october 2006

The Indiana Chapter

AMWA Indiana Chapter Newsletter October 2006 of 3

October 2006 Newsletter Welcome the new 2006-2007 AMWA Indiana Chapter Board:

President:

Deborah Frisby

President-Elect: Diana Fisher Secretary: Elaine Crabtree Treasurer: Ingrid Edgemon-Hensley Membership Chair: Cynthia Hooper Program Chair: Julie Beyrer Education Chair: Linda Tabas Scholarship Chair: Diana Fisher Newsletter Editor: Cynthia Hooper Website Manager: Heather Miller Past President: Cynthia Hooper

Contact any Board member with questions or ideas for the chapter. See the website for contact information: www.hoosieramwa.org. Planning for the 2007 Annual Chapter Conference has begun. Please email your workshop preferences to Linda Tabas at [email protected] by 10 Nov 2006. CHAPTER BUSINESS On Saturday, 24 June 2006 during the AMWA Indiana Chapter Annual Conference, the chapter held a business meeting at a downtown campus of Eli Lilly and Company. Officers were elected for the upcoming year. Approximately 20 members were present for the vote. On Saturday, 19 August 2006 the chapter held a business meeting at a downtown Indianapolis restaurant. The meeting occurred between sessions of the rescheduled AMWA Indiana Chapter Annual Conference sessions. Approximately 10 chapter members voted to approve a proposed amendment to the chapter bylaws. The purposes of the amendment are 1) to name the National Board of Directors (instead of Executive Committee) as the approver of chapter bylaws, and 2) to note that major chapter meetings will not be held within a specified period before or after the national conference.

FROM THE PRESIDENT, AMWA INDIANA CHAPTER Greetings! As I reflect on what I should say to my fellow AMWA members, I find myself wondering how this came to be. After years of being satisfied with paying dues and reading the AMWA Journal, why did I become a committee chairperson and an officer? When I stepped forward four years ago to serve as a program chairperson, my days were already busy with the usual things about being a parent, a spouse, and a full-time employee. I have added more since: a leadership role in Boone County 4-H and a new hobby, beekeeping. Why I am still involved in AMWA? It’s really about Elizabeth. Elizabeth and I met only once, twenty years ago. I was in college, and the newspapers were telling me frightening stories about the job market “out there.” I was planning to become a science writer, but what good was my planning if there were no jobs? I posed this question to my professors, and one professor put me in touch with Elizabeth, a retiree who had worked as a writer for Eli Lilly and Company. Elizabeth kindly responded to my request for an informational interview, and over lunch at her home we reflected on many things: the life-path of women who want to raise a family and have a career, the challenge to integrate scientific knowledge and writing skills in a job, coming to the end of career, and growing old, gracefully. The most important thing she said to me is this (paraphrased and filtered by memory): “As a writer about science, you must be comfortable with uncertainty. You will think you know everything you need to know about a particular subject, and then a discovery will be made or a regulation will be changed or a new assignment will come at you, and you will feel yourself plunged into ignorance again. That cycle must be okay for you. You will have to commit yourself to life-long learning.” She also said this: “Do you know about AWMA? Join it. Here’s the address.” I got involved in AMWA because I wanted to expand my network of contacts and take on a new challenge. I am staying involved because of gratitude: an AMWA member helped me years ago, and I want to do the same for others. I believe in AMWA’s mission. Deborah Frisby, President AMWA Indiana Chapter

The Indiana Chapter


UPCOMING EVENTS:

AMWA Annual Conference Chapter Meet and Greet

Thursday 26 October 2006

If you are planning to attend the AMWA annual conference this year in Albuquerque, consider attending the Thursday evening "Chapter Meet and Greet" session, 6:45pm to 7:45pm. Indiana Chapter officers will be there to meet you. Check your conference brochure to confirm the details about time and location. We look forward to seeing you!

AMWA and STC Indiana Chapters Combined Meeting

Monday 20 November 2006

Expert Panel Discussion—All About Outsourcing!

Learn what outsourcing is. Find out about outsourcing opportunities in Indiana. Find out what it’s like to work on outsourced projects and how to make outsourcing partnerships successful. Ask the experts your outsourcing questions! Where: Location is the IU Emerging Technologies Center, 351 West Tenth Street Indianapolis, IN 46202. Parking is in front of the building. The room is the Ice Miller Training Room (IUETC Suite 100). For directions, go to: http://www.iuetc.org/contact_directions.html Meeting agenda: 5:30 Networking and Refreshments. 6:00 AMWA and STC Chapter business 6:20 Expert Panel Discussion

Experts will provide their insights on outsourcing topics, including the following: "What is outsourcing, where are the opportunities, and what skills are needed to work successfully as a writer doing outsourced work?”

Answers to your questions. 7:20 Closing remarks

AMWA Indiana Chapter Meeting Saturday 27 January 2007

Tour of the

Indiana Medical History Museum The Indiana Medical History Museum (IMHM) is located in the “Old Pathology Building” of the former Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane on Indy’s West side. The building was constructed in 1895 and inaugurated in 1896. It is the oldest free-standing pathology facility in the nation and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Check out the web site at: http://www.imhm.org/ You won’t want to miss this! The IMHM shows the beginnings of modern medicine and psychiatry. The museum contains a preserved autopsy room, laboratories, tissue samples, teaching amphitheater, and more! Experience what it was like to be a patient or medical practitioner over a century ago. Where: Location is 3045 W. Vermont Street, Indianapolis, IN 46222. Parking is in front of the building. Directions from downtown Indianapolis: 1. Follow Washington St. west to Warman Ave. 2. Turn right onto Warman Ave. 3. Follow Warman Ave. to Vermont Street. 4. Turn left onto Vermont St. 5. Follow Vermont St. to the entrance of the IMHM.

(You will pass the former Central Indiana Hospital and see the museum entrance on your left.)

Meeting agenda: 11:00 Chapter business (in the Amphitheater) 11:15 Tour of the Museum 12:20 Wrap up Museum Tour

The Indiana Chapter


THE AMWA INDIANA CHAPTER SCHOLARSHIP FOR BIOMEDICAL

COMMUNICATIONS Are you (or do you know someone who is) a

college/university student interested in winning a $1000 scholarship??

The Indiana Chapter of the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) is pleased to announce its annual educational scholarship in biomedical communications. This scholarship will recognize an individual for excellence in biomedical communications and assist in his/her educational efforts. The recipient will be awarded $1000 at the chapter meeting of the annual Indiana Chapter Conference (normally held in the spring/summer of each year). To be considered for the AMWA Indiana Chapter Scholarship for Biomedical Communications, applicants:

• must be enrolled in college/university studies in Indiana; and

• must be majoring in the sciences, medical or health professions, English, journalism, or health science communications.

To apply, applicants are required to submit a 500-word essay or article on a chosen topic. Essays will be judged on both content and style. Applicants must also submit a signed letter of recommendation from a faculty advisor or sponsor detailing the applicant’s strengths as a communicator of science or medicine. Updates regarding the scholarship (including the timeline for applying) will be posted on the AMWA Indiana Chapter website, www.hoosieramwa.org, or you may contact the Indiana AMWA Indiana Scholarship Chair, Diana Fisher, at [email protected]. Stay tuned in the coming months for more info!

AMWA FACTS: Did you know that attending a chapter meeting contributes 5 points to your Professional Development Certificate? So does attending a 3-hour non-credit workshop. If you complete a relevant university-level course or edit a published book of 100+ pages, you can receive 15 points.

Check out the details on the Professional Development Certificate at www.amwa.org.

As an AMWA Member, you receive member discounts: a 25% discount on individual subscriptions to MDConsult, a 50% discount on Reference Manager® or Endnote® bibliographic database software, and a 33% discount on full-text article delivery from GKDocuments.

Go to www.amwa.org for all the details. We need YOUR help! Please let us know about your professional accomplishments and activities (for example, completion of AMWA, BELS, or other certifications; conference presentations, academic achievements).

Also consider sharing your professional skills, wisdom, and experience with your professional colleagues by submitting original articles for publication in the AMWA Indiana Chapter newsletter and/or website. Contact the Newsletter Editor, Cynthia Hooper, at [email protected].