August 2015 - (AMWA), Northern California Chapter
Contents
1. Register by 9 September 2015 Website http www bels org index cfm UPCOMING EUROPEAN MEDICAL WRITERS ASSOCIATION EMWA CONFERENCE The 41st EMWA Conference in The Hague Netherlands will be held on the 5 7 November 2015 at The BelAir Hotel PUBLICATION NEWS NEW EDITION Scientific Style and Format The CSE Manual for Authors Editors and Publishers Eighth Edition 7 May 2014 By Council of Science Editors University Of Chicago Press Pacemaker 8 2015 Page 5 THE WORD WITCH DECIMAL ALIGNMENT IN TABLES By In this tutorial I show you how to decimal align a column of numbers Maggie in a table Nae The Basics BSc ELS The concept of place value is basic to our civilization s understanding of numbers the value of for example a 6 is indicated by its horizontal position relative to other Maggie Norris a past numerals that make up the entire number As we all learned in first grade the value of 6 in 63 president of our AMWA is different from its value in 603 For the past couple of millennia scientists and mathematicians a a a d have been aligning columns of numbers by place value often called decimal alignment to facili currently serves on the tate comparison of the numbers Chapter s Programming Word considers a table cell to be a paragraph and most of the tools for formatting table cells are ac aap va a cessed in the Paragraph di2. ments Any AMWA credit workshop can be considered an elective and you have the opportu nity to earn up to 4 workshop credits at conference Helpful tips for first time attendees are available on the North Central AMWA Chapter website http amwanorthcentral org chapter p 4179 TRACK FACTS FOCUS ON 12 AREAS e Editing e Ethics Freelance e Health and Medicine e PR Marketing e Professional Development e Professional Relationships e Regulatory e Relevant Skills e Social Media and Technology e Writing for Lay Audiences e Writing for Professional Audiences UPCOMING EVENTS AMWA Chapter Events Checkout Pocket Trainings Online GREATER CHICAGO CHAPTER Login to the AMWA national website and CONFERENCE browse recordings of past webinars Pocket 24 July 2015 Evanston IL Trainings mini tutorials are also available They cover a variety of topics useful to medi AMWA Online Offering cal communication professionals http www amwa org pocket_trainings WEBINAR HOW TO BUILD A BUSINESS CASE AND INFLUENCE CHANGE 30 July 2015 1 2 PM Eastern Time http www amwa org online_offerings Note Archived Members Only OnDemand Webinars are available online through the AMWA national website UPCOMING BOARD OF EDITORS IN LIFE SCIENCES BELS EXAMINATIONS Sunday 30 August 2015 Brisbane Queensland Australia AMWA Register by 9 August 2015 Wednesday 30 September 2015 San Antonio TX AMWA
3. Pacemaker 8 2015 Page 13 Planning for the 2016 Pacific Coast Conference Summary of Open Sessions at 1 Day PCC in San Diego By The conference was held in Old Town San Diego and coincidentally on Cinco de Mayo weekend Maggie Nearly 20 conference organizers and attendees enjoyed a traditional Mexican dinner together and Norris enjoyed the festive crowd All presenters and session leaders were members of the Pacific Southwest Chapter BSc ELS j At the first Open Session Preparing a Clinical Study Report the presenter Michael G Baker PhD placed the clinical study report CSR in the context of the new drug application NDA structure He followed this with a brief discussion of the 3 types of CSRs full abbreviated and synopsis types and the criteria distinguishing them He showed an excellent overview of the CSR deliverable including the appendices before turning to focus on the medical writer s role in the project management aspect of CSR development He advised the use of checklists for QC and kindly made available to conference participants a series of checklists he uses In the next Open Session Amy Lindsay PhD explained her use of storytelling techniques to reach the target audience of any communications product Amy s in session exercise focused on reaching out to the audience with the briefest of brief distillations of the key message as a possible beginning of your storytell
4. home offices What do recent studies have to say about the connection between sitting and ill health A July 2013 meta analysis included 984 participants across 19 field based trials and 19 laboratory investigations reducing sedentary work time over an 8 hour work day by 77 minutes resulted in nonsignificant changes for most health and work related outcomes A 2015 Cochrane Review of 8 studies on sit stand desks found the quality of evidence to be very low Yet another group of researchers in a 2015 article in the Journal of Occupational and Environment Hygiene explored both prolonged standing and sitting postures they suggest that both prolonged static and sitting postures can and should be avoided Both of the last two articles mentioned the need for more high quality studies So what are we to take away from these studies We need to realize that the individual body and its history its muscular structure can only approximately be represented by a study in the individual We need to fall back on that ultimate expression of anecdotal medicine listen to your body Continued on next page Page 10 Pacemaker 8 2015 Don t Wreck Your Bod Part 2 Concluded Options to Consider What can be done varies with our working conditions In a corporate environment we can press for changes or at least for flexibility in work conditions In a home office we explore the options and consider the costs Many options are available most are reas
5. AMWA 76th Annual Conference Denver CO Application Deadline 30 June 2016 e November 2017 AMWA 77th Annual Conference Orlando FL Application Deadline 15 December 2016 Get Started Today To obtain the Applicant and Candidate Handbook the Application form the Letter of Reference Re quest Form and to pay the 150 00 application fee AMWA members receive a 25 00 discount in the AMWA store visit http www amwa org mwe Note that if you do plan to take the exam you may need a few months to acquire the documentation you need to apply for the exam so start gathering your documentation early After your application materials are reviewed you will receive an email of your eligibility or ineligibility If you are eligible to sit for the exam a link will be provided to register for the exam exam fee 375 Update CORE Clarity and Openness in Reporting E3 Based A User Manual to Benefit CSR Writers As reported in the previous issue of the Pacemaker The European Medical Writers Association EMWA and AMWA are collaborating to develop an open access end user resource that will complement the International Conference on Harmonisation ICH E3 guideline Structure and Content of Clinical Study Reports and its 2012 Question and Answer Q amp A update This commitment is intended to benefit the many stakeholders who participate in the process of advancing therapeutic options These include medi cal writers the pharm
6. it was no longer feasible to maintain the existing arrangements Al A2 A3 AA A5 Survey Results Here is a summary of the responses question by question Your comments are welcome Please respond via webmaster amwancal org Ql Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 In 2015 the Pacific Southwest Chapter tried a 1 day conference format in which attendees arrived on Friday evening for a social hour and the conference proper occupied all day Saturday see a summary on page 14 With this truncated schedule fewer workshops and open sessions could be offered In preparation for the 2016 conference the Northern Califor nia Chapter planning coordinators sent out a survey asking 10 questions that addressed what the chapter membership would consider the optimal way to restructure the conference specifi cally what would provide the greatest opportunity for members to attend and what would maximize the potential for learning and networking among the attendees Have your ever attended a Pacific Coast Conference The responses were equally divided 50 had 50 had not If you attended which years did you attend The answers to this question were about equally divided again among respondees some attended regularly some attended only sporadically If you haven t attended please give a brief explanation why Here there was as might be expected a broad range of reasons expense work priorities timing conflicts distance from
7. 17 decimal point is visible in the numbers in the Integer diam dui 25750 55 1 left column Quisque et mollis urna 8600 2 22 Curabitur tincidunt 400 5 3 Morbi velit justo 12250 3 22 Proin consectetur 250 To adjust the position of the tab either open the Tabs dialog box and change value in the Tab stop position field or place the cursor on the tab icon in the ruler and move it Note that the change will apply to selected cells 7 Screenshot 4 EX ae o l Ruler with decimal tab icon To reposition the tab stop capture the icon with the cursor and move right or left Pacemaker 8 2015 Page 7 By Suzanne Canada PhD Suzanne Canada a past president of our AMWA Chapter led the effort to bring our first chapter webinar to fruition and is a member of the Communications Committee Page 8 Pacemaker 8 2015 Don t Wreck Your Bod Part 1 Editor s note In our continuing series about how to improve our working environments to improve our health two Northern California Chapter members have contributed articles the first Part 1 by Suzanne Canada focuses on the physical and social effects of prolonged sitting and social isolation the second Part 2 by Mary Wessling shows how on a limited budget and with some creativity a writer can create a standing workstation THE EPIDEMIC THAT IS KILLING MEDICAL WRITERS Medical Writers often toil for long hours in isolation These words uttered
8. August 2015 AMWA s MISSION is to promote excellence in medical communication and to provide educational resources in support of that goal Newsletter of the Northern California Chapter of the American Medical Writers Association PACEFAAKEI IN THIS ISSUE Henle his 5 con cvcae 1 Letter from Our Chapter President 2 Chapter Board of Directors 2 Summer Social 3 Help Email Ate Upcoming Events 4 The Word Witch Decimal Alignment in males A ere tne 6 Don t Wreck Your Bod Part 1 The Epidemic That Is Killing Medical Writers e ae 8 Don t Wreck Your Bod Part 2 Stand Up to Write 10 Planning for the 2016 Pacific Coast Conference Survey Results 12 Planning for the 2016 Pacific Coast Conference Summary of Open Sessions at 1 Day PCC tint Seid IDIGYO oa coe 14 Upate Medical Writer Certified MWC Credentialk a ee ile Upate CORE Clarity and Openness in Reporting E3 Based A User Manual to Benefit CSR Writers aaa 15 HIGHLIGHTS Letter from Chapter President An update from the AMWA national organization Upcoming Events Register for AMWA s 75th National Annual Conference This conference promises to be an exciting and productive event register online now Word Witch Decimal Alignment in Tables Great tips for how to align text in Word tables Don t Wreck Your Bod Parts and 2 Your health may be more dependent on how you go through you
9. Caren Rickhoff BA Mayya Shveygert PhD Page 2 Pacemaker 8 2015 SUMMER SOCIAL GREAT PICNIC By Mayya Shveygert PhD Mayya Shveygert who recently joined AMWA and is a member of the chapter s Communications Committee is a postdoctoral fellow at the UCSF School of Medicine Our Northern California Chapter enjoyed a fun outdoor picnic social on Sunday July 19th at beautiful Central Park in San Mateo with lots of great food interesting conversation and lively networking Thanks to everyone who made this event a reality and to all who attended and brought dishes to share Here s a snapshot of several AMWA members who attended the picnic e A writer who has spent 1 year at her first medical writing position e A writer who just started a new position from an announcement on the AMWA job list e A writer who has worked remotely with global clients for over 18 years e A writer who is looking to make a transition from quality standards writing to more clinically focused work These are just some of the personal stories that make medical writing such an amazing profession and make participation in northern California AMWA so rewarding We are planning more inter esting events in the coming months and if you would like to volunteer to help the work is easy and it s a great way to get to know other people in AMWA please contact Barbara Boughton at barbara boughton gmail com o
10. aceutical industry regulators and patients Work on the manual continues with drafts under review We will keep you posted regarding progress Pacemaker 8 2015 Page 15
11. alog box and their keyboard equivalents See Screenshot 1 Board Procedure Screenshot 1 Paragraph dialog box The first step in applying _ ideas aad Goes tab decimal alignment toa fo Word considers table column of numbers is to Alignment Left cells be paragraphs left align left justify the 00e E lel rn ty cells paragraphs in the iam spacing and line and page column The next step is e e g Speco O ay eee are assigned in the to remove all tabs in the wa Hanging E es 6 aragraph dialog box cells Then add a deci go omes mal tab Finally adjust pee m the position of the tab B e i E mme Ee E St L 7 Don t add space between paragraphs of the same style Lef align the cells A Pew Select the range of cells TAEPA to be decimal aligned Teri senpe Ter sarpe Tert sarpe tentene eTe In the Paragraph dialog box Screenshot 1 apply left alignment Click OK to save the change Screenshot 2 and close the dialog box Tabs dialog box Tab stop position Default tab stops As with text paragraphs Step 2 5 0 25 tabs in table cells are R aa L nl set and modified in the emove existing tabs Tab stops to be cleared Tabs dialog box With the range of cells still selected call up Paragraph dialog box aaa again and click Tabs E Screenshot 1 to open the Tabs dialog box a Screenshot 2 Click ea Clear all Click OK Oa to save the change and _ oh lear lear close the Tabs
12. by our past President Doug Haneline in an AMWA leadership meeting in Bethesda Maryland impressed upon me the essence of most medical writers work environments It is evident that many of our work place environments and habits are unhealthy Admittedly the title of this article is misleading because researchers have not focused specifically on medical writ ers however I think that most of us would agree that medical writers are predisposed to spend long hours at their desks concentrating on long detailed documents The 2010 US census results found that 35 7 of working citizens spend more than 1 hour per day in a car On top of that more than 75 of us spend more than 4 hours sitting in a chair according to a recent study on the health effects of sitting We could improve on these two lifestyle factors sedentary lifestyle toiling long hours and social isolation spending too much time alone The sedentary life is a high risk life A mountain of evidence is piling up about different ways that our sedentary lifestyles increase our mortality risk One review of literature from 1996 until 2011 3 concluded that not getting exercise is linked to not only obesity and heart disease but also cancer risk Conversely exercise has been correlated to our resiliency and ability to cope with stress However a review and meta analysis of the literature indicated that sitting can actually undo the benefits of regular exercise Social isolation can s
13. dialog box Tabs dialog box decimal tab at 0 5 in Page 6 Pacemaker 8 2015 THE WORD WITCH DECIMAL ALIGNMENT IN TABLES Concluded Step 3 Add a decimal tab With the cells still selected call up the Tabs dialog box again This time try the keyboard shortcut Alt t o In the Alignment group choose Decimal In the Tab stop position field enter a value to set a tab in each of the selected cells Suggestion choose a value approximately half the width of the cells ie if the cell width is 1 inch enter 5 Click OK to save and close the Tabs dialog box Note that it is not necessary to insert a tab character in the cells Step 4 Adjust the position of the tab Look at the column or range of cells and see what you think Screenshot 3 The numbers that contain a decimal point will be aligned with the decimal point at the tab position ie you could draw a straight vertical line connecting the decimal points The numbers that do not contain a decimal point will be aligned as if they do have one A decimal tab icon is visible in the Ruler Screenshot 4 Hint display the Ruler on the View tab in the Show group activate the Ruler checkbox Ficte wil Screenshot 3 Aliquam vel varius libero Aliquam erat mauris Table with decimal Tempus ante rhoncus 185400 400 24 easel eke umbers in both Mauris rutrum 1230 350 99 columns are decimal Morbi hendrerit 211550 85 7 aligned even though no 83
14. eelance contracts EndNote tips regulatory documents new technologies project man agement how to tips that would blend the many kinds of writing we re called upon to do Would another option for the days that the PCC is held for instance a 2 day conference or a 3 day weekend make it easier for you to attend If so please specify which option is more attractive 43 of the responses clearly favored a 2 day format only about 1 a 3 day format Week ends were preferred by about a third of the respondees however several responses felt that weekends cut into personal time If there were an option for daytime only attendance stay at home and attend only the days when the program is of interest to you would you be more likely to attend Here there was a clear majority 54 of respondees answered in the affirmative 25 were undecided maybe and about 22 answered no Let s explore the changes in dates a bit more If you had a choice would you prefer Friday night through Monday night Sunday night through Wednesday lunch some other time frame Would you prefer that the conference be a half day shorter so that you could go home after the conference Please comment The answers to this question are the most difficult to summarize Friday through Sunday Monday and Sunday through Wednesday seem to be about equally favored A few responses indicated a preference for a shorter conference whether over weekend or weekdays
15. eeman T Social ties and health The benefits of social integration Annals of Epidemiology 1996 6 5 442 451 Kakutani M Friends without a personal touch Book review of Alone Together by Sherry Turkle New York Times 21 February 2011 7 Park A Sitting is killing you Time 2 September 2014 Accessed at http time com sitting 8 Morin A 12 Ways to improve social skills and make you sociable anytime Accessed at http www lifehack org articles communication 12 ways improve social skills and make you sociable anytime html Pacemaker 8 2015 Page 9 Don t Wreck Your Bod Part 2 By STAND UP TO WRITE Mary Ergonomics and Me Wessling In 2010 I came across a study that said the same thing my lo ack had been telling me for y 8 my 8 PhD years sitting too much is bad In the five 5 years since the issue of proper work ergonomics has ena ee been explored in formal scientific studies in social media and in newspaper articles To improve Mimi Wessling is a i i longtime AMWA my own ergonomics I ve probed the literature To keep my back from yelling at me I ve modified member who is also my work space Below I mention some of the literature and what it does or doesn t conclude a member of the then I describe my own solution Communications Committee and our former Northern What the Literature Says California AMWA An article in the New York Times by James Vlahos 14 April 2011 lored the question Is S
16. eting that focused on that topic e Growing use of infographics e Emphasis of Plain Language Initiative e Proliferation of medical apps e Increasing use of health and medical social media e Importance of patient consumer in healthcare product development Then during a series of small group activities at the meeting the Board of Directors identified many strengths opportunities and aspirations AMWA s welcoming and diverse community and its broad range of high quality educational offerings were among the most frequently noted benefits of AMWA membership If you would like to be involved in the leadership level discussions within AMWA we invite you to join the Executive Board of AMWA Northern California Chapter Please contact Arushi at arushisinha hotmail com Northern Elected Positions e President Arushi Sinha PhD California Vice President Caren Rickhoff BA Chapter Secretary Barbara Arnoldussen BSN MBA Board of Treasurer Catherine Magill PhD Di t Program Chair Barbara Boughton BA Irectors Membership Liaison Dennis Bittner PhD 2014 2015 Non elected Positions Immediate Past President Maggie Norris BSc ELS Jobs List Administrator Dennis Bittner PhD Chapter Committees Programming Committee Barbara Boughton BA Maggie Norris BSc ELS Conference Planning Advisory Committee Catherine Magill PhD Communications Committee Mary Wessling PhD Suzanne Canada PhD Myrna Faulds BS
17. home or work Which of the following features of the PCC are most important to you Among respondees about 73 cited workshops 81 networking and camaraderie 69 open sessions In planning for the 2016 PCC 1 if it were in a venue closer to the Bay Area than the Asilomar Conference Grounds would it make you more or less likely to attend 2 Do you have any suggestions for alternative venues Responding to the first question responses were overwhelmingly yes Suggestions for an alternative venue clustered around the San Francisco and Berkeley area but there were interesting recommendations for more rural venues such as Half Moon Bay and the North Bay Marin Headlands Continued on next page Page 12 Pacemaker 8 2015 Planning for the 2016 Pacific Coast Conference Survey Results Has the price of the conference ever kept you from attending 69 of the responses were No 31 were Yes 1 If you haven t attended any PCCs in the past what could influence you to attend in the future 2 Do you have any suggestions for Open Sessions or Workshop topics Responses to the first question indicated that the choices of Workshops and Open Sessions were indeed very important with a request for more Advanced Workshops and a weekend rather than weekday timing Again location was an important issue several respondees asked for location close to the Bay Area We received excellent suggestions for topics such as fr
18. horten your life span Due to the need for isolation when working on long documents medical writers also have de creased social interactions Evidence shows that loneliness stemming from social isolation can be as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day or being an alcoholic 4 Social integration increas es longevity as well as overall health Email and online social networks do not fulfill these social needs On the contrary technology offers the illusion of companionship without the demands of intimacy and communication without emotional risk while actually making people feel lonelier and more overwhelmed as pointed out by Michiko Kakutani in his review of Alone Together by Sherry Turkle Thus our modern workplace reality is not helping us to live longer Continued n the next page Don t Wreck Your Bod Part Concluded A Reminder From the Last Pacemaker Issue Remember the most important and easiest thing you can do is Take microbreaks every 20 or 30 minutes if only GMT Get Moving Today for 2 minutes do a quick stretch walk down the e UL bads Malone window remember that there is a world out there march in place Moving literally extends your life GET UP MOVE AROUND TAKE A BREAK The Negative Effects Are Reversible The good news is that all of these effects are fully reversible We can make a decision to get out of our chairs and move more We can make a choice to deve
19. ided by those who responded to the survey see previous page for the survey results and Maggie Norris I was skeptical about a 1 day conference Now I m not A 1 day program Mary obviously is limited as to variety and scope It can however be relevant I attended all 4 Open Wessling Sessions and found them all relevant PhD Mary Wessling In general I felt the 1 day conference was somewhat short especially with regard to networking I currently favor a 2 day conference if our chapter has the funds to do so If you would like to share your thoughts or suggestions for future PCCs sponsored by our chapter please contact Arushi Sinha at president amwancal org or Caren Rickhoff at vice president amwancal org Page 14 Pacemaker 8 2015 Update Medical Writer Certified MWC Credential The AMWA has officially launched the Medical Writing Certification MWC mepicaL Credentialing program and the Medical Writing Certification Examination exam that defines the WRITER scope of medical writing practice and distinguishes individuals in the field For details see the AMWA CERTIFIED national website http www amwa org mwe The application period for taking the exam on 30 Sep tember 2016 has officially closed Future Exam Dates and Locations e Spring 2016 Drug Information Association DIA Medical amp Scientific Commu nications Annual Forum Application Deadline 15 December 2015 e October 2016
20. ing process The third Open Session was directed to freelances and aspiring freelances Heather Oliff PhD a freelance for about 20 years began her session with a survey of the equipment and ser vices infrastructure required to operate a successful writing business Heather shared numerous entertaining anecdotes about aspects of freelancing including finding clients turning down work without losing the client and achieving the elusive work life balance The final Open Session of the conference was a panel discussion on careers in medical com munications The attendees heard from 5 panelists working in various medical communications fields including regulatory writing scientific manuscript development and sales training About half the attendees were new or relatively new to the field and half were established in medical writing careers The consensus was that the industry will continue to rely on a mix of staff and consultants However consultants will increasingly be employees of an agency rather than inde pendents ie 1099 Planning for the 2016 Pacific Coast Conference Thoughts About the l Day PCC in San Diego By Two of our Northern California Chapter members attended the 1 day PCC in San Diego Maggie Maggie Norris and Mary Wessling Below are brief comments from each The 2016 PCC Plan Norris ning Committee will keep these comments in mind as well as those received by other chapter BSc ELS members and the input prov
21. it y P g Chapter webmaster oe ae a ting a Lethal Activity The author quotes the researcher Marc Hamilton This is your body on chairs electrical activity in the muscles drops the muscles go as silent as those of a dead horse Hamilton says leading to a cascade of harmful metabolic effects Your calorie burning rate immedi ately plunges to about 1 per minute a third of what it would be if you got up and walked Insulin effectiveness drops within a single day and the risk of developing type 1 diabetes rises So does the risk of being obese The enzymes responsible for breaking down lipids and triglyceride for vacu uming up fat out of the bloodstream as Hamilton puts it plunge which in turn causes the levels of good high density lipoprotein HDL cholesterol to fall OK that sounds really awful But it gets worse a 2010 study in the journal Circulation the article that made me listen to my back argued that sitting to watch television was associated with all cause mortality independent of age sex education smoking hypertension waist circumference body mass index glucose tolerance status and leisure time exercise In short sitting too much of the day is an independent pathology concluded the New York Times author But we aren t sitting watching soap operas we medical writers are working Some of us also commute a long way to our work sitting in a car or other transit Others of us are sitting in our
22. lop our social lives build more supportive networks and spend more time with friends and family Having these social ties can decrease anxiety and improve overall health Socializing and exercising both increase our ability to resolve conflicts and can increase productivity Here are two articles that offer hints on how to make small changes with a huge impact Is sitting killing me and 12 ways to improve social skills and make you sociable anytime References 1 MacKenzie B Out of State and Long Commutes 2011 American Community Survey Reports February 2013 Accessed at https www census gov hhes commuting files 2012 ACS 20 pdf 2 Owen N Healy GN Matthews CE Dunstan DW Too much sitting the Population Health science of seden tary behavior Exercise and Sport Sciences Review 2010 38 3 105 113 doi 10 1097 JES 0b013e3181e373a2 Accessed at http www ncbi nlm nih gov pmc articles PMC34048 15 R47 3 Thorp AA Owen N Nauhaus M Dunstan DW Sedentary behaviors and subsequent health outcomes in adults a systematic review of longitudinal studies 1996 2011 American Journal of Preventative Medicine 2011 41 2 207 15 doi 10 1016 j amepre 2011 05 004 Accessed at http www ncbi nlm nih gov pubmed 21767729 4 Holt Lunstad J Smith TB Baker M Harris T and Stephenson D Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality A meta analytic review Perspectives on Psychological Science 2015 10 2 227 237 gt S
23. oller bar that moves back and forth and up and down and that has the standard click buttons it connects by USB and works for both Mac and Windows I never have to take my hands off the keyboard I ve also found that wearing the wrong shoes without enough support and cushioning can bring on fatigue in the legs I also have added a thick foam pad in front of the desk and these two changes have made my legs much happier Finally if you do use a chair make sure to set it up so that it allows for the proper positioning of your arms and distance from the screen Pacemaker 8 2015 Page 11 Summary by Mary Wessling PhD Planning for the 2016 Pacific Coast Conference Survey Results Until 2014 the Pacific Coast Conference PCC held each year provided a wonderful 3 day re source for members of the AMWA Northern California Chapter and the Pacific Southwest Chap ter The chapters alternated sponsorship years making it possible to spread the time for organizing over 2 years Most years we met at the Asilomar Conference Grounds a beautiful venue We were exposed to interesting presenters in the Open Sessions received credits toward AMWA certificates through the Workshops had great communal meals went for walks along the Bay and expanded our contacts through focused networking events However after the 2008 financial downturn re duced the number of people who were able to attend these conferences both chapters found
24. onably expensive There are desks that can themselves be raised or lowered and platforms that can be put on an existing desk to change the height There is even a platform that allows running in place while working not rec ommended it reduces concentration A Creative and Inexpensive Solution I couldn t bear to get rid of my incredibly useful old fashioned pine desk with the pull out space for paper trays and drawers for small items and already paid for Here s my solution I purchased In the end two inexpensive tables such as the IKEA LACK side tables http www ikea com us en catalog analysis products 40104270 80104268 that I placed on top of my existing desk I shortened the legs we are in to provide the correct viewing height for my computer screen see photographs Using two of charge these tables side by side produced a wide flexible space my phone stand could be moved back discipline to make room for reference materials And having the surface underneath the tables allows for yourself the usual clutter to be pushed out of the way Overturned coffee cups on that surface are also less don t likely to spill onto the keyboard wreck your bod Beyond Standing to Write Other ergonomic issues may affect our physical well being In my case a few years ago I intro duced a further modification using a mouse for hours on end has had negative effects on my hand and shoulders I place my keyboard on a support that includes a r
25. other attachment files opened from email hotmail or outlook web access that were opened edited and saved but are now gone Pacemaker 8 2015 Page 3 _ p _ lt _ lt T Page 4 Pacemaker 8 2015 UPCOMING EVENTS CELEBRATE AMWA S 75 ANNUAL CONFERENCE uest toward W AMWA Annual Meeting B illi Maem 30 September 3 October 2015 ri lance San Antonio Texas Grand Hyatt San Antonio 600 E Market Street San Antonio TX 78205 The AMWA Annual Conference is the ultimate resource for medical communicators around the world offering educational and networking opportunities beyond compare in the field The Gen eral Session Speakers will be Ivan Oransky and Jay Ingram Make your reservations at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio today via the national AMWA website http www amwa org events_annual_conference DESIGN YOUR PROGRAM This year it s easier than ever to find the program events of most interest to you and your profes sional goals AMWA has expanded the use of topic area tracks to include all sessions and have developed Track Facts simple reference guides that include sessions within each track Track Facts coupled with the Program at a Glance will help you create your unique program quickly and easily If you are working toward the Composition and Publication Regulatory and Research or Con cepts in Science specialty certificate you can use up to two electives to complete the require
26. r at 510 219 0296 HELP My Email Ate My File Did something like this ever happen to you 1 Opened a Word or Excel file from your web mail for example using Internet Explorer Made lots of changes and saved at least a few times Closed Word or Excel Tried to reopen the file but couldn t find it If so our colleague Mayya Shveygert found the following quick tip online that will save you much frustration In Internet Explorer when you click on an attachment you have two options open and save If you clicked save youd be fine You will be able to save the file somewhere for exam ple on the desktop and continue working The only way to lose the file is if you delete it or forgot where you saved it If you clicked open however you re entering zombie land Word will show you the document maybe after a warning that you opened a downloaded file You will be able to edit and save the document regularly But little do you know that you re saving the file in a safe zone technically a system folder used for files downloaded from the web I call it zombie land because you have no idea that the files you re saving will disappear the second you shut down Word So if you plan to edit the document that you downloaded remember to always save your file to a specific location on your computer Excerpt from the blog entry by ODER RUN https odedran wordpress com 20 2 03 1 how to rescue word excel or
27. r workday than you think These two articles describe why that may be so and what you can do about it Planning for the 2016 Pacific Coast Conference The structure of the Pacific Coast Conference PCC is being re evaluated should it be a 1 day 2 day or 3 day conference It depends on member preferences and chapter finances Read about the results of the PCC survey a summary of the 1 day PCC sponsored by the Pacific Southwest Chapter and thoughts from attendees Letter from President of Northern California AMWA Chapter By The Future of Medical Writing Arushi Saba What do you think the future of medical writing looks like Exciting times are ahead PhD i as AMWA National envisions its next 75 years In honor of the 75th anniversary the Executive Committee of the national organization has begun implementing a Strate gic Planning Initiative Arushi Sinha president hapter is als ene ae To kick off the discussions President Elect Lori Alexander identified some of the the president of Big Think Media Inc a trends occurring in medical communication today including publiser of a full range e Growth of Asian based medical writing needs specifically China and Japan of specialized services Arushi led a roundtable e In general people are reading more items but spending less time on any one item Getting Your Book Published at the 2011 National Conference and presented a talk at a recent AMWA Northern California me
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