Getting value from a professional association
A professional association membership returns what the member takes from it, so its value turns on how actively it is used, by an experienced writer who has finished the certificates as much as by a new member deciding where to start.
Learning the craft and finding a career
For one past president of the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), the leader of the first workshop she took at an AMWA conference was part of what made her want to join: if members as intelligent and experienced as he was were willing to share their knowledge, this was the place she could learn how to be a medical writer.
A writer who had come to medical writing from technical writing coauthored a college text on personal health in 1978, decided it was time to join a professional association, found AMWA, called and visited three members in the San Francisco Bay Area, and joined in time for its second Asilomar conference. He insists that the benefits of membership work two ways, and credits AMWA with giving him both the structure for developing his craft and the opportunities to practise it.
A pediatrician joined AMWA in 1958 after going to a chapter meeting and being hooked at once, and by 2015 had been an active member for 57 years.
Another member was hooked at her first AMWA meeting, in 1987, and took to heart that to make medical writing a profession, it has to be treated as a profession.
The president of the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) in 2019 described it as far more than a pure training organisation: a platform to interact, share expertise and inspire each other, which members can tailor to their needs and through which they can shape their professional role. A colleague introduced her to EMWA and its professional development programme at the very beginning of her career, and she came back from her first conference inspired by the practical tips learnt at the workshops, the spirit of sharing experience and networking, the informal atmosphere and new friends, with plenty of ideas for her everyday professional life. EMWA gave her an excellent training in medical writing skills and motivated her to give back once she had gained enough experience.
Another past AMWA president owes a lot to AMWA, for the many workshops she took and for the graciousness of the members who went before her, so willing to help out, answer questions and share their knowledge. For a colleague who followed her into AMWA, the things she learned there have helped her through the years.
A biochemist who started as an independent medical writer in 1995 needed, as a scientist, to learn writing and editing from the ground up, and AMWA's professionals openly shared their knowledge and experience with him. He calls AMWA indispensable, particularly to an independent writer: its programmes for professional education and development let him add new skills and refine existing ones, and the many contacts he made over the years became his professional foundation.
A director of medical writing whose degrees were in biology and botany learned of AMWA as a part-time employee, which did not qualify her to attend its conferences. She joined as soon as she moved to her next employer and by 2010 had attended every conference since, and she credits AMWA with her education in medical writing and holds both its core and advanced certificates.
For a regulatory medical writer who joined AMWA in his first publications post, it filled many gaps, seen and unforeseen, in his working knowledge of the medical writing process, pointed him to the many possible career paths, helped equip him for work at all points along the research and development continuum, from bench to clinic to market, and put him in touch with people who love words and clarity and relish what they do.
A member who joined AMWA as a PhD student in 2011 found it very useful to a student: it showed that medical writing comes in various types and can be done in various ways, such as in the office or at home, and its salary survey results are probably the most important piece to a student. She was amazed that so big a community of medical writers existed in North America and soon felt at home in it, found it an organisation that truly serves its members and gives them what they really need, and with the information it supplied settled her career goal as a medical writer.
A medical writer who joined AMWA in 2003 and studied its books before looking for a first medical writing job had by 2015 attended many of its annual conferences and networked with many members, and found that AMWA had helped tremendously in that career. In that writer's experience, AMWA increases knowledge of medical writing, broadens a network in the industry and provides a platform to share what has been learned.
Colleagues and friendships
For the director of medical writing trained in biology and botany, AMWA members helped form the foundation of her career by serving as mentors, agreeing to serve when called upon and working with her as co-leaders in various programmes, and many have become lifelong friends whom she looks forward to meeting again at each annual conference.
A managing editor who learned of AMWA in 1984 and joined it has from it fond memories, many friendly acquaintances and a few dear friends, and the lifelong friendships she developed with some members kept her going to annual conferences after the credits had become superfluous.
In 2013 one award-winning member credited belonging to AMWA with networking, contacts and professional development, work obtained through people met there, friends and chapter leadership positions, and has always felt very much in sync with the people met through it. Most people, that member finds, look blankly at someone who says they are a medical writer and ask what that involves, whereas AMWA members, though they do many different things, overlap enough to understand to some extent what each other does better than other people do.
What freelance members draw on
A freelance writer who joined AMWA in 1994 found by 2018 that membership had benefitted that freelance business immensely, and held that it remains a bargain considering all its benefits.
In 2018 another freelance writer credited membership, and particularly active involvement, with helping a career both as an employee and as a self-employed writer. While the writer was employed, AMWA's educational workshops helped with career development and informed the choice of niche for later self-employment, and for employees and the self-employed alike its conferences are an opportunity to meet like-minded people and exchange ideas and experience.
In 2015 two freelance members named the AMWA resources they reach for. One, who admits not using all of AMWA's services, named two favourites: Ginny Redish's guidelines for document designers, downloadable from the website, which she frequently turns to when thinking about how best to present a text, and the Toolkit for New Medical Writers, which she still refers to frequently though perhaps no longer considered new. The other named the webinars and the AMWA Journal, read in print, with the Freelance Forum as the favourite of its sections. The first agreed that the journal has something for everyone, touching on many topics at many levels.
What the association offers after the certificates
Experienced medical writers often ask what EMWA has to offer them once they have completed its foundation and advanced certificates, or what it offers people who do not want to take them. The question applies particularly to freelancers, who fund their own membership and for whom attending a conference comes at considerable cost in conference and workshop fees, flights and accommodation, and in time away from the office when no paid work is done.
For one freelance writer in 2015, a clear benefit of membership was that EMWA is the only professional body for medical writers in Europe, and belonging to it shows a writer's commitment to the profession and recognises the importance of belonging to a professional organisation centred on that work. The same writer finds that the journal keeps a member up to date with developments in the field, that conferences and workshops show what is changing in the way writers work, and that conferences are a place to network with colleagues and find out what others are doing in their day-to-day jobs. Workshops, she adds, are always worth attending to broaden all-round knowledge, since a writer can always learn new things and it never hurts to hear someone else's view on a familiar topic.
In 2015 EMWA was keen to give its more experienced members education and development opportunities beyond its foundation and advanced workshops, and several initiatives were being put in place to do so.
Using the membership actively
In the view of AMWA's president for 2019–2020, much of the benefit of an AMWA membership is related to the member's willingness to take advantage of all that the association offers, and that benefit differs from member to member, since each has different needs and interests. One freelance writer held in 2018 that opportunities rarely present themselves spontaneously, so a freelance member who sits back waiting for something good to happen will wait a very long time; for freelances AMWA is a tool, and tools only work when they are picked up and used.
AMWA's president for 2013–2014 found that the association has much to offer passive members, in resources, knowledge, camaraderie and professional development, but much more to offer active members, in confidence, connections, challenge, personal development and the opportunity to help shape the future of medical communications. He had joined to become part of the profession to which he had committed his career, to meet other people like him, to learn and become better at his craft, and to make sure he was doing his job properly, upholding the highest ethical and professional standards of the industry. He is, he says, the professional he is because of his active involvement in AMWA.
The value of membership was not obvious to AMWA's president for 2019–2020 when she was a new member: she had never joined a professional organisation, did not really understand what she was meant to gain, and joined because she knew she was supposed to take that step as she moved into a new career. Attending in-person events and a chapter conference connected her with members on a range of career paths, and some of those connections led to personal relationships and professional opportunities.
Paying dues is not enough, in the view of AMWA's president for 2018–2019: to benefit, members need to be familiar with AMWA's educational programmes, resources and benefits. She recommended a road map for new members and others:
- Start on Engage, AMWA's virtual community: create a profile, read the discussions and the resources posted there, and, once comfortable, ask questions and answer others' when there is something to contribute. The members active there are collegial and always willing to share information, on anything from standing desks and workplace stress to grammar and punctuation.
- Attend local AMWA events, talk with people and pass out business cards, finding members nearby through the member directory and events through the Events Calendar on the AMWA website.
- Take the free monthly webinars for members, announced in the twice-monthly AMWA Update and on LinkedIn and Facebook.
- Volunteer to build a network, starting at chapter level, where volunteers are always welcome: as a committee member, or as a Local Networking Coordinator, a role open to anyone, who organises local get-togethers of members that need no structured programme or speaker.
- Read Medical Communication News, a twice-monthly email that summarises noteworthy articles on the medical communication industry, to stay up to date on its news and trends.
- Invest in self-development through AMWA's educational offerings, in particular its self-study modules and online activities.
The director of medical writing trained in biology and botany advises people who want to become medical writers to become involved with AMWA and to attend its annual conference if at all possible, which she considers the perfect opportunity for networking, and above all encourages new members to volunteer.
AMWA's president-elect in 2021 advised medical communicators starting their careers to take advantage of AMWA's educational resources and tools, attend its Medical Writing & Communication Conferences, volunteer in a local chapter, and be intentional about building expertise that aligns with their career trajectory. She also recommended taking advantage of AMWA's many networking opportunities, which can promote collaborations and long-lasting friendships.