Medical Writing Training Update
My colleagues on the AMWA listserv have been gracious enough to bring to my attention additional medical writing and biomedical communication training programs. Natalie R. aka "healthypen" , a freelance medical writer in MA, recently received information from the University of Chicago about their newly created medical writing and editing certificate program . I also heard from the Head Writer Administrator at the Medical Writing Forum who also runs the Medical Writing Blog about other programs at Northeastern University, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon and University of Houston-Downtown. Check them out. I am sure that there are others that I failed to mention. I would gladly post other medical writing training programs if you want to send them to me.
Until next time.....
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!
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My local paper, the Trenton Times, reported today that the impending merger with the French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis will cost jobs in Mercer County, New Jersey. BMS, headquartered in Lawrenceville NJ, employs 7,600 people, making it the third largest employer in Mercer County . The loss of jobs is likely after the merger because Sanofi-Aventis has a history of laying off employees after acquisitions and mergers. For example, after Sanofi-Synethelabo bought Aventis in 2004, the merged company laid off 700 workers in its New Jersey offices. Although neither BMS nor Sanofi-Aventis would confirm reports of merger talks, BMS has made several moves in recent months to indicate that it is up for sale. In September 2006, Bristol-Myers officials confirmed for the first time that they would consider selling the company. Earlier this month, the company sold three of its offices (located on prime real estate) in West Windsor and Plainsboro New Jersey. Finally, the New York Times reported today that BMS recently announced agreements with several top managers that "would allow them to walk away with significant compensation in the event of demotions, transfers or cuts in pay".
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Most scientists have an inherent dislike and distrust of anything to do with marketing, advertising and sales. A good friend of mine (another Ph.D.) and I frequently joke about how the “less gifted and talented “students always migrated to careers in business as compared with we scientists. The mere mention of the word “sales” conjures up images of a smiling, glad-handing, salesman trying to sell cars at deceptively high prices. Like it or not, salespeople live or die simply on the amount of product they sell on a quarterly basis. That said, in today’s marketplace, it is easier to find a job in sales as compared with R&D. 
Over the past few days, I received several inquiries regarding training for individuals interested in pursuing careers in medical writing and medical communications. The good news is that both of these fields are exploding and there simply are not enough qualified candidates to fill all of the positions that are open. The bad news is that there is very little formal training or instruction to prepare folks for jobs in these fields. .jpg)
Douglas Eisenhardt over at the Bostonworks.com 's 