Members In The News
Day In The Sun for AMWA Florida Member: Donna Miceli
Donna Miceli has been a member of AMWA for 21 years. Over the years, she has worked on a variety of assignments: sales training manuals, newsletters, news articles, monographs, taped slide show presentations, video scripts, white papers, leader's guides for product launches, journal articles, marketing materials, and Web writing. She began volunteering for AMWA at the chapter level, serving as PR chair, secretary and chapter representative to the AMWA Board of Directors for the Delaware Valley Chapter. Nationally, she has led round table discussions, served on committees, moderated or chaired annual conference sessions, served as a judge for both the AMWA book awards for trade books and for the Eric Martin Awards for articles intended for a lay audience, and coordinated and chaired the Creative Reading Session for several years. Currently, she serves on the AMWA Executive Committee. For the past two years, she has been Administrator of Web and Internet Technology and was recently named Administrator for Publications.
As we shine the AMWA Florida spotlight on Donna, we find out how different types of medical writing have enriched her career and life, over the years.
Q. How has your writing career evolved over the years?
A. My degree is in journalism and speech, with a minor in English. While raising my 4 children, I wrote a weekly column for a local newspaper and did freelance copywriting for small ad agencies, and some freelance business-to-business writing. I have also "dabbled" in creative writing, including children's stories and creative nonfiction; and have been working on a novel off and on for many years. I don't expect to ever have it published, but it has been fun to think, and talk, about it. Shortly after my husband's death a little over a year ago, I began writing a blog: "Finding My Way: Reflections on Life as a Widow." It has helped me deal with the emotions related to adjusting to this new "life that I didn't choose." Obviously, it has a rather narrow audience, but I have attracted a small group of regular readers who tell me they have found it helpful.
Q. What made you pursue medical writing as a career?
A. I worked in hospital public relations for several years, including serving as assistant director of PR for a large hospital in Buffalo, New York. I loved learning and writing about medical topics, so when my husband was transferred to the Philadelphia area, I bought my first computer and decided to go back into freelance writing, and to specialize in healthcare communication. That's when I heard about, and joined, AMWA--one of the best decisions I've ever made. I went to my first AMWA Annual Conference in 1989 in Boston and was "hooked." The rest is history.
Q. What advice would you give to aspiring medical communicators?
A. Make sure you develop good writing skills. I firmly believe that a truly good writer can write about anything as long as the information is available to them. That said, it is also important to know your limitations. For example, I do not do regulatory writing, primarily because I don't enjoy the highly technical aspects of the pharmaceutical industry (eg clinical pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, etc). I could probably do it, but it would require far more effort to acquire the necessary knowledge than I am willing to devote to it.
Q. Why is volunteering such a large part of your life?
A. I have never been comfortable about belonging to an organization unless I can do something to contribute to it. It makes the membership so much more rewarding. Volunteering gives you an opportunity to learn more about the organization and to meet, and really get to know, many more people. The friends I've made through my association with AMWA have enriched my life beyond measure. I was honored to be named an AMWA Fellow in 2007, and I saw that as affirmation that the volunteering I've done over the years was appreciated. Receiving that honor has also encouraged me to continue volunteering. However, I am aware that it's time to bring in some new, "young blood," so I plan to gradually become more selective about what I volunteer for.
Q. What do you do when you are not writing?
I enjoy reading, music, cooking, taking long walks, traveling to visit my grown children (no grandchildren yet), playing Mah Jongg, volunteering for the Harry Chapin Food Bank, and getting together with friends for lunch or dinner. Until I broke my humerus last May, I also enjoyed playing golf once or twice a week. However, my arm is still not completely healed and I'm not able to play yet. I hope that will change with time. Although I'm not a very good golfer, I do enjoy the social aspects of it—and the lunches afterwards.
Q. Are there any career benefits to volunteering?
A. One of the great benefits of AMWA membership is the many opportunities for networking that are available. One of the best ways to demonstrate your special skills is to volunteer in some capacity that demonstrates those skills. Besides the personal satisfaction you will get from it, you never know where it might lead. What it really comes down to is that old saying, "You reap what you sow."
Spreading Our Professional Wings: Lori Alexander, MTPW, ELS, AMWA Journal Editor (Jacksonville)
Lori Alexander, Editor of the AMWA Journal and AMWA Florida Chapter Education Coordinator has posted a new entry to the AMWA Journal blog (02/10/11).
(excerpt) "Learning to write more clearly for people with lower health literacy will not only help improve the health of millions of Americans, it will help us strengthen our skills as well as enhance the credibility of our profession."
Follow Lori's blog as she regularly posts updates from the AMWA Journal's Editor's office!