Index of News
European Statistical Forum
I shall be speaking at the European Statistical Forum in Verona later this week, about the role of medical writers in reporting clinical trials.
It's a topic close to my heart, about which I have spoken many times before, but usually to audiences of medical writers. It will be nice to speak to a different audience and make the statistical community more aware of some of the issues of publication ethics.
Continue reading→EMWA conference in Nice, day 1
I'm typing this from my hotel room at the EMWA conference in Nice, as the first full day of the conference draws to a close.
The journey here yesterday afternoon did not go smoothly, but at least I got here in the end, and I resisted the temptation to send any tweets about blowing up Heathrow Airport to vent my frustration with the delays. I was just in time for the opening lectures, the first given by Helen Baldwin, former EMWA president and British expat living near Nice, about life as a medical writer in the south of France. It sounds lovely. The second was given by EMWA's resident language guru, Alistair Reeves, about why sensible people write daft things. It was thoroughly entertaining, as well as surprisingly educational. A good start to the conference. Rounded the evening off with a trip to the old town for dinner with some friends, always a pleasure to catch up.
Continue reading→Autumn EMWA conference now open for booking
I'm pleased to see that the next EMWA conference, which will take place in Nice in November, is now open for booking. Nice is a lovely city, so it should provide a great environment for a couple of days of meeting other medical writers from around Europe. I'll be teaching 2 workshops this time round, one on basic concepts of clinical study design (a nice gentle introduction, aimed at those new to clinical research) and a more advanced one on ANOVA and regression analysis for those wishing to brush up their statistical knowledge.
Continue reading→Medical writing courses
We still have places left for our introduction to medical writing course on 17 September, but be quick if you want to register! Please click here for more details.
We also have places left on our more advanced course on 28 October.
Continue reading→Internships available
Are you trying to get a job in medical writing but finding it difficult without experience?
We currently have internships available for bright and motivated individuals wanting to start a career in medical writing. You will be helping with a research project in medical writing, and seeing the day-to-day work in a medical writing company at first hand. All our recent interns have found full-time jobs in medical writing since doing internships at Dianthus Medical.
Continue reading→New training dates announced
We are pleased to be able to confirm the dates for our next public training courses in medical writing. Our 1-day introductory course will be on 17 September, and our 2-day course for healthcare professionals will be on 28-29 October. Continue reading→EMWA conference, day 4
Well, the EMWA conference is all over now, and I am safely back in London, having cunningly dodged the ash cloud by a rather small margin on both my outward and return journeys.
The final day of the conference began with a plenary lecture about the importance of compliance with promotional codes, such as that by the ABPI, when writing materials that could be used for promotional purposes. One of the great challenges in this area is that codes are not harmonised across countries, so material that might be perfectly compliant in the UK might fall foul of the code in Germany, for example, or vice versa. Definitely an area with many pitfalls for the unwary.
Continue reading→EMWA conference, day 3
It's been a busy day at the EMWA conference today (well, technically yesterday now) without a spare 5 minutes to update the blog until now.
The day began at 8 am with a plenary lecture on knowledge and information management. Some good hints and tips there, especially for the knowledge management wiki that we've recently set up at Dianthus.
Continue reading→EMWA conference, day 2
Day 2 at the EMWA conference has been considerably less busy for me than yesterday. My only engagement today was attending a short seminar this morning on Web 2.0 for medical writers. Plenty to think about, with tools such as blogging, social networking, and Twitter becoming ever more a part of our lives (well, you're reading this blog, aren't you?)
Continue reading→EMWA conference, day 1
I write this from the EMWA conference in Lisbon, as the serious business of the first day has drawn to a close. I was relieved that all the Dianthus team made it to Lisbon despite the disruption from the ash cloud, even though the other members of the team had a hideous journey and got here far later than scheduled. Still at least they got here.
Continue reading→