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!