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American Medical
Writers Association (AMWA)
http://www.amwa.org/ |
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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).
Click AMWA to visit the
site. |
European Medical
Writers Association (EMWA)
http://www.emwa.org/ |
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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.
Click EMWA to visit the site. |
theSlot
http://www.theslot.com |
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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’.
Click theSlot
to visit the site. |
inkspot
http://www.inkspot.com |
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An award-winning resource for the writing
community (all ages catered for!). Highlights of the site include
regularly-scheduled chats, sections devoted to the craft of writing, genre
writing and networking for writers, and FAQs from novice writers. In
addition you can take out a free subscription to the site’s electronic
newsletter ‘Inklings’.
Click inkspot
to visit the site. |
Amherst
College Writing Centre
http://www.amherst.edu/~writing/ |
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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://owl.english.purdue.edu).
Click Amherst
to visit the site.
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refdesk
http://www.refdesk.com |
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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.
Click refdesk to visit the site. |
National
Library of Medicine
http://www.nlm.nih.gov |
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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).
Click NLM
to visit the site. |
EudraNet
http://www.eudra.org |
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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.
Click Eudra to visit this site. |
FDA
http://www.fda.gov |
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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.
Click FDA to
visit the site. |
Drug
Information Association
http://www.diahome.org |
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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.
Click DIA
to visit the site. |
European
Association of Science Editors (EASE)
http://www.ease.org.uk/
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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.
Click EASE to visit the site. |
Board
of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS)
http://www.bels.org
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BELS was founded in 1991 to establish a
standard of proficiency for editing in the life sciences and to provide a
professional accreditation to manuscript editors working in this field.
Three types of professional credentials are offered. Details of the
certification and examination processes are available on the website as
well as links to many other relevant sites.
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ACRPI:
The Institute of Clinical Research
http://www.acrpi.com |
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Regarded as the leading organisation for
clinical development professionals, the Association of Clinical Research
for the Pharmaceutical Industry (ACRPI) was recently awarded Institute
status. They can be contacted via their website which provides information
on their extensive education programme and much other information of
interest to clinical trial personnel. The site provides good links to
similar organisations, the main GCP and regulatory sites, scientific
publications and general sources for pharmaceutical information.
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International
Conference on Harmonisation (ICH)
http://www.ifpma.org/ich1.html
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Use this site to download ICH guidelines and
keep up to date with ICH press reports and current developments.
Click ICH to visit this site. |
The
Association for the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
http://www.abpi.org.uk/
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The ABPI is the trade association
representing around 100 UK pharmaceutical companies. Its website provides
links to related professional and trade organisations, member companies,
government and regulatory authorities.
Click ABPI to visit the site. |
The
British Institute for Regulatory Affairs
http://www.bira.org.uk/ |
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Membership of BIRA is open to all
professionals involved in regulatory affairs. The homepage leads into an
extensive website giving information on BIRA, its membership, publications
and diploma courses. In addition there are many useful web links to
regulatory and official agencies and professional and trade organisations
including the interestingly named Biotech Rumor Mill (www.biofind.com/rumor/)
that displays recent events in the biotechnology industry and where
visitors to the site are able to ‘post a rumor’, anonymously if so
desired!
Click BIRA to visit the site. |
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