Q. How do I become a medical writer?
Q. What salary should I ask for?
Q. What are the benefits of becoming an EMWA member?
Q. Does EMWA have corporate membership?
Q. How do I pay for my membership by credit card?
Q. Can I pay in Sterling?
Q. How will I know when my membership is due for renewal?
Q. How do I log on to the member only section of the website?
Q. How do I log on to the members database?
Q. My password doesn’t work
Q. My personal information has changed, who should I contact?
Q. What are the benefits of attending a conference?
Q. Does EMWA hold an AGM?
Q. How do I register online for a conference?
Q. My credits listed in the online database are incorrect
Q. Can I add a link to the EMWA website?
Q. Can I advertise through EMWA?
Q. What is TWS?
Q. What does the EMWA President do?
Q. What does the EMWA Vice-President do?
Q. Can I apply to be the EMWA President?
Q. What does the Hon Sec do?
Q. What does the Education Officer do?
Q. What does the PR Officer do?
Q. What does the Conference Director do?
Q. How will I hear about forthcoming EMWA conferences?

EMWA is a European organisation, registered as a Ltd company in the UK (03653609).  EMWA has sub-contracted all Head Office activities to a third party who run the Association from their offices at Chester House, 68 Chestergate, Macclesfield, SK11 6DY.  This is also the registered address for European Medical Writers Association Ltd.

Q. What are the benefits of becoming an EMWA member?

A. Benefit from networking opportunities through a variety of different channels, including biannual conferences, the EMWA website, The Write Stuff (TWS), and online social media (Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter)
Gain valuable skills and enhance your CV by joining one of a number of different groups of volunteers who meet regularly in person and/or by telephone to discuss specific EMWA-related issues, including the Executive Committee (EC) and its subcommittees, the EMWA Professional Development Programme (EPDP) Committee (EDPC) and workshop leaders, the Freelance Business Forum, and other EMWA working groups, volunteer roles and member-led forums
Attend our biannual conferences offering various educational and networking opportunities, including welcome drink, plenary talks, freelance business forum, workshops at which active participation and group discussion is encouraged, discussion panels, lunch and coffee breaks between workshops, lunchtime roundtable discussions, AGM, and the conference banquet and other social events
Have full access to TWS, receiving both a printed copy of our journal four times a year and gaining immediate online access to a comprehensive online archive of past issues of the journal
Access to the members-only section of the website and features such as the general and specialist discussion forums, member blogs, our online TWS archive, the freelance resource centre, photo galleries from past conferences, EMWA Wikiencyclopaedia, EMWA’s policies and procedures, and online access to pre- and post-workshop assignments for upcoming conference workshops
Earn your foundation and/or advanced certificate by enrolling for the EPDP foundation and/or advanced level certificate programmes and receiving credit for participating in a wide range of certified training by experienced leaders
Advertise your products and services at a reduced rate with reduced registration fees for EMWA members signing up to the freelancer and/or company listings on the website
Be part of a thriving professional association with more than 930 members from 35 countries worldwide that aims to represent, support and train medical communicators in Europe, and in doing so, contribute to building the medical writing profession

A. Please click on the "Register" link below the member’s log-in box and fill in the online registration form. Please make note of the unique username and password you create. Your registration once completed will be sent to head office, who will verify that you are a current member and will approve you for access. Once approved, you will receive a confirmation and will be able to log in.

A. To access the database please click on the following link: http://web2.emwa.org/eseries/scriptcontent/index.cfm

The database is also accessible via the EMWA website on the conference registration page by clicking the online registration link.   

For security reasons, your login name and password for the online membership database are different to the log in details you use to access the members only section of the EMWA website. To request log in details for the online database, please contact head office.

A. Please note that there are two different passwords depending on which area you are trying to log in to. The two areas are as follows:

• Members only section of the EMWA website

The members area gives you access to the discussion forum, wiki-encyclopaedia and member blogs as well as other areas. The member’s only section can be accessed by filling in your username and password in the box at the top right corner of the website homepage.   Access to this section requires registration; the generic username/password (User1315/paste) is no longer valid.

If you have not already registered, please click on the "Register" link below the member’s log-in box and fill in the online registration form. Please make note of the unique username and password you create. Your registration once completed will be sent to head office, who will verify that you are a current member and will approve you for access. Once approved, you will receive a confirmation and will be able to log in. Approval will usually be completed within 24 hours.

• Members online database

The members online database gives you access to your personal record and enables you to change details such as your address. The database also allows members to register online for conferences and enables you to check your EPDP record.  To access the database please click on the following link: http://web2.emwa.org/eseries/scriptcontent/index.cfm

The database is also accessible via the EMWA website on the conference registration page by clicking the online registration link.  For security reasons, your login name and password for the online membership database are different to the log in details you use to access the members only section of the EMWA website. To request log in details for the online database, please contact head office.

A. Please see our webpage on ‘A Career in Medical Writing’ at http://www.emwa.org/A-career-in-medical-writing.html

A. A salary survey was performed among the EMWA members in 2006 to determine what average salaries are. This can give you a rough idea, but keep in mind that the data are now 3 years old. The salary survey can be found at http://www.emwa.org/Medical-writing-salary-survey.html

A. Please call head office and provide the following information:

Full Name:
Membership number (if known):
Card type:
Card number:
Expiry date:
CCV number:

Please note we are unable to accept AMEX

A. Yes. The exchange rate will be calculated by head office using http://www.xe.com/ on the day of processing payment. For sterling cheques please visit http://www.xe.com/ to calculate the payment. When sending your cheque to head office, please include a print out of the exchange rate calculation showing the date the calculation was made, the exchange rate listed (e.g. 0.904) and the total sterling amount to be paid.

A. The Online Membership Database allows you access to your details, the ability to update personal information and to register for conference. To access the database please click on the following link: http://web2.emwa.org/eseries/scriptcontent/index.cfm. The database is also accessible via the EMWA website on the conference registration page by clicking the online registration link.   

For security reasons, your login name and password for the online membership database are different to the log in details you use to access the members only section of the EMWA website. To request log in details for the online database, please contact head office.

A. The Online Membership Database allows you access to your details and gives you the ability to update personal information. To access the database please click on the following link: http://web2.emwa.org/eseries/scriptcontent/index.cfm. To change your personal information, please follow the on screen instructions.

For security reasons, your login name and password for the online membership database are different to the log in details you use to access the members only section of the EMWA website. To request log in details for the online database, please contact head office.

A. The EMWA Spring and Autumn Conferences provide a medium for networking, active discussions and extensive cost-effective professional training. It's also an opportunity to benefit from the experiences of other medical writers.

The venues, facilities, and training programmes are chosen to offer the best possible learning environment. In addition to the formal training sessions, a relaxed, friendly conference atmosphere provides for ideal networking opportunities and enables all those attending to meet medical writers and communicators at all stages in their careers.

A. Please email head office providing details of the error and list the workshop name, conference location and the date when credit was gained. A member of the head office team will investigate your query and will update the database accordingly. Please note that in order the check credit queries, head office need to obtain feedback from individual workshop leaders, this process may take longer during the run up to or following conferences.

A. If you would like to add a link to your company web page or another website, this can be done via the “Submit Web Link” on the EMWA website. To add a link, click on “Submit Weblink” which can be found on the User Menu which appears beneath the Events Calendar when logged into the members-only part of the website.

Click on “Submit Weblink” and a new dialogue box appears that allows you to enter the name, section, URL, and description of your web link. You will notice that immediately after submitting a new web link that the system will return you to the home page with a small message thanking you for your submission and confirming that it needs reviewing before being posted to the website.

A. No.

A.  See the EMWA website for the latest opportunities for advertising with EMWA.

A.  Head Office carries out membership renewals on a rolling monthly basis and each member receives three renewal invoices in the form of the following:

1. One month prior to renewal date – invoice sent as warning of pending renewal

2. The month membership expires – invoice sent as request for payment (if not already paid)

3. One month after renewal was due – invoice sent as a reminder of outstanding payment (if not already paid)

EMWA gives members one final month for payment to clear before being marked in the database as a lapsed member, e.g., Head Office will send an individual whose membership renewal was due in February 2009 a renewal invoice in January, another in February and a final one in March. They would then have been given April for payment to clear and on 30th April would have been marked as a lapsed member. The final step in the process is to send a letter to the member advising them that their membership has expired.

Q. Does EMWA hold an AGM?

A.  Traditionally, EMWA has held an AGM during each spring meeting. In 2010, EMWA agreed to dispense with a requirement to hold an AGM, however the current EC are committed to holding an annual meeting of the members with a new format. The first of these will take place at the spring meeting in Berlin, May 2011.

A.  EMWA publishes a journal, The Write Stuff, also referred to as TWS, four times a year.  Elise Langdon-Neuner is the journal editor and sits on EMWA’s Executive Committee. 
Ziga Arh (based in Slovenia) manages the publishing and distribution of the journal and posts out to all members.  Members can also access the journal online from the website.

All the people who write and edit articles for the journal devote their time, expertise, and energy to the journal on a voluntary basis.  Guest editors, who prepare a theme, write an editorial, and persuade three or four colleagues to write articles relating to the theme, are encouraged to come forward and share their expertise with fellow EMWA members.  Anybody interested should contact the Journal Editor directly.

A.  A large part of the President’s time is spent coordinating activities across the organisation.  Talking to people to discuss new ideas, field critique, and promote EMWA is an important part of the role.  The current EMWA President is Laurence Auffret who remains in post until spring 2011.

Q. What does the EMWA Vice-President do?

A.  The Vice President’s main role is to support the President with their responsibilities. This includes overseeing the day-to-day running of EMWA by Head Office. The current EMWA Vice-President is Rita Wellens, who will automatically assume the role of President when Laurence retires in spring 2011. The Vice President must be proactive during their term in finding new candidates for the EC officer positions. Even though EMWA is an association run ‘for its members by its members’, it is typical of many member-based organisations that find it difficult to recruit members willing to give up some of their spare time in officer roles.

Q. Can I apply to be the EMWA President?

A.  The EMWA President holds post for a term of one year and is replaced by; the Vice President who is also voted into post for a period of one year. There are various criteria for election to either role and these are defined in the EMWA Constitution.

A.  The Honorary Secretary is responsible for ensuring the effective provision of head office services and keeping EMWA’s Policies and Procedures up to date. As a member of the finance subcommittee, the Hon Sec also provides support to the Treasurer with general financial issues and monitors EMWA’s compliance with its constitution. This includes oversight of the Annual General Meeting, with preparations starting several months in advance of the actual meeting date.

Q. What does the Education Officer do?

A.  PR work varies from writing an article about challenges in medical writing to staffing the EMWA stand at the joint ICR/EMWA symposium.

A.  A reinstated role from May 2010 onwards, the Conference Director pulls together the theme events for the conference. Together with a planning subcommittee, the Conference Director will spend time determining topics and potential speakers, and then in writing and calling those speakers to get them to agree to join the conference.

Q. How will I hear about forthcoming EMWA conferences?

A.  EMWA distributes a full conference brochure by post to all members. Full details are also posted on the EMWA website at http://www.emwa.org/Conferences.html.