Can access and accessibility rebuild public trust in research? - Volume 31, Issue

Trust is built gradually, and it is easily threatened, particularly in relation to pharmaceutical research. The potential for open access publishing and plain language summaries to contribute to improved trust in pharmaceutical research was…

The Light Stuff - Volume 23, Issue

I love deadlines, I like the sound they make as they fly by Douglas Adams, English writer, humorist & dramatist (1952–2001).Illustration: Gemma Hobbs, Downham Market, UK. Answers to Medical Writing Jumble #10:PRINT, TRAIN, SAFETY,…

Risk Management - Volume 24, Issue

The thalidomide tragedy of the early 1960s cost several thousand lives, but it ultimately led to changes that will undoubtedly save many thousands more: it triggered a chain of events involving the WHO and the ICH that resulted in the…

Plain language and readability - Volume 24, Issue

Plain language is writing in clear, concise language that is easy to read and understand. Whenever I hear the term plain language I am reminded of a lay summary I was once asked to edit. The stream of technical language (‘self-source bias’, ‘effect m…

Writing Matters - Volume 21, Issue

Writing matters to medical writers … or at least it should. But sometimes we are more consumed with the content of a document than the writing itself. And some might even argue that detailed medical or scientific information cannot be written as…

The Light Stuff - Volume 22, Issue

Decoding the Japanese Code 1: Yes means yes, and no does not exist At a recent dinner, my husband and I were chatting with a university professor, a Japanese fellow who has lived and worked in Europe and the US. We talked about cross-cultural…

Medical Writing in French: Du français à l’anglais: Understanding your source - Volume 33, Issue

Social Media - Volume 30, Issue

Social media

“For many people, the internet can feel like a lonely place. It can feel like… a big, endless, expansive void where you can constantly call out to it but no one’s ever listening. But… I found, in sharing my feelings with the void, event…

In the Bookstores - Volume 21, Issue

A personal view incorporating the insights of a UK-based book group Henrietta Lacks was a 31-year-old African American who died in 1951 from cervical cancer. Her biopsied cancer cells were taken without her permission, propagated seemingly forever…

Top ten questions about careers in MedComms - Volume 25, Issue

NetworkPharma has been running a series of careers events and workshops aimed at entry-level jobs in MedComms, and publish a careers guide, From Academic to Medical Writer, which is updated annually in March. In this article, Peter Llewellyn from…