EMWA’s Newsletter – December 2024

Dear Readers,

EMWA’s 58th conference was a success! A total of 566 attendees participated in this virtual event that counted with 35 EPDP workshops, the Sustainability ESS, 6 seminars, and the Freelance Business Forum, for a total of more than 150 hours of activities. Thank you to all who participated, virtually or at one of the 10 regional hubs.

Below you can find some recaps and upcoming EMWA activities.

Happy reading!

EMWA Conference in Riga – Call for Abstracts

The Scientific Organising Committee is inviting abstract submissions for the 59th EMWA conference in Riga, Latvia. Abstracts must be based on original research, case reports or reviews and relate to any field of medical writing, communications, editing or translation (encore abstracts are allowed if presented in relevant conferences in H2-2024 or H1-2025); structured (Introduction, Methodology, Results, Conclusion) and include fewer than 250 words (excluding title, authors and affiliations); submitted in English (UK spelling); submitted by e-mail to [email protected] by 17 January 2025, 17:00 GMT by the presenting author.

More information and submission form can be found here.

EMWA Professional Development Committee News

The EPDC is welcoming topics to be explored in Expert Discussion Groups (EDGs) during the 59th conference in Riga. If you are an experienced medical writer and have a suggestion for a topic you would like to see explored during an EDG, please send an email to [email protected] and the Co-Education Officers will send you a form to complete.

Regulatory Writing Special Interest Group News

The Regulatory Writing SIG had its regular meeting on December 5th. If you are an EMWA member and are interested in participating in future meetings, please check out our LinkedIn group for further information. We look forward to seeing you there!

Communicating with the Public Special Interest Group News

The Communicating with the Public SIG had its Meet & Share on December 3rd. This session, presented by Veronica Contreras, focused on Transparency and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Policy 0070 and the documents that the medical writer may be involved with: narratives, informed consent forms, and website privacy notifications. To register for this session, click here.

Medical Communications Special Interest Group News

Thank you for making the EMWA Translation Seminar a success – Join the conversation in the Translation Enthusiasts group!

Ana Sofia Correia, Claire Harmer, and Valentina Luridiana would like thank the nine expert speakers and over 50 active participants who made the EMWA Translation Seminar a resounding success. Your insights and contributions brought invaluable perspectives to the discussions on translation for the Pharmaceutical, MedTech, and Clinical Research industries.

The recordings and slide decks from the seminar are now available on the?MedComms SIG -Translation Enthusiasts subgroup, so feel free to revisit the sessions or catch up on anything you missed.

If you’re not already part of the?Translation Enthusiasts group, we’d love for you to join us! This MedComms SIG subgroup is a space for EMWA members who work on or are interested in adapting content for diverse linguistic, cultural, and regulatory contexts.

Whether you're a project manager, medical translator, communication specialist, medical writer, or anyone managing multilingual content, this group offers a space to explore ways to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health-related communication.?Join us as we discuss approaches, tools, and resources that support medical translation and global health communications. Together, we can build a vibrant community committed to excellence in multilingual medical communications.

Thank you once again for being part of this inspiring initiative. We look forward to continuing the conversation with you!

Veterinary Special Interest Group News

The EMWA VetSIG is launching a new collaborative writing project, open to anybody with an interest in veterinary medical writing. The kick-off was at our 2024 Q4 on-line Meet&Share meeting on December 6th?.?Please email?[email protected]?for more details about our collaborative?survey/writing project or other SIG activities.?

Freelance Business Group News

The Freelance Business Forum at the 58th EMWA virtual conference had 40 attendees and the session was hosted by Adriana Rocha, who presented the Freelance Business Group and its activities.

Eleanor Steele (MedComms Mentor and MedComms Workbook), was the guest speaker for this session and talked about taking control of your freelancing career. She highlighted how freelancing can be an amazing way to build a career you love, but staying in control means being thoughtful about your choices and setting clear boundaries. By choosing projects that fit your goals, investing in your skills, and finding a freelance community, it is possible to create a career that works for you.

The breakout rooms were moderated by expert freelancers from various backgrounds: Kfir Lapid, Andrew Balkin, Katrin Zaragoza D?rr, and Archana Nagarajan.

The discussions in the breakout rooms explored freelancing in specific roles, such as in a hybrid work model or working with contract research organisations (CROs). Hybrid work combines the security of a traditional job (part-time employment) with the flexibility of freelancing, but finding these roles can be challenging. Being open with prospective employers and leveraging transferable skills can make hybrid workers valuable to both employers and freelance clients. Similarly, freelancers aiming to work with CROs were advised to build strong connections, offer specialised expertise, and stay proactive to assist CROs during their busy periods.

On the business side, transitioning from freelancer to small business owner comes with a set of country-specific requirements, such as setting up an LLC for tax benefits or legal protection. Other considerations include how to structure an LLC, hiring strategies (hiring medical writers for your business or subcontracting to freelancers), and leveraging resources like the EMWA Entrepreneurship-SIG to learn from experienced business owners.

Finally, managing multiple projects and meeting deadlines is a constant challenge for freelancers. To prevent overlapping timelines and complications, it is important to set clear priorities and communicate honestly with clients about deadlines. Tools such as software for time tracking and project management can also help maintain a structured workflow and save time in the long run.

We thank all the volunteers who kindly shared their time and expertise, as the Freelance Business Forum would not happen without them.

We look forward to seeing you face-to-face in Riga at the May 2025 conference. If you have any suggestions or topics you would like to promote, please let us know via our LinkedIn group EMWA Freelance Business Forum – online.

Upcoming EMWA Elections

For 2025, there are four positions on the Executive Committee that will open for applications this month: President-Elect, Honorary Secretary, Treasurer, and Public Relations Officer. If you are an EMWA member and would like to apply for any of the roles, please keep an eye on your inbox, as instructions will be sent out soon. Please keep in mind that to be eligible, candidates must be paid-up EMWA members and must have attended at least one Spring conference in the previous 3 years. Accepted applications will then be sent out to the entire membership for voting in February 2025 and the successful candidates announced at the Annual General Meeting.

Ambassador Programme News

The EMWA Ambassador Programme is continuing its efforts to reach out to new audiences to promote medical writing and EMWA and has supported the following events:

On 7 Nov 2024, Abe Shevack and Peter Llewellyn spoke about the Ambassador Programme and Networking at the Opening Session of the EMWA Online. Abe fielded a number of questions afterwards about the programme and how volunteers can help support future activities.

On 15 Nov 2024, Catherine Heddle and Emilia Horjales represented EMWA at Aula Medica CHaSE Career Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. Catherine gave a presentation on careers in medical writing and the benefits of joining EMWA. After the talk at the exhibition table, Catherine and Emilia were quite busy answering questions and sharing information about medical writing. There were copies of the MEWs and QR codes for accessing the Getting into Medical Writing Guide. The event was a very successful repeat of EMWAs participation at last year’s CHaSE conference. We look forward to further cooperation with CHaSE and raising the awareness about medical writing in Sweden.

On 23 Nov 2024, Johanna Chester presented Careers in Medical Writing and the benefits of joining EMWA at the University of Siena to the students of the Masters Programme in Scientific Biomedical Communication. This was the first encounter for many of the students with professional medical and scientific communicators. Johanna also presented the medical writing landscape in Italy, supported by data from the first and most recent 2024 survey of 64 Italian medical writers. The compensation data for employees and freelancers in Italy was discussed at length, and the students were particularly interested in the ongoing education programme offered by EMWA. Overall, the feedback was positive from both the professors and students. The professors have already asked Andrea Rossi, Laura C Collada Ali and Johanna Chester give lessons to the students on 14th February 2025.

If you are an experienced medical writer and EMWA volunteer and are interested in becoming an EMWA Ambassador or if you know of any upcoming career events in your locality, please contact the EMWA Head Office ([email protected]) or Abe Shevack ([email protected]).

CORE Reference News

CORE Reference September News Summary

Check out the?October 2024?list of ICH, EMA (including CTR and CTIS), FDA and other regional guidances; best practice documents; and other tools and resources supporting clinical trial reporting; transparency and disclosure of clinical documents; real world data and artificial intelligence/machine learning in the regulation of medicines. The CORE Reference NewsSummary encompasses medicines, vaccines and devices; information is archived (including the November 2024 NewsSummary in the coming days) at:?https://www.core-reference.org/news-summaries/. Sign up for the bi-monthly email service here:?https://www.core-reference.org/subscribe.

Seasonal Wishes

The year is coming to an end and we wish to express our gratitude to all EMWA members for supporting us and helping to advance the medical writing profession. We hope that you have a joyous holiday season and that 2025 brings you peace and happiness.

With kindest regards,

EMWA Executive Committee