Award or the Published Research Award. The lack of applicants is largely due to the fact that these awards are new. Individual chapters could help promote these awards to local AMWA members via their Web site and newsletter.

Annual Conference
The 70th Annual Conference in Milwaukee promises to offer unsurpassed educational opportunities. There will be 96 workshops, 15 general-interest sessions, 15 short sessions, 11 special-interest sessions, 36 breakfast roundtables, and 18 coffee klatches. The keynote address will be delivered by William L. Lanier, MD, the editor-in-chief of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. There will also be two luncheon presentations by the distinguished recipients of the McGovern Award and Alvarez Award. The following workshops need a leader: Principles of Pharmacoeconomics, Writing Clinical Papers, and Tables and Graphs.

Expanded Certificate Program
Enrollments in the new certificate program are steadily increasing, with 59 total enrollments in Essential Skills. Participation in self-study workshops is high, including the latest self-study module, Statistics. A self-study module on Elements of Medical Terminology will be released at the 2010 Annual Conference, and another self-study module on Essential Ethics for Medical Communicators will be released at the 2011 Annual Conference. Chapters should promote the new curriculum before the Annual Conference registration.

Professional Certification for Medical Communication
The Board of Directors voted to approve a task force to pursue development of a certification program in medical communication. Certification is a credential granted to an individual after the individual has met established criteria of competency, usually through an examination. Certification is different from a certificate, such as AMWA’s educational certificate. The main purpose of the certification would be to set the standard of proficiency for medical communication. The certification would be globally accessible.

Publications
AMWA will offer a one-year complimentary subscription to the AMWA Journal to officers of sister organizations and professors of scientific/technical/medical writing. Lori Alexander, the editor of the Journal, has also suggested producing PDF compilations of recent journal articles on various themes. The compilations would be posted on the Web site and made available to nonmembers for a nominal fee ($10-25). The goal of this initiative is to attract new members and create a “buzz” in the medical communication community on specific topics. If any members have ideas of particular themes, please send them to Lori Alexander. The Publications Committee also contacted 15 publishers of medical journals about promoting the Freelance Directory.

Web and Technology
HQ staff have recently made important changes in the Job Services and Resources area of the Web site, making it easier for employers to search for medical communicators. Several delegates noted that the Freelance Directory is difficult to navigate. Faith Reidenbach and the Freelance Directory subcommittee are working on proposals for improving the Web site’s search capabilities and functionality. Given the new and improved Freelance Directory, we should consider promoting it in our newsletter.

AMWA’s LinkedIn group is approaching 1,000 members (AMWA members only). Deb Whippen and Kristi Weber are working to help chapters start LinkedIn groups for each chapter under the umbrella of the AMWA group. The hope is that all chapters will launch and manage their own group. Donna Miceli is the moderator of the LinkedIn group.

Several AMWA listservs were eliminated recently due to inactivity, and so the number of listservs was reduced to two, the Editing/Writing listserv and the Freelance listserv. These listservs continue to be an important way for members to communicate with one another on a daily basis.

Grievance Review Process
The Board of Directors voted to approve a new grievance review process for handling complaints against members.

Endorsement of Good Publication Practice (GPP)-2
The Board of Directors voted to endorse the provisions of GPP-2. The Executive Committee decided against asking delegates to vote on endorsement of a position paper by Karen Woolley and colleagues entitled “What Should Be Done To Tackle Ghostwriting in the Medical Literature?” (PLoS Medicine 2009;6:122-125) or this paper’s “Checklist for Authors Using Medical Writers: A Practical Tool to Discourage Ghostwriting.”

Ideas for Future Chapter Programs
Several delegates shared their experiences of some of their most successful chapter events, describing a range of topics and formats that appealed to their members. It was generally noted that members attend local events for the content, not the food. The Delaware delegate noted that her chapter had had success with a networking meeting, similar to “speed dating”, in which individuals meet with one another for five minutes, exchange cards, etc., before moving on to the next five-minute meeting. Another chapter delegate commented that a topic with the potential to recruit new members is “How to become a medical writer?” Other notable ideas for future chapter programs include such topics as Regulatory Writing, Word 2007, and LinkedIn (Note that I have a speaker from the Rocky Mountain chapter willing to lead these workshops, Elizabeth Frick, PhD.). Another interesting idea shared by one of the delegates was having AMWA business cards for chapter officers with the title and e-mail of the officer (no specific names), so that when the card is discovered months or years later, it contains useful information.

Michael J. Franklin is a medical writer and editor in the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation at the University of Minnesota.

1. Only a few days left to RSVP for the Chapter Spring Event
The Program Committee is pleased to invite AMWA members and their guests to the spring 2010 chapter program, tours of the Mayo Clinic Multidisciplinary Simulation Center and the Mayo Clinic Section of Scientific Publications.

Date: Friday, May 21, 2010
Location: Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN)

A full description of the spring program – including a Web video of the Simulation center, RSVP information, and driving directions – is here.

2. Keynote Speaker Announced for AMWA’s Annual Conference – November 11-13, 2010
AMWA is pleased to announce that William L. Lanier, MD, will be the featured speaker at AMWA’s 2010 Annual Conference. Dr Lanier is the editor-in-chief of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, former president of the Society of Neurological Anesthesia and Critical Care, and a founding member of the American Medical Association’s journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. Among his many other accomplishments, Dr Lanier is the youngest person to attain the rank of Professor of Anesthesiology in the history of the Mayo Clinic. He is the author or coauthor of approximately 200 publications, including more than 85 indexed original articles. Join us in Milwaukee for Dr Lanier’s keynote address, “Ensuring the Quality and Integrity of the Indexed Medical Literature.” Learn more about AMWA’s 70th Annual Conference.

3. Reminder: Certificate Credits Do Not Expire
Members are encouraged to enroll in AMWA’s updated certificate program. If you already have a Core or Advanced AMWA certificate, you can enroll immediately in one of the specialties: Business, Composition and Publication, Concepts in Science and Medicine, or Regulatory and Research. Any credits that have not not been used toward a certificate that you’ve already earned may still be applied toward a different certification.

4. Chapter Officer History
Randy Fritz has recently assembled a historical list of North Central Chapter Officers. If you can help fill in the names that are missing or if you find errors, please e-mail Randy at past… Many thanks to Randy for compiling this information.

Member Profile – Theresa King-Hunter
by Karen Steinhilber

Formerly trained as a medical technologist, Theresa began her career in a clinical laboratory performing assays, instructing students, and assisting with autopsies.  However, when a writing opportunity presented itself, she jumped at the opportunity and hasn’t looked back.  The choice was clearly the right one — she has 4 published studies with the National Institutes of Health under her belt and has been nominated multiple times for the Medtronic Star of Excellence Award.

Theresa found AMWA in the early 1990s when she worked for a consulting firm that had a contract with the federal government.  Her employer reached out to AMWA as a way to ensure training was appropriate for their in-house medical writers.  Theresa herself completed the core curriculum certificate in editing/writing and hasn’t let her membership lapse since.  She went on to serve as Director-at-Large for the Southwest Chapter of AMWA and continues to look for opportunities to participate in leadership roles within the organization.  She remains an advocate of AMWA’s professional development program and encourages her own staff to attend local training workshops.

When time permits, Theresa works independently on medical projects through her own small firm, King-Hunter Medical Communications. Theresa can be reached for project help by e-mail at hunt…

Upcoming Activities

1. SE Minnesota AMWA Writers and Editors Discussion Group—June Meeting
The next lunch is scheduled for Friday, June 25, 2010, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. These every-other-month, bring-your-own-lunch gatherings are informal. All AMWA members and guests are welcome.

Mayo Clinic Campus
Plummer Building, conference room 1050
100 2nd Ave SW Rochester, MN 55905

For the full meeting schedule and directions, please click here.

2. AMWA North Central Chapter Book Club
by Mary Knatterud, book club organizer
The next meeting is Monday, September 27, 2010. The selected book is Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality by Pauline W. Chen. We will continue to meet at 11 a.m. at The Egg & I (2550 University Avenue, in the northwest corner of the old International Harvester building, now renovated, just west of Highway 280 near the Minneapolis-St. Paul border—with 2 free parking lots, a small one north of the restaurant and a large one east of it). RSVP by 9 a.m. on Book Club Monday to me via email (MKna…), so that I can call ahead to have a table waiting for us. For more information about the book club, including future selections, please click here.

1. RSVP for the Chapter Spring Event
The Program Committee is pleased to invite AMWA members and their guests to the spring 2010 chapter program, tours of the Mayo Clinic Multidisciplinary Simulation Center and the Mayo Clinic Section of Scientific Publications.

Date: Friday, May 21, 2010
Location: Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN)

A full description of the spring program – including a Web video of the Simulation center, RSVP information, and driving directions – is here.

2. Mary Pat McGinnis Appointed as Chapter Co-Secretary
We welcome Mary Pat to the Executive Committee as the new Co-Secretary. In the next few months, Mary Pat will be taking over production of the chapter newsletter and will work closely with the Publications Committee and the Membership Committee. (Click here to see her member profile from last spring.) We are glad to have her with us! We also thank Roxanne Landon, the previous Co-Secretary, for her service to the chapter.

3. Checklist for Authors Using Medical Writers
On May 1, 2010, the AMWA Board of Directors will consider endorsement of the Checklist for Authors Using Medical Writers: A Practical Tool to Discourage Ghostwriting (see below). The new checklist encourages authors to provide appropriate disclosure of writing assistance in manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. Kimberly McGhee, the North Central Chapter President, provided a succinct review of the debate surrounding the author checklist in the November 2009 newsletter.

Checklist for Authors Using Medical Writers: A Practical Tool to Discourage Ghostwriting

From Gøtzsche PC, Kassirer JP, Woolley KL, Wager E, Jacobs A, et al. (2009) What Should Be Done To Tackle Ghostwriting in the Medical Literature? PLoS Med 6(2): e1000023. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000023 (link to article)

The North Central Chapter will have one voting member, Michael Franklin, at the Board of Directors meeting in May. Chapter members are encouraged to send their opinions regarding the merits of having AMWA endorse the author checklist. Email Michael at pres….

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Member Profile–Scott Wessels
by Paul Mamula, PhD

Scott Wessels loves to edit, but it took him a while to realize that editing was his true calling. A series of events in Scott’s life led him to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), where he was introduced to medical editing and AMWA. Eventually he launched his own freelance medical editing business, Track Changes, LLC.

Scott earned a B.A. in English from Illinois Wesleyan University, and the English background prepared him for writing and editing. He began his career in 1991 as District Representative in Sterling, Illinois, for 16th District Congressman John W. Cox, Jr. The Congressman served only 1 term (1991-1993) and returned to his law practice after losing the seat to Republican Don Manzullo, who still holds the seat. The position with Representative Cox, however, allowed Scott the opportunity to visit Washington, DC, and see what it had to offer. He fell in love with Washington and, in 1993, he decided to make it his new home and workplace.

After the move to Washington, DC, Scott searched for a new position. He applied for and was offered a job in the Government Relations Department at ACOG in June 1993. While in the post, he worked on multiple legislative issues. Scott also served in other positions in various departments within ACOG. The work provided a wide variety of tasks. A coworker at ACOG noticed Scott’s editing skills and convinced him to apply for an editor position that had become available in the Publications Department. Scott accepted the position in April 2005 and found it to be a perfect fit. He realized on the first day of work that editing was what he was meant to do.

At ACOG, Scott’s main project was the monograph series Clinical Updates in Women’s Health Care, for which he served as lead editor. He also worked on many other projects, including editing committee opinions, technical bulletins, postgraduate course brochures, ACOG’s publications catalog, and books. During his last 2 years at ACOG, he coordinated the Clinical Updates in Women’s Health Care annual editorial board meetings.

Deirdre Allen, the Editorial Director in the Department of Publications at ACOG and Scott ‘s supervisor, told him about AMWA. Scott credits her as the person who had the greatest impact on his professional development. Scott said, “Deirdre is my mentor. She introduced me to AMWA and encouraged me to take advantage of the educational and networking opportunities that the organization provides.” Scott followed her advice. He has attended three annual meetings and has completed a Core Certificate in Editing. He currently is working on a Core Certificate in Freelance, one which he says has sharpened his skills and enhanced his career.

In 2008, Scott moved to Minnesota and continued to work part-time with ACOG as a telecommuter. The financial meltdown in the economy caught up with many associations in September 2009, and ACOG made cutbacks, including layoffs for part-time staff. At that point, Scott decided to launch his business, TrackChanges Editing, LLC.

TrackChanges, LLC specializes in obstetric and gynecologic content. Scott has worked on editing publications for medical professionals as well as patient education material and medical publications for consumers.

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Upcoming Activities
1. SE Minnesota AMWA Writers and Editors Discussion Group—April Meeting

The next lunch is scheduled for Friday, April 23, 2010, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. These every-other-month, bring-your-own-lunch gatherings are informal. All AMWA members and guests are welcome.

Mayo Clinic Campus
Plummer Building, conference room 1050
100 2nd Ave SW
Rochester, MN 55905

For the full meeting schedule and directions, please click here.

2. AMWA North Central Chapter Book Club
by Mary Knatterud, book club organizer

The next meeting is Monday, April 26, 2010. The selected book is The House of God: The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital by Samuel Shem (pseudonym of psychiatrist Stephen Bergman).

We will continue to meet at 11 a.m. at The Egg & I (2550 University Avenue, in the northwest corner of the old International Harvester building, now renovated, just west of Highway 280 near the Minneapolis-St. Paul border—with 2 free parking lots, a small one north of the restaurant and a large one east of it).

RSVP by 9 a.m. on Book Club Monday to me via email (MKna…), so that I can call ahead to have a table waiting for us.

For more information about the book club, including future selections, please click here.

1. RSVP for the Chapter Spring Event
The Program Committee is pleased to invite AMWA members and their guests to the spring 2010 chapter program, tours of the Mayo Clinic Multidisciplinary Simulation Center and the Mayo Clinic Section of Scientific Publications.

Date: Friday, May 21, 2010
Location: Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN)

A full description of the spring program, including a Web video of the Simulation center, RSVP information, and driving directions, is here.

2. Membership Committee Report
by Colleen Sauber and Charyl Dutton-Gibbs

During the past year, the North Central Chapter Membership Committee greeted 37 new members through the mail with a welcome packet containing an introduction letter, a $25 coupon to help cover the cost of attendance at an annual or regional meeting, an AMWA notebook with pen, and a chapter bookmark that lists our Web site and announces upcoming events.

In the recent 3 months, the committee contacted 8 writers whose AMWA membership had lapsed. E-mails were sent encouraging them to rejoin our chapter and to give us feedback on how we can do a better job of meeting their needs. Three persons responded. Letters also were sent to 2 members whose e-mail addresses no longer accept the chapter’s e-newsletter mailing.

In addition, the Membership Committee has contacted universities and colleges in our chapter’s region. The schools include the Metropolitan State University, Twin Cities; North Dakota State University, Fargo; Dickinson State University, Dickinson, ND; University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; and University of St. Thomas, St. Paul. In its school communication, the committee requests that they provide information to students and faculty about AMWA, including Web addresses for headquarters and the chapter, and about upcoming chapter events. For example, the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communications posted the 2 chapter programs of 2009 in colorful wall flyers and in e-mail announcements and reminders. This year, the committee plans to also start contacting medical and nursing schools in the area.

This month, we are delighted to welcome a new member to the committee: Mary Beth Nierengarten, a freelance writer and editor in St. Paul.

We look forward to furthering our membership efforts in the coming months. If you know a colleague who might welcome a call and invitation to join AMWA or a school we might contact, please let us know by sending an e-mail to the Membership Committee. Thank you!

3. Spring Chapter Report Submitted
A chapter report has been submitted to the national AMWA organization for the Board of Director’s Spring meeting, which will be held April 30 and May 1 in Rockville, Maryland. Michael Franklin will represent our chapter. You can view the full report here.

4. Registration is Open for AMWA-Delaware Valley Chapter’s Eighth Annual Freelance Workshop
This full-day workshop covers knowing the job markets for freelances; personal profile and portfolio; writing specific health care materials; running your freelance business; working smarter and more efficiently; and marketing yourself effectively.

Date: Saturday, April 17, 2010
Doubletree Guest Suites
640 West Germantown Pike
Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462

Registration deadline is Thursday, April 1, 2010.

An online brochure is available here.
Contact Julie Munden if you have questions: juliemunden@comcast.net or (215) 723-2951.

Member Profile–Rhonda Anderson
by June Oshiro, PhD

Rhonda Anderson

Rhonda Anderson is a technical writer at i3 Statprobe (a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group). Her current job, as part of a clinical research organization, has her collaborating with pharmaceutical companies, with a primary focus on regulatory writing and preparation of documents for the FDA. For most projects, she works with a team that includes scientists, doctors, and statisticians, but she typically is the only writer in the group. The position includes project management, as she is responsible to lead the team, provide a time line, problem solve any obstacles, and ensure that deadlines are met for each project.

Rhonda believes that her education and training make her particularly well-suited for clinical writing. After obtaining an undergraduate degree in zoology and medical technology, Rhonda was employed by a hospital laboratory, where she worked as a medical technologist for 17 years. Eventually, she was ready for a career change. She had always liked writing and decided to enroll in an entry-level college class in technical writing; at the same time, she found new employment as a technical writer with a local medical device company. While she worked full-time, Rhonda earned an MS in technical communication at Metropolitan State University and raised a family of 2 children.

In her job with i3 Statprobe, Rhonda does contract work with companies all around the country. Thus, her work tends to be done in a “virtual office”—where the majority of communication takes place through e-mail or during teleconferences. A relatively quiet person, she recalled facing initial challenges of working with faraway supervisors and clients. “No one can see you working hard in your cubicle, so if they don’t hear from you, they’re not sure what you are doing,” she admitted. She has since adopted the habit of regular communication, whether she is providing project status updates, reporting problems, or discussing time lines, and she believes this has made her presence on the team more visible. She is looking forward to greeting her collaborators face-to-face soon—after working together for nearly a year, they will be meeting in person for the first time this March.

Rhonda has been an AMWA member since 2002 and has obtained the advanced certification in pharmaceutical writing. When asked whether AMWA contributed positively to her career as a medical writer, she enthusiastically replied, “Definitely!” and added that she particularly benefited from classes in statistics, grammar, and International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) standards. She also appreciates the networking opportunities that AMWA provides. Rhonda has attended one of the national meetings and looks forward to seeing her fellow chapter members at a local function.

Upcoming Activities
1. SE Minnesota AMWA Writers and Editors Discussion Group—April Meeting

The next lunch is scheduled for Friday, April 23, 2010, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. These every-other-month, bring-your-own-lunch gatherings are informal. All AMWA members and guests are welcome.

Mayo Clinic Campus
Plummer Building, conference room 1050
100 2nd Ave SW
Rochester, MN 55905

For the full meeting schedule and directions, please click here.

2. AMWA North Central Chapter Book Club
by Mary Knatterud, book club organizer

The next meeting is Monday, April 26, 2010. The selected book is The House of God: The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital by Samuel Shem (pseudonym of psychiatrist Stephen Bergman).

We will continue to meet at 11 a.m. at The Egg & I (2550 University Avenue, in the northwest corner of the old International Harvester building, now renovated, just west of Highway 280 near the Minneapolis-St. Paul border—with 2 free parking lots, a small one north of the restaurant and a large one east of it).

RSVP by 9 a.m. on Book Club Monday to me via email (MKna…), so that I can call ahead to have a table waiting for us.

For more information about the book club, including future selections, please click here.

Officers (October 2009 through September 2010)
President: Kimberly McGhee
President-Elect: Michael Franklin
Secretary: June Oshiro
Treasurer: Liz Davies
Immediate Past President: Randall Fritz

Committee Chairs
Finance Committee: Alexandra Woods
Membership Committee: Colleen Sauber
Program Committee: Mary Knatterud
Publications Committee: Karen Steinhilber

Membership
Number of members: 116 (as of March 1, 2010)
The chapter’s territory includes Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and northern Wisconsin.

Financial Status
Account balance on February 28, 2010, was $16,138.16.

2010 Events and Meetings
Fall Chapter Meeting: On November 14, 2009, at the Como Lakeside Pavillion in St Paul, MN, three panelists delivered short presentations on how to successfully navigate the challenges of career transitions. Amy Lindgren, president of Prototype Career Service and a national employment columnist, drew upon her extensive experience as a career counselor; Mary Knatterud, PhD, recounted her personal experience of voluntarily leaving the University of Minnesota in 2008 for a new position at the University of Arizona in the College of Medicine; Paul Mamula, PhD, offered advice, based on his own self-described “peripatetic” career in academia and industry, on adapting to a frequently changing job market. After these opening presentations, panelists answered several questions from the approximately 23 AMWA members and guests in attendance. A light lunch followed.

Spring Chapter Meeting: On May 21, 2010, the AMWA North Central Chapter will sponsor a tour of the Mayo Clinic Multidisciplinary Simulation Center, a high-tech virtual hospital, where learners can better master complex care delivery without any risk to patients. Following the tour, AMWA members will visit the Mayo Clinic Section of Scientific Publications, one of the largest in-house editing groups in academic medicine.

AMWA Book Club: AMWA members meet periodically for lunch at a Minneapolis restaurant to discuss books related to medical writing and health issues (attendance: 5 to 6). Mary Knatterud coordinates the book club. For 2010, the group’s books are the following:

January 25, 2010. The selected book is Hospital: Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God, and Diversity on Steroids by Julie Salamon.

April 26, 2010. The selected book is The House of God: The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital by Samuel Shem (pseudonym of psychiatrist Stephen Bergman).

September 27, 2010: Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality by Pauline W. Chen

Southern Minnesota Area AMWA Writers and Editors Discussion Group: AMWA members and interested writers and editors in the Rochester area meet for lunch and discussion at Mayo Clinic on the fourth Friday every other month (attendance: 4 to 8).

AMWA Annual Conference Chapter Greet & Go: The AMWA North Central Chapter’s Greet & Go event at the recent annual meeting in Dallas was attended by 10 members.

Web Site
The chapter continues to add content to the redesigned Web site to further its role as an important communication vehicle for the membership. Profiles of AMWA members are published nearly every month; these articles highlight the varied career paths of current medical writers. The Web site also serves to publicize upcoming events and as a document archive. A password-protected part of the site contains historical documents (eg, attendance records, meeting minutes, financial reports) for reference by the Executive Committee.

Newsletter
A monthly newsletter continues to be published on the chapter Web site. Complete newsletters are archived online.

Outreach
The Membership Committee continues to focus its efforts on welcoming and orienting new members, on making contact with lapsed members, and on working with local universities and colleges to let students know about AMWA. In 2009, the Membership Committee mailed nearly 40 new-member packets. Recipients responded favorably.

Plans for 2011
Two Chapter Meetings: The Program Committee will plan a spring meeting and a fall meeting as in previous years.

Small Group Meetings: The Book Club will continue to meet in Minneapolis, and the Discussion Group will continue to meet for lunch in Rochester.

Submitted by Michael Franklin
March 4, 2010

1. Chapter Spring Event—Save the Date!

The North Central Chapter Spring Event will be on Friday, May 21, 2010. We will be touring the Mayo Clinic Multidisciplinary Simulation Center, a high-tech virtual hospital, where learners can better master complex care delivery without any risk to patients. We will also visit the Mayo Clinic Section of Scientific Publications, one of the largest in-house editing groups in academic medicine. Watch for more details and the chance to RSVP in March!

2. Valuable Resources at Your Fingertips—AMWA Job Services

Whether you are interested in a full-time position, freelance opportunities, or a qualified candidate to fill a position, AMWA Job Services can help.

• The national site does post local opportunities, so regularly scan Jobs Online if you are in job-search mode.
• If you are looking for the perfect medical communicator for a special project, search the Freelance Directory.
• To fill a permanent position, post an ad.

3. New Self-Study Module Available

The newest AMWA self-study workshop, Statistics for Medical Writers and Editors, is now available. The workbook and CD are available for $159 (AMWA member price) or $250 (nonmember price).

4. Have Valuable Information to Share?

Do you have a good idea that could enrich medical communication, but not enough time to create a formal oral presentation? How about creating a poster for AMWA’s 2010 Annual Conference instead? Share a recent innovation, research, or discovery in editing/writing, education, freelancing, public relations/marketing, or the pharmaceutical industry. Poster proposals must be received by March 19, 2010.

5. Frances Larson Memorial Award 2010: Call for Entries

The annual Frances Larson Memorial Award, given by the Pacific Southwest Chapter, is intended to recognize medical writing of the quality represented by Ms. Larson’s work. The competition is open to all AMWA members. Entries must be medical articles or essays written for either a lay or professional audience, published during 2009, and postmarked by May 1, 2010.

The winner of the Frances Larson Memorial Award receives a $100 honorarium and a plaque. Visit the Pacific Southwest Chapter’s Web site for more information.

Member Profile—Adam Boyle
by Paul Mamula, PhD

Adam Boyle

1. SE Minnesota AMWA Writers and Editors Discussion Group—February Meeting

The next lunch is scheduled for Friday, February 26, 2010, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. These every-other-month, bring-your-own-lunch gatherings are informal. All AMWA members and guests are welcome.

Mayo Clinic Campus
Plummer Building, conference room 1050
100 2nd Ave SW
Rochester, MN 55905

To get to the conference room, take the lobby elevator to the 10th floor, step out of the elevator and turn right, go through the “Editors” door, and turn left. The conference room is at the end of the hallway, the last door on the left.

For the full meeting schedule and directions, please click here.

2. AMWA North Central Chapter Book Club
by Mary Knatterud, book club organizer

The next meeting is Monday, April 26, 2010. The selected book is The House of God: The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital by Samuel Shem (pseudonym of psychiatrist Stephen Bergman).

We will continue to meet at 11 a.m. at The Egg & I (2550 University Avenue, in the northwest corner of the old International Harvester building, now renovated, just west of Highway 280 near the Minneapolis-St. Paul border—with 2 free parking lots, a small one north of the restaurant and a large one east of it).

RSVP by 9 a.m. on Book Club Monday to me via email (MKna…), so that I can call ahead to have a table waiting for us.

For more information about the book club, including future selections, please click here.

Member News

AMWA Certifications – 2009

Roxanne Landon earned an AMWA Advanced Curriculum certificate. She is a freelance medical writer (Excelsior, MN).

Kimberly McGhee earned an AMWA Science Fundamentals certificate. She is Managing Editor of  Mayo Clinic Proceedings at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN).

Wolfe Molitor earned an AMWA Science Fundamentals certificate. He is Development Officer-Campaign Operations at the Minnesota Medical Foundation, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Ann Tennier earned an AMWA Core Curriculum certificate in Editing and Writing. She is a senior medical assistant at the Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee, WI).

Anne Marie Weber-Main earned an AMWA Advanced Curriculum certificate. She is an assistant professor and research medical editor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

BELS Certifications – 2009

Alyssa B. Quiggle earned the BELS certification. She is a medical editor at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN).

Ann Tennier earned the BELS certification. She is a senior medical assistant at the Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee, WI).

(This column highlights professional news and accomplishments of our members as a source of information and encouragement for others. Please submit information about yourself or a colleague to the chapter secretary [e-mail secr...]. If you submit information about a colleague, we will contact the colleague to ensure accuracy and to seek the colleague’s permission.)

Member Profile—Naomi Ruff
by Karen Steinhilber

Weather may not have drawn Naomi Ruff to relocate to Duluth from northern California, but she did find a warm and welcoming AMWA chapter waiting for her. An active member for 10 years in another chapter, she felt the North Central AMWA Welcome Packet was a nice outreach. She continues to enjoy chapter newsletters and credits the organization at large with helping to jumpstart her career as a medical writer and editor.

Naomi always assumed she would be a research scientist.  “I thought I would make a good PI,” she recalls—only to find herself an unhappy postdoctoral fellow. She knew it was time to do something else. She had always enjoyed the communication side of science and was sought after by colleagues for assistance with their own writing endeavors. Feeling that writing her dissertation was the best part of her graduate studies at the University of California, she began to explore how to make a career out of scientific communication. Even though she was confident in her new direction, she worried that she would lose touch with the science when she made the jump from research to writing. Fortunately, that did not prove to be true.

Today, Naomi evenly divides her professional hours between medical writing and editing.  She primarily writes scientific content for professional audiences (e.g., journal articles, grant applications, continuing education), and her expertise covers a wide range of topics—neurobiology, psychiatry, oncology, immunology, and cardiology, to name a few. Working directly with researchers continues to excite and drive Naomi, who loves the process of helping people communicate and think more clearly about their research. She brings a fresh set of eyes to the logic of research projects, in turn creating clarity for researchers and readers alike.

Always happy to give back to an organization she feels provided a network and resources to get her career off the ground, Naomi has served in various volunteer positions at both the national and chapter levels. She continues to teach a workshop in AMWA’s certification track—Introduction to the Nervous System.

Naomi can be reached through her website: www.ruffdraftwriting.com

Naomi Ruff

Upcoming Activities

1. AMWA North Central Chapter Book Club
by Mary Knatterud, book club organizer

The next meeting date is Monday, January 25, 2010. The selected book is Hospital: Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God, and Diversity on Steroids by Julie Salamon.

We will continue to meet at 11 a.m. at The Egg & I (2550 University Avenue, in the northwest corner of the old International Harvester building, now renovated, just west of Highway 280 near the Minneapolis-St. Paul border—with 2 free parking lots, a small one north of the restaurant and a large one east of it).

RSVP by 9 a.m. on Book Club Monday to me via email (MKna…), so that I can call ahead to have a table waiting for us.

For more information about the book club, including future selections, please click here.

2. SE Minnesota AMWA Writers and Editors Discussion Group—February Meeting

The next lunch is scheduled for Friday, February 26, 2010, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. These every-other-month, bring-your-own-lunch gatherings are informal. All AMWA members and guests are welcome.

Mayo Clinic Campus
Plummer Building, conference room 1050
100 2nd Ave SW
Rochester, MN 55905

To get to the conference room, take the lobby elevator to the 10th floor, step out of the elevator and turn right, go through the “Editors” door, and turn left. The conference room is at the end of the hallway, the last door on the left.

For the full meeting schedule, please click here.