2012 AMWANW Events

January 21, 2012 Chapter Meeting Has Been Canceled

The AMWA-Northwest networking meeting on Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Green Lake Library is canceled due to this week’s inclement weather. Please stay tuned for a new time. We also plan meetings in March and May 2012. Visit www.amwanw.org for upcoming events! 

Hone Your Networking IQ

Saturday, 1:00-2:30 pm @ Green Lake Public Library, Seattle
7364 E. Green Lake Dr., Seattle, WA 98115    206-684-7547 

Ring in 2012 with your AMWA-NW colleagues at our ”Boost Your Networking IQ” event!

Members are invited to bring a non-AMWA friend or colleague. We are also inviting the local Society for Technical Communication chapter as well as members of the Northwest Science Writers Association (information regarding an the Jan 10 NSWA meeting here).

AMWA-NW president-elect Cory Smith will present a 10-minute summary of Alisa Bonsignore’s networking workshop from the recent national meeting. We’ll also have a speed networking session and door prizes, including president Genevieve Long’s fave books on networking, Keith Ferrazi’s Never Eat Alone and L. Michelle Tullier’s Networking for Job Search and Career Success. Bring plenty of business cards! The session will also include social time.

End of March, 2012: Chapter Meeting

Presentation on regulatory affairs (Christine Zomorodian and Ellen Kurek).

May 2012:

Presentation on Health Outcomes Research (Caitlin Rothermal)

AMWA 2012 National Conference Conference in Sacramento, California

Our next Professional Development Symposium will be in May, 2013

Science by the dozen

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.

AMWANW 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.

2011 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.

AMWANW 2010 Events

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 ?