From the 2011 AMWA Annual Conference

Greetings again. I hope that all is going well for you.

I’m writing this blog post in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, where the American Medical Writers Association annual conference just ended. I’m glad that my presentations at this conference included one about AuthorAID.

Because I spoke at 5 sessions, I had relatively little time to attend other sessions. However, I gained much from the conference.

Two sessions at which I spoke—“Working with Non-Native English Speakers” and “Becoming a Medical Writer: Training and Transitioning”—also had other presenters. I appreciated the chance to learn from these presenters.

I also enjoyed attending sessions as just an audience member. One session focused on how people of different generations can work well together. Another discussed how, by using technology well and designing one’s work space suitably, one can increase productivity and decrease stress.

Highlights of the conference included a talk by Perri Klass, who both practices pediatrics and writes nonfiction and fiction. I use some writing by Dr. Klass in my teaching, and I appreciated hearing her thoughts about writing as a physician.

As usual at conferences, another highlight was the chance to talk with other people in the same field. I enjoyed seeing colleagues I already knew and meeting additional people.

I especially enjoyed a reunion with 6 Chinese colleagues whom I had long known through the China Medical Board program in biomedical writing and editing. I’m glad they could attend the conference.

A fine few days!

Wishing you a good week— Barbara