Oncology and medical writers - Volume 21, Issue

Let me start this first editorial in an old journal with a new name by explaining why a medical writing journal has a theme issue on oncology and includes articles that are not directly related to writing. Medical writers write about research that is…

Message from the President - Volume 22, Issue

Dear Medical Writers It is time for me to give you another brief update on the activities of the EMWA Executive Committee (EC) and our plans for 2013, as well as a short preview on the spring conference in Manchester. The autumn conference…

Message from the President - Volume 22, Issue

A year has passed so quickly and it is time for me to step down and hand over to Andrea Rossi, the new EMWA President and the first Italian to take on this important position. On reading through the various messages I sent you during the past year,…

President's Message - Volume 24, Issue

Welcome to the first issue of medical writing in 2015 on plain language, which means that this message had better be simple and easy to read. I am a huge advocate of plain writing and, as a Publication Manager, spend much of my time working with…

Message from the President - Volume 21, Issue

Dear Members I am sure you are all very familiar with this situation – sitting in front of a blank piece of paper (or to be more accurate a blank screen) and wondering where to start. Beginnings and endings always seem to be the trickiest part, but…

Letter from the Editor - Volume 25, Issue

A step – no a leap – forward In 2012, the journal’s precursor, The Write Stuff, became Medical Writing under the guidance of then Editor-in-Chief Elise Langdon-Neuner. The Write Stuff had been managed almost single-handedly by Elise, and the shift…

In the Bookstores - Volume 22, Issue

The Spirit Level

Ever had a ‘ping’ moment? This book might have been mine. I'm not a natural pessimist, but Western society today seems less cohesive and people more materialistic, stressed, unhealthy, and unhappy than in times gone by. Wealth and s…

Good pharma - Volume 22, Issue

Drugs companies publish only a fraction of their results and keep much of the information to themselves. Drug companies are ‘debasing’ drug trials whose publication in journals can apparently confer scientific approval. Merck had fought for years to …

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…

A rising tide: Hospitals and social media - Volume 21, Issue

The advent of social media has changed the face of healthcare communications. More and more hospitals are recognizing this fact and seeking to integrate tools like Twitter® and Facebook® into their own communications strategies. This article gives…