Founded in 1940, and with over 4000 members across the world, AMWA is the leading international professional association for biomedical communicators. It serves the needs of freelance writers and editors as well as those employed by the pharmaceutical, medical communication and biotechnology sectors, or in hospitals, clinics and healthcare centres. The organisation is dedicated to providing a continuing educational programme. This excellent site includes details on AMWA workshops and meetings as well as providing links to general writing resources, similar associations, and some relevant US government websites (e.g. NIH Health information page).
http://www.amwa.org/

EMWA started life in 1989 as an affiliated chapter of AMWA and now has more than 300 members in 20 countries. Since 1999 it has established its own educational programme, although links to AMWA remain strong. EMWA focuses on providing educational and social networking opportunities to professional biomedical communicators. There is an annual spring conference, with workshops, at a different European venue each year.
http://www.emwa.org/

Established as a website for copy editors this site has been developed by Bill Walsh of the Washington Times and author of the Curmudgeon’s stylebook. Described as a ‘site with attitude’ it provides a question-and-answer forum on matters of usage, grammar and style; old questions and answers are archived. In addition it provides a ‘living’companion to the author’s new book: ‘Lapsing into a comma: a curmudgeon’s guide to the many things that can go wrong in print – and how to avoid them’.
http://www.theslot.com/

Designed as an on-line source of help for students of the College, this excellent site provides help and guidance with grammar and style, general editing tips, and even advice on ‘how to get started on a paper’. In addition there are many links to handbooks on grammar, style and general writing guides, including Purdue University’s On-Line Writing Lab
http://www.amherst.edu/~writing/

refdesk.com’s claim to be the ‘single best source for facts on the Net’ is no understatement! As well as providing a ‘facts search desk’ which allows you to search for a topic in a dictionary, encyclopaedia, or thesaurus etc. the site provides links to an overwhelming number of reference sources. Of interest to medical writers are medical and science dictionaries, Gray’s Anatomy, style, writing and quotation guides, and the top 50 science web sites amongst many others.
http://www.refdesk.com

The website of the US National Library of Medicine. Primarily of interest as the on-line source of Medline, the site also provides access to a wide variety of other resources of value to the medical writer. For example, there are links to CancerNet (the information source of the National Cancer Institute), the National Center for Biotechnology Information (information on genetic diseases and DNA sequencing and analysis tools) and BioethicsLine (for ethics and related public policy issues).
http://www.nlm.nih.gov

A telecommunications network allowing electronic communication and the sharing of information between the EC, the EMEA and the national Competent authorities in pharmaceuticals (human and veterinary). There is also an additional service, EudraSafe, which is a secure communications gateway between EudraNet sites and organisations over the internet. Link through to the EMEA site for up to date information on regulatory issues, documents etc.
http://www.eudra.org

This extensive site covers the vast range of areas that fall under the FDA’s umbrella. Included here of immediate interest to the medical writer are the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) with access to regulatory guidance on drug submission, reporting and safety information on medical products, toxicology research and drug information regulatory guidance, and the latest FDA news.
http://www.fda.gov

The DIA is a non-profit making, scientific association founded almost 30 years ago and has over 20,000 members worldwide. Details of meetings, education programmes etc can all be searched on this site. The Association’s quarterly publication ‘Drug Information Journal’ can also be accessed on-line by members; it contains valuable information on drug discovery and development.
http://www.diahome.org

EASE is an international organisation for editors and others working in the world of scientific publishing. It aims to improve communication in science and assist in the efficient operation of scientific publication. The site includes many useful links to further resources of interest and use to editors.
http://www.ease.org.uk/