Thank You, All

Thanks to everyone who came to our networking lunch, esp. Elaine Wackerow, Denny Harrigan, Julie Bonney, Darryl Geddes, Maria Hosmer-Briggs, Danielle Masursky, Bharati Hegde, Sarah Peirce-Sandner, Anne Nafziger, Lois Baker, Peter Ensminger, Fred Wilson, Mary Royer, and Mary Kay Winchell.

Mary Kay and Sarah are working on a program evaluation so people who attended can tell us what they liked best, and make suggestions for future programs.

Once again, thank you to Upstate Medical University for hosting this event, esp. Darryl who arranged the room and free parking and George Paul who arranged the laptop, projector, and pull-down screen. We really appreciate your hospitality!

Thanks, too, to AMWA HQ staff, esp. Ronnie Streff for helping with publicity and Bonnie Green for sending literature. And many thanks to state chapter officers, including Anjani Shah, our treasurer, Bob Kirsch, our past president, and Renee Cohen, PR director, for their help making this program a reality.

We couldn't have done it without you!

Fourth Podcast

This five-minute talk was given by Peter Ensminger, an expert in photobiology, during our networking lunch. Thank you, Peter!

Third Podcast

This recording lasts about 7 minutes and features Lois Baker, senior health science writer at the University of Buffalo. Thank you, Lois, for sharing your perspective!

Follow this link to learn more:

Our Panelists

DISTINGUISHED PANEL: Four successful medical writers shared their perspectives on getting started in this exciting profession during a recent networking lunch in Syracuse, New York. Pictured, from left to right, are Peter Ensminger, PhD; Lois Baker, MS; Mary Royer, MS; and Fred Wilson, MS. Digital recordings of their presentations, each about six minutes long, are available by clicking links on this blog. (Photo by Don Harting.)

Second Podcast

A second podcast is now available, recorded Tuesday, Sept. 11 during the networking lunch.

Follow this link

to listen to the recording of Mary Royer's presentation about getting started in medical writing. Thank you, Mary, for sharing your experience!

Can Anyone Help Linda?

Here is a message posted by Linda Favata, of Canandaigua, who wanted to attend the Tuesday lunch but something came up at the last minute. Linda's post appears in double quotation marks below. If anyone can answer her question, please do.

"One of the things I was looking forward to was the networking. My husband and I are originally from Rome, NY. We have moved all over and just moved back to NY from Massachusetts a year ago this past August. We are now living in Canandaigua.

I have been working as a clinical research consultant for the past several (~9) years. My main client, for whom I have worked for 6+ years, is in Massachusetts. Due to a recent reorganization by my client, my hours have been reduced from a max of 40 hours/wk to a max of 10 hours/wk. I am about to sign a contract with another device company, also in Massachusetts, for a project that will take about 60 hours total time, hopefully leading to some additional work. I was hoping to link up with someone with experience in writing abstracts and manuscripts and learn where I might get some experience and background in preparing these types of documents. I also have experience in preparing regulatory documents. It has been several years, however, since I did regulatory work, as most of the device companies have split clinical and regulatory into two separate groups.
At the time I was involved in regulatory, I was managing both regulatory and clinical.

If you know of anyone who may be able to assist me in learning about abstracts, manuscripts, posters, or who just may have some contacts for writing (preferably for medical devices), please feel free to have them contact me. My address, telephone number, and e-mail are as follows:

Linda L. Favata
5237 Sammys Way
Canandaigua, NY 14424

Phone: 585-396-3297
e-mail: llfava@frontiernet.net"

First Podcast

Here is a link to the first podcast produced from our Sept. 11 networking lunch. If you click on this link


you will go to a page describing the podcast in more detail, and you will be able to listen on your computer or download it to your MP3 player. The podcast runs about 6 minutes. In it Fred Wilson of Camillus, a successful medical writer, describes what it's like and how he got started.


Many thanks to Fred for his cooperation in making this podcast possible, and to Upstate Medical University, for hosting the lunch.

Parking Update

CONVENIENT, FREE PARKING is available for people attending the American Medical Writers Association networking lunch at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse on Tuesday, Sept. 11.

Be sure to park in the CNY Medical Center garage, in the 700 block of Irving Avenue. The name is shown above the main entrance. This garage is right across the street from Weiskotten Hall, where the lunch is being held on the ninth floor.

To receive your free parking, YOU MUST BRING YOUR PARKING TICKET TO THE LUNCH. Our hosts at Upstate will validate your ticket, so you won't be required to pay when you leave the garage. This will save you about $6.

If for some reason you cannot park in the CNY Medical Center garage, your second choice would be a meter along Irving Avenue, if you can find one, but you will have to pay for it yourself. Your third choice would be the Upstate Medical University garage on Adams Street. Why? Because our hosts at University can also validate your parking ticket there. HOWEVER, the Upstate garage is two and half VERY LONG BLOCKS away from Weiskotten, and you have to dodge construction vehicles en route because the sidewalks are blocked in places, and it's a steep uphill climb unless you know your way through the bowels of University Hospital. So this option is not recommended!

Handicapped parking with direct access to Weiskotten is available in a small lot on the far south side of the building. Driving south along Irving Ave., take a right at the first light past the building. The lot is on your right, across from the Veterans Administration hospital.

No matter where you park, you will need to find your way to the top floor of the new section of Weiskotten. (The new section has nine stories, while the old section tops out at four.) Best bet: use the building's main entrance on Irving Avenue. You will know you're in the right place when you read this inscription on the foyer wall: "Dedicated to all those who purpose to serve humanity." That's us!

You'll see a stack of complimentary copies of the New York Times on the receptionist's desk. Ask him or her how to get to the cafeteria. There is no security check, and no badge is required, since you are not in the hospital. You will need to zigzag to follow the corridors around behind the auditorium (a left, a right, then another right) until you find the main bank of elevators, just past a bio lab. Take the elevator to the ninth floor, then follow your nose to the cafeteria, and ask anyone for the Doust Board Room, which is right next door.

If you wish to use MapQuest to obtain driving directions, the street address of Weiskotten Hall is 766 Irving Avenue.

We will start meeting at noon, the program starts at 12:25, and we plan to end at 1:30. If you want to learn more about AMWA, you might want to stick around a little longer.

Hope to see you there!