| It’s a busy time of year, but we hope you have some time to connect with AMWA Carolinas! Raleigh/Durham folks, we hope to see you at our holiday party on Dec 5. Also, the call for proposals for our 2025 Chapter Conference is now open, due Jan 17. Are you ready to curl up with a book this holiday season? Read on below for our exciting new format for book club and some options for your to-read list! |
| AMWA Carolinas Holiday Parties |
Register now for our free Raleigh/Durham area Holiday party! We look forward to seeing you and enjoying some drinks and appetizers. Date: Thursday, December 5, 2024 Time: 6:30 pm Location: Page Road Grill, 5416 Page Rd, Durham, NC RDU Registration link Thank you to Molly Rodriguez, our Event Coordinator, for planning this lovely event. Would you like to host a holiday party for our membership in your local area? Please let us know. |
| 2025 Chapter Conference Call for Proposals and Save the Date |
| AMWA Carolinas wants YOU to share your expertise and ideas at the 2025 Carolinas Chapter Conference (May 16, 2025, at the Friday Center, Chapel Hill, NC)! This is an excellent opportunity to help share your knowledge with medical communicators and to engage in a challenging & fun professional development activity! Click here by January 17, 2025 to submit a proposal for an educational session or a lunchtime roundtable. Consider these popular topics for either beginner or more advanced levels: Nonregulatory medical writing (eg, continuing medical education (CME), patient education, grants, manuscripts, scientific writing) Regulatory writing (eg, Orphan Drug, pharmacokinetics, lean authoring) Soft skills (eg, conflict management, influencing teams, leadership) General writing & editing skills (eg, grammar) Technology trends & efficiencies (eg, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity) Editing (eg, tips from editors to writers, how to edit your own work) Freelancing (insurance, pricing, etc) Breaking into medical writing (writing assessments, introductory topics) For more information and to submit your proposal, visit: Call for Proposals |
| 2025 Board Slate and Call for Volunteers! |
| At the November Board Meeting, the Chapter Board of Directors approved the 2025 Executive Committee Slate: President: Jaya Samaranayake (current President-elect) President-elect: Abigail Agoglia (2023-2024 Conference Chair) Treasurer: Simone Otto (current Treasurer) Secretary: Katie Kelm, PhD, Director of Medical Writing, PPD/Thermo Fisher Scientific Additional nominations for the Executive Committee may be submitted and must be received by Jan 12 (at least 15 days before our Jan 28 business meeting). Nominations must be signed by at least 10 Chapter members in good standing and must be accompanied by an email from the candidate stating that they will serve if elected. The following position is opening on our Board of Directors for 2025: Member Liaison If you are interested in filling this role, please complete our Volunteer Interest Form by Dec 10. If you have filled the form in the past but did not indicate an interest in this role, feel free to submit the form again and state “Member Liaison” under “Other.” |
| New Chapter DEI Resource Page |
| AMWA Carolinas has a new webpage that lists curated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion materials for medical writers. This was a several months-long effort started at the February Book Club on healthcare disparities led by Emma Arigi, fed by member submissions, and reviewed and edited by our DEI Resource Coordinator Nadezhda (Nadia) Sabeva. Thank you, Nadia, and also thanks to Yael Symes, Kim Jochman, Toni Willis, Naomi Bishop, and Jaya Samaranayake for submitting materials for this resource. Please take a look, share it, and send us your feedback at amwa.carolinas@gmail.com. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources for Medical Writing Other recent website updates for you: 2024 Member Survey Results SlidesNCRAF AMWA Event Report2024 Conference Session Reports |
| 2025 Book Club Selection(s) – Choose Your Own Adventure! |
| In 2025, we will again have our AMWA Carolinas book club (in February, date TBD) – but we are changing the format. The Board made 3 book selections, and you can choose 1 book to read and discuss and learn about the other 2 books at the meeting. (Or if you don’t have time to read, learn about all 3 books at the meeting!) Here are your options: The Data Detective by Tim HarfordPresents ten rules for understanding statistics in everyday life, encouraging curiosity and critical thinking. The Undoing Project by Michael LewisChronicles the collaboration between psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky on human decision-making. For Blood and Money by Nathan VardiExplores the complex and often ethically challenging world of biotech, particularly in the development of cancer drugs. It delves into the intersection of science, finance, and ethics in the biotech industry. We are seeking discussion leaders for The Data Detective and The Undoing Project, if you are interested, please complete our Volunteer Interest Form and state “Book Club Lead” under “Other.” |
| Article Interviews |
| AMWA Carolinas has a student volunteer interested in writing an article about the different types of medical writing for the chapter website. The article would be based on interviews, and we are looking for chapter members experienced in scientific publications, health communication, continuing education for professionals, or promotional writing. If you are open to being interviewed for the article, please complete the form below to find out more information. The student will follow up with you with more details and you can decide if you would like to participate. Article Interview Interest Form |
