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SUMMER 
2024

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FROM THE GUEST EDITOR › Kyla Ross

THEME ARTICLES
Copilot — Essential AI Assistant to Medical Writers 
› Noelle Ochotny and Mario Morel

Reimagining Clinical and Regulatory Medical Writing With 
Generative AI › Ravi K. Ramachandran, Terris J. Linenbach,  
Christopher J. Ceppi, and Anita G. Modi

Take the Leap! Steps to Integrate Ai Into Your Work 
› Jenni Pickett and Mandy Pennington

TOPICAL FEATURES
The Business of Medical Writing: Financial Acumen - Part 3 
› Joan Affleck, Dominic De Bellis, Brian Bass, and Jeanette M. Towles

Preventing Chaos: The Critical Role of the Submission Lead
› Anjana Bose, Mark Bowlby, Brenda Taylor, and Steve Sibley

ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Informed Consent Writing: Facing the Patient is in the Interest 
of the Sponsor › Tatiana Zhiganova, Olga Golubeva, and  
Maxim Belotserkovskiy 

AROUND THE CAREER BLOCK
From Public Health to Patient Education 
› Cecilia Petrus and Kelly Henderson

Leveraging Linkedin to Successfully Launch and Grow a 
Freelancing Career › Cecilia Petrus and Bhavadharini Balaji

CE CRAFT CORNER
Optimizing Continuing Education for Health Professionals:  
Incorporating Instructional Design Principles and Frameworks 
for Effective Learning › Claudia Prahst

CONSCIOUS WRITING
5 Pitfalls to Avoid When Crafting the Study Question for a 
Research Manuscript › Crystal R. Herron

FREELANCE FOCUS
2023 Jam Session for Seasoned Freelancers Plays to a 
Packed House › Brian G. Bass

IN THE SERVICE OF GOOD WRITING
It’s All Relative (Clauses) › Laurie Endicott Thomas

Restrictive (defining): The houses that have a black roof are blue.

Nonrestrictive (modifying): The houses, which have a black roof, are blue.

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  EDITOR-IN-CHIEF  Michael G. Baker, PhD
 GUEST EDITOR Kyla Ross, BS, MS 
 MANAGING EDITOR Rachel Mosher, MA  
 SECTION EDITORS
 Progress in Publications Qing Zhou, PhD, ELS
 Regulatory Insights Jennifer Bridgers, MS, MWC
 Science Series Naomi Bishop, MD
 Statistically Speaking  Thomas M. Schindler, PhD
 Everyday Ethics  Julie Ravo, BA, MA
 Freelance Focus Ruwaida Vakil, MSc
 CE Craft Corner Haifa Kassis, MD
 Practical Matters Elizabeth Kukielka, PharmD, MA, MS, MWC 
 Around the Career Block Cecilia Petrus, MSc
 Technology Talk  Kyla Ross, BS, MS 

 REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS
 Freelance Focus Brian G. Bass, MWC
  Melissa L. Bogen, ELS
  Sherri Bowen, MA, ELS
  Lori De Milto, MJ
  Cathryn D. Evans
  Gail V. Flores, PhD
  Alex Howson, PhD
  Phyllis Minick
 In the Service of Good Writing Laurie Endicott Thomas, MA, ELS
 Conscious Writing  Crystal R. Herron, PhD, ELS

  EDITORS IN MEMORIAM Lori L. Alexander, MTPW, ELS, MWC 
  Ronald J. Sanchez 
 2023–2024 PRESIDENT R. Michelle Sauer, PhD, ELS 
 2023–2024 BOARD LIAISON Qing Zhou, PhD, ELS 
 2023–2024 STAFF LIAISON Shari Rager, MS, CAE
 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Susan Krug, MS, CAE
 GRAPHIC DESIGNER Amy Boches, biographics

EDITORIAL OFFICE: ManagingEditor@amwa.org. Instructions for authors 
available at: www.amwajournal.org.

ADVERTISING: Contact marketing@amwa.org or (240) 239-0940. All advertising 
is subject to acceptance by AMWA and should be for products and services relevant 
to professional medical communicators. AMWA is not responsible for the content of 
advertising and does not endorse any advertiser or its products or services.

SUBSCRIPTION: The AMWA Journal is published quarterly. Subscription is included 
with AMWA membership. Nonmember subscriptions cost is $75 per year.

CONTACT: American Medical Writers Association, 9841 Washingtonian Blvd, 
Suite 500-26, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. Phone: (240) 238-0940; Fax: (301) 294-
9006; Email: amwa@amwa.org.

The AMWA Journal is in the MLA International Bibliography and selectively 
indexed in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature 
(CINAHL) print index and the CINAHL database.

The opinions expressed by authors contributing to the Journal do not 
necessarily reflect the opinions of AMWA or the institutions with which the 
authors are affiliated. The association accepts no responsibility for the opinions 
expressed by contributors to the Journal.

©2024 American Medical Writers Association. All rights reserved.  
ISSN 2163-5315

AMWA JOURNAL MISSION STATEMENT 
In support of the mission of the American Medical 
Writers Association (AMWA) and to advance the 
broader profession, the AMWA Journal publishes 
content that reflects the interests, concerns, and 
expertise of medical communicators. Its purpose is to 
inform, inspire, and motivate medical communicators.

M
O

RE        V39 N2 / 2024 

  PRACTICAL MATTERS
 50 Help Your Clients Create More Readable Patient  
  Education Materials › Genevieve Walker   
 

  REGULATORY INSIGHT
 53 Say the Right Thing: Developing a Program Lexicon 
  for Cross-Functional Teams › Mia Nagarajan and  
  Desmond Ryan

  CONFERENCE - SESSION REPORTS
 57 Developing Plain Language Informed Consent Forms  
  for Multinational Clinical Trials › Anna Shurtleff Smith

 59 Plain Language With a Page Limit: Strategies  
  for Writing 2-Page Protocol Synopses and Other  
  Deliverables › Hanna Johnson

 61 Putting Your Plain Language Writing to the Test:  
  Getting the Most Out of User Testing  
  › Anna Shurtleff Smith
 
  CONFERENCE - PRODUCT SHOWCASE
 63 Yseop's Copilot › Moira Calder
 65 Draftsmith by PerfectIt › Michael G. Baker and Katie Kelm
 66 PleaseReview by Ideagen › Michael G. Baker  
  and Kelly Schrank

  AMWA NEWS
 67 From the President › R. Michelle Sauer 
 68 2023 Annual Business Meeting for AMWA Members
  › Kimberly M. Korwek
 
 69 The Fifth Annual AMWA Executives Forum: Advances  
  in Technology and the Future of Medical Writing
  › Shiri Diskin, Lisa Chamberlain James, Aubri Charboneau,  
  and Daniel Wood 
 74 Innovate, Inform, and Inspire: Jazz Up Medical   
  Communication › Michele W. Sequeira
   75 CALENDAR OF MEETINGS

 e1 Communicating About and With Artificial  
  Intelligence Applications › J. Kelly Byram

Contents

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