Final Tweet on Competence

Bill Murray of the Public Relations Society of America helps us tailor prose to the audience  #cmwesm #medwriters

Thirtieth Tweet on Competence

A guide to preparing charts from the man the New York Times calls the 'Leonardo da Vinci of data"  #cmwesm #medwriters

Twenty-Ninth Tweet on Competence

Back to basics: Wikipedia helps us focus on the creative process of prewriting  #cmwesm #medwriters

Twenty-Eighth Tweet on Competence

1-minute YouTube video helps us identify the context and readers for documents we write and edit  #cmwesm #medwriters

Twenty-Seventh Tweet on Competence

Jonathan Koffel from Univ of Minnesota helps us understand basic study designs  #cmwesm #medwriters

Twenty-Sixth Tweet on Competence

We go back to Clinical Chemistry's Tom Annesley for options to solve problems during peer review   #cmwesm #medwriters

Twenty-Fifth Tweet on Competence

The American Medical Writers Association helps us to identify relevant ethical guidelines  #cmwesm #medwriters

Twenty-Fourth Tweet on Competence

Here's a Facebook page dedicated to getting the facts straight #cmwesm #medwriters

Twenty-Third Tweet on Competence

A guide from the Univ of California at Berkeley on presenting logical scientific arguments #cmwesm #medwriters

Twenty-Second Tweet on Competence

Intro to key message development by the Public Relations Society of America

Twenty-First Tweet on Competence

Guidance from Cuesta College in California on synthesizing information  #cmwesm #medwriters

Twentieth Tweet on Competence

YouTube video clip from Academic Medicine on substantive editing  #cmwesm #medwriters

Nineteenth Tweet on Competence

The Singapore Medical Journal tells us how to deal with rejection  #cmwesm #medwriters

Eighteenth Tweet on Competence

Tom Annesley, an award-winning clinical chemist from U Mich, tells us how to respond to reviewers  #cmwesm #medwriters

Seventeenth Tweet on Competence

Tips from the University of South Florida's Writing Commons on determining your document's purpose  #cmwesm #medwriters

Sixteenth Tweet on Competence

A guide from About.com on crafting smooth transitions between paragraphs  #cmwesm #medwriters

July 31 Deadline to Submit Questions for Chat

The Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) is planning its first-ever tweet chat for early August. The tweet chat will last one hour and the topic will be competence in medical writing, editing, and social media.

I will serve as the moderator for our first chat, and will seek volunteers to host any future chats.

If you are interested in this topic, now is the time to suggest questions for discussion during our chat. One question has already been put forward by an active BELS member from Long Island, New York:

1) HOW CAN EDITORS HELP ASSURE COMPETENCE IN MEDICAL WRITING?

Another question occurred to me in the course of preparing the tweet series:

2) WHY IS 'MAINTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY' RANKED SO HIGH (3RD OUT OF 68) AMONG THE ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES OF A MEDICAL WRITER?

We need at least 3 more questions for a good tweet chat. Here is your opportunity to have your concerns addressed. Deadline for submission is Wednesday, July 31. If we receive more than 5 suggestions total, they may need to be edited, or condensed, for the sake of time.

Or we might need to schedule another tweet chat.

Please use the comments feature of my Delaware Valley Medical Writer blog to make suggestions.

THANK YOU!

Fifteenth Tweet on Competence

Let's go back to Harvard College for help with evaluating  information we have collected.   #cmwesm #medwriters

Fourteenth Tweet on Competence

Here's a tutorial on medical terminology from the U.S. National Library of Medicine  #cmwesm #medwriters

Thirteenth Tweet on Competence

Intro to standard formats and guidelines from the International Conference on Harmonization  #cmwesm #medwriters

Twelfth Tweet on Competence

Identify inconsistencies in data  #cmwesm #medwriters

Eleventh Tweet on Competence

Guidance on grammar, spelling and punctuation from AMA style manual  #cmwesm #medwriters

Tenth Tweet on Competence

Tom Lang, AMWA Swanberg award winner, tells how to communicate statistical content appropriately #cmwesm #medwriters

Ninth Tweet on Competence

A guide from the University of Richmond on constructing effective paragraphs  #cmwesm #medwriters

In Case You Just Joined Us...

Why a Series of Tweets on Competence in Medical Writing?

Certification of medical writers is a timely topic these days, as the American Medical Writers Association spends money from its reserves to move forward with its credentialing initiative. Not all medical writers think this is a good idea, and AMWA's initiative has come in for criticism from some members. An earlier attempt to develop a certification program fell flat in 1996.

I happen to think certification is a good idea, because it will help strengthen our professional identity.

That's why I proposed a 30-day series of tweets on competence in medical writing, editing, and social media to the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS). BELS has always worked closely with AMWA, and this seems like a way we can continue to support each other. It's also a way to push the envelope a bit to help us all grow in our ability to use some of the new social media software applications that are transforming medical communication.

Our 30-day tweet series on competence in medical writing and editing  began July 1 and will continue throughout the month at the leisurely pace of a tweet per day.

Each tweet relates in some way to one of the key competencies of a medical writer identified in a 2012 survey by AMWA. A total of 1,177 individuals completed the survey, which identified 68 competencies (also known as KSAs), but we will just tweet about the top 30. You may view the entire list at http://goo.gl/dUpkg.

Tweets originate from the account of the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences, @BELS_Editors. Tweets also originate from my personal Twitter account, @Grantsmeister, as updates from my LinkedIn page, and as blog posts from Delaware Valley Medical Writer and from Brandywine Valley Medical Writer.

From time to time I post background information here. 

Tweets are being aggregated under the symbol #cmwesm. The letters stand for “competence in medical writing, editing, and social media.” This means you can catch up on what you’ve missed by visiting your Twitter account and searching on #cmwesm. This hashtag has been registered with the Healthcare Hashtags Project.

If you're still coming up to speed on Twitter, here's a great guide to the basics, published by the London School of Economics.

After the series ends, in early August, we'll meet for a one-hour tweet chat. Time and date of the chat will be announced later. (Coordinating time zones may require some discussion.)

Before the chat, I will send around a list of discussion questions. This list is still forming, but is sure to include the following:

1) How can editors help ensure competence in medical and science writing?

2) Why do you think "maintain confidentiality of information" ranked so high (3rd out of 68) on AMWA's list of basic medical writing competencies?

Hope to see you soon, in the Twitterverse!

Eighth Tweet on Competence

My favorite so far: a terrific guide from the Ontario Public Health Libraries Association on assessing quality of writing #cmwesm #medwriters

Seventh Tweet on Competence

A Harvard College guide to retaining the intended meaning of Internet source materials  #cmwesm #medwriters

Sixth Tweet on Competence

A guide from Purdue University on how to develop clear, concise prose  #cmwesm #medwriters

Fifth Tweet on Competence

A University of Iowa professor tells how to construct effective sentences  #cmwesm #medwriters

Fourth Tweet on Competence

A nice list of Greek and Latin roots, suffixes and prefixes   #cmwesm

Third Tweet on Competence in Medical Writing, Editing, and Social Media

A guide from Cal State on maintaining confidentiality  #cmwesm

Second Tweet on Competence in Medical Writing, Editing, and Social Media

A guide from the World Health Organization for presenting your message logically and coherently. Tweets will be aggregated at #cmwesm

First Tweet on Competence in Medical Writing, Editing, and Social Media

Here's a resource from AAAS to help medical writers to communicate scientific content appropriately.  These tweets will be aggregated on Twitter under the following hashtag: #cmwesm