AMWA includes a variety of medical communicators, including administrators, advertisers, authors' editors, college and university professors, journal editors, pharmaceutical writers (and those involved in pharmaceutical publication planning), public relations specialists, publishers, reporters, researchers, statisticians, and translators.
Lake, N. C. Barwasser, Norman Zolla, Florence Johnson, and James Dunn organized the Mississippi Valley Medical Editors' Association (MVMEA).
The constitution adopted for 1951–1956 allowed, besides physicians, "medical librarians and health educators," and, importantly, "personnel of hospitals, foundations, technical companies and allied organizations, educational institutions, publishing and who are concerned with medical writing or publishing ..."[5] In 1976 the first president was elected who did not have a doctoral degree (Gerald McKee); in 1977 the first woman president, Virginia T. Eicholtz, was elected.
[6] The AMWA Code of Ethics sets forth the principles that "take into account the important role of medical communicators in writing, editing, and developing materials in various media and the potential of the products of their efforts to inform, educate, and influence audiences."
The program requires 8 credits of Essential Skills courses, which may be earned through completion of self-study workbook quizzes and/or by participation at in-person workshops.
[9] Access to on-demand resources is available through AMWA Online Learning, which includes videos, articles, tutorials, and interactive activities on a variety of topics.
AMWA also offers live online webinars, networking and learning events, and onsite training programs for medical writing professionals.
A quarterly publication, it "aims to be an authoritative, comprehensive source of information about the knowledge, skills, and opportunities in the field of medical communication worldwide.
In summary, the statement asserts that, "professional medical writing support helps authors and sponsors to disclose their research in peer-review journals and scientific congresses in an ethical, accurate, and timely manner, with the ultimate aim of advancing patient care.
This article explained the work of the AMWA 2002 Task Force on the Contributions of Medical Writers to Scientific Publications as it prepared, adopted, and presented the position statement.
Advocates claim that professional biomedical communicators provide a valuable service that improves the quality and timeliness of publication of research.
[40] Cindy Hamilton (AMWA president at the time) replied to this article in a letter to the editor by stating, in part:[41] Ghostwriting is unethical and must be distinguished from collaboration between researchers (authors) and professional medical writers, whose contributions and financing are disclosed.
This partnership advances science by facilitating timely publication of research findings, ultimately benefiting the public.Reuters has reported that some medical journal editors are resorting to computer forensics to help reveal ghost writers on manuscripts.