CME Writer's Marketplace, 2019 Edition

Allow me to introduce myself. After graduating from Harvard College in 1978, my first career was in journalism. I advanced from small- to mid-sized newspapers in Maryland, Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania, winning prizes for investigative and public service work. I earned my first master’s degree, in newspaper journalism, from Syracuse University in 1992. That’s about the time the bottom started falling out of the American newspaper industry. I made the transition into medical writing with help from the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA). I attended my first AMWA chapter workshop in Princeton, New Jersey in the spring of 2007 and my first annual conference later that year. I also took the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) exam, passing in 2008. Those credentials helped me land my first job as a medical writer in 2009, writing needs assessments full-time, from home, for a continuing medical education (CME) company in Georgia. I enjoyed the work so much I decided to make CME my specialty. That’s what I do full-time today, working from my home office outside Philadelphia. To firm up the foundation for my second career, I invested in a second master’s degree, in biology. After studying part-time for six years I graduated from West Chester University in 2018. My thesis project was part life science, part continuing education research. I find it valuable to maintain the CHCP credential, which stands for “certified healthcare continuing professional development professional.” (That’s a mouthful.) To earn points I carry out an annual survey project aimed at disseminating best practices for writing CME needs assessments. You can find out more about my business, Harting Communications LLC, at www.hartingcom.com. Thank you for your interest!