Reflections on AMWA 2022

As I flew back to Boston from the 2022 American Medical Writers’ Association (AMWA) conference held in Denver, some thoughts came to me. What a pleasure it was to see so many writers gathered to focus on improving their craft. There is something beautiful in the collaborative nature of our field. In Denver, we saw the full spectrum of talent, from the new PharmD wanting to break into the space to the 30-year writing veteran sharing her hard-earned wisdom from the stage. We also saw the breadth of what we collectively call medical writing, from journalists to regulatory and publication writers to patient advocates.

Now, as I watch the lights from the cities far below, a question comes to mind – How do medical writers and editors help humanity? At first, the answer might seem small and vague. But the more I think about it, the more critical our role becomes. On one side are the ideas, the protocols, and the experiments, which ultimately lead to the production of data. But data itself lies inert, tucked inside the digital closet of a database, no good to anyone in its incubated form. In its raw, warehoused form it has power but no voice. Something, or someone, is needed to open the door and confer meaning upon the data through language, to render it legible to the world. And each document we write, no matter the endline audience, becomes something like an individual puzzle piece. These pieces scatter out into the larger world to be painstakingly assembled by doctors, scientists, patients, and governments. The assembly of these puzzles lead to shared knowledge, scientific advancement, and better medicine. That sounds like vital work to me! The collective work of medical writers helps us all take better care of ourselves and each other.

Justin McLaughlin, CEO