2010-2011 Medical Writing and Editing Program Brochure

grahamschool.uchicago.edu /medicalwri t ingandedi t ing

Medical Writing and Editing

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· Introduction to Medical Editing (3-day, .75 PDC)· Interpreting and Reporting Biostatistics (3-day, .75 PDC)· Understanding and Mastering the Clinical Study Report (1-day,

.25 PDC)· Writing in the Medical Sciences (3-day, .75 PDC) · The Internal Logic of Medical Articles (3-day, .75 PDC)· MEDLINE and Beyond: Web-based Databases, Fact-Finding,

and Research (3-day, .75 PDC)· Designing and Editing Tables and Graphs (3-day, .75 PDC)· Advanced Medical Editing (3-day, .75 PDC)· Survey of Pharmaceutical Writing (3-day, .75 PDC)· Preparing an Investigational New Drug Application (3-day,

.75 PDC)

Once an individual has achieved a Certificate in Medical Writing and Editing, the student can take additional courses (for a total of three additional Professional Development Credits) to achieve the Advanced Certificate.

For the latest information on any course or general information regarding any certificate program, please visit our website at: grahamschool.uchicago.edu/bpp.

professional development creditProfessional Development Credits may be earned for courses offered by the Business and Professional certificate programs at the Graham School of General Studies. For more information please visit our website at: grahamschool.uchicago.edu/business/pdc.

for more informationAmber A. Neff, program manager: 773/702-1682 Registration: 800/997-9689 or 773/702-1722Meghana Shahi, administrative assistant: 773/834-2765 For the latest and most detailed information, including syllabi, in-depth course descriptions, and instructor bios, please visit grahamschool.uchicago.edu/medicalwritingandediting.

course locationAll courses are held in downtown Chicago at the University of Chicago Gleacher Center, 450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive, just east of Michigan Avenue between 401 N. Michigan Avenue and the NBC Tower. Parking is available nearby at 201 E. Illinois, and 401 N. Michigan Avenue (enter parking from lower North Water Street).

university statement of nondiscriminationIn keeping with its long-standing tradition and policies, the University of Chicago considers students, employees, applicants for admission or employment, and those seeking access to programs on the basis of individual merit. The University, therefore, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or veteran status, and does not discriminate against members of protected classes under the law. Persons who have been formally accepted into a Graham School program or have registered for a course who have a disability and believe that they may need assistance should contact Vanessa Georg at 773/834-0159 in advance of the first class meeting. Persons who have questions regarding the University’s Nondiscrimination Policy also may contact Vanessa Georg.

Graham School of General StudiesThe UNIVERSITY of CHICAGO

Medical Writing and Editing 2010–2011 certificate program

certificate desiGn The key elements of good medical writing include understanding the basis and rules of editing medical documents, knowing how academic medical articles are constructed, mastering the rules of scientific evidence, understanding and interpreting biostatistics, and commanding a thorough knowledge of medical nomenclature. The Medical Writing and Editing Certificate Program has been designed to raise the standard of writing and editing in this discipline and to make the medical writer a full partner in the publication of research.

proGram benefits · Master the necessary knowledge and skills of excellent

medical editors· Apply the elements of medical writing and editing effectively· Organize and write internally well-structured medical articles· Evaluate and report statistics accurately in medical articles· Learn to design and edit charts and tables that accurately

illustrate medical points· Conduct advanced computerized searches to track

medical nomenclature· Network with other editors in the field, as well as with

prospective employers

who should attend· Health practitioners and researchers interested in getting

their research published· Patient information and education specialists· Medical writers and editors· Freelance writers and editors wishing to specialize in medical

writing and editing· Employees in the pharmaceutical and medical

technology fields· Medical educators responsible for writing newsletters

and magazines· Medical marketers· Journalists promoting public understanding of medical research · Recent college graduates seeking to gain employment

in publishing

reQuirements and evaluation All participants, regardless of whether they are in the certificate program, will be evaluated by the instructors and will receive a final grade for each course. Students who do not complete required assignments will receive an F and will be barred from enrolling in subsequent classes. Plagiarism of any course assignment is grounds for failure of the course and dismissal from the program.

courses Anyone is invited to register for just one class, but to earn the Certificate in Medical Writing and Editing, you must apply for admission and complete a sufficient number of courses totaling three Professional Development Credits from the list:



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introduction to medical editinGThree-day seminarThis course is designed to cover a variety of issues that biomedical material presents and to provide information that can be used to manage them. Using the American Medical Association Manual of Style, students gain hands-on experience in the editing of general medical materials. Topics covered include grammar, correct usage versus jargon, general guidelines for correct nomenclature, editing of tables and figures, and correct presentation of numbers and units of measure.

This course has been approved for 0.75 Professional Development Credit.

autumn 2 010

$1,350 Early registration ends September 30 / $1,450 Regular registrationThursday–Saturday, October 21–23 / 9 am–4:30 pmTuition includes daily continental breakfast and networking lunch.Instructor: Laura King

sprinG 2011

$1,350 Early registration ends March 16 / $1,450 Regular registrationWednesday evenings, April 6–May 25 / 6 pm–8:30 pmInstructor: Kavitha Reinhold

interpretinG and reportinG biostatistics Three-day seminarStatistical information is critical to medical arguments. Medical writers and editors need to understand, on the one hand, how to evaluate the relationship of statistics to the arguments, and on the other, how to appropriately and persuasively present data. In this course, students learn how to interpret and report the most common statistical tests and procedures used in biomedical and epidemiological research.


autumn 2 010

$1,350 Early registration ends September 2 / $1,450 Regular registration Thursday–Saturday, September 23–25 / 9 am–4:30 pmTuition includes daily continental breakfast and networking lunch.Instructor: Thomas Lang

understandinG and masterinG the clinical study reportOne-day seminarThe critical skills for a pharmaceutical writer are the ability to organize a large body of data, the ability to create appropriate graphic elements to display that data, and the ability to synthesize the data into abstracts or synopses. The objective of this course is to use the vehicle of the clinical study report to work on the development of these skills. The International Conference on Harmonization’s Guideline on the Structure and Content of Clinical Study Reports will provide the starting point for the analysis of the report. As a final assignment, each student will write a clinical study report with appropriate graphics and synopsis.


autumn 2 010

$650Wednesday, October 13 / 9 am–4:30 pmTuition includes daily continental breakfast.Instructor: Howard M. Smith

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w ritinG in the medical sciences

Three-day seminarThe objective of this course is to write a research article or medical paper suitable for publication. The class provides structure for students to compose their own work and to learn the elements required of all substantive medical articles. In the context of writing in the medical sciences, students work to master the rules of grammar, punctuation, syntax, spelling, and language.


autumn 2010

$1,350 Early registration ends September 30 / $1,450 Regular registrationThursday–Saturday, October 14–16 / 9 am–4:30 pmTuition includes daily continental breakfast and networking lunch.Instructor: Howard M. Smith

the internal loGic of medical articlesThree-day seminarThe internal logic of the medical article is addressed by posing a series of implicit questions that all such manuscripts should answer. This course will be helpful to both writers and editors of medical material. Students will analyze the internal logic of a manuscript as it relates to different types of study design, includingthe randomized trial, the cohort study, the case-control study, and the survey. The course also examines how an author should use internal logic to construct the four main components of a manuscript.


autumn 2010

$1,350 Early registration ends October 28 / $1,450 Regular registrationThursday–Saturday, November 18–20 / 9 am–4:30 pmTuition includes daily continental breakfast and networking lunch.Instructor: Vojislav Pejovic

medline and beyond: web-based databases, fact-findinG and res earchTwo-day seminarFrom dictionaries to drug names, from medical history to health statistics, you will learn tips and techniques for finding and searching health and medical research databases and websites. This course emphasizes the Web as a research tool, but you’ll also learn about print resources that are widely available in libraries. In addition, this course covers database searching in web-based MEDLINE and highlights government, international, professional, and consumer sites that are crucial for both consumer health and medical research. Fundamentals of Web searching, search engines, and assessing Web quality are also covered with hands-on exercises.


winter 2011

$900 Early registration ends December 24 / $950 Regular registrationFriday–Saturday, January 7–8 / 9 am–4:30 pmTuition includes daily continental breakfast and networking lunch.Instructor: Susan Anderson

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desiGninG and editinG tables and GraphsThree-day seminarIn this course, students will learn to interpret tables and graphs, edit and revise them, and create them by hand and on the computer. Students also will review and practice some basic quantitative and statistical reasoning skills needed to understand and create graphs and tables. Lectures, readings, and exercise also will introduce several topics in the psychology of visual perception and applications in medical graphics. In addition, students will explore misleading displays of data.


sprinG 2011

$1,350 Early registration ends April 21 / $1,450 Regular registrationThursday–Saturday, May 5–7 / 9 am–4:30 pmTuition includes daily continental breakfast and networking lunch.Instructor: TBD

advanced medical editinG

Three-day seminarThis course builds on skills learned in Introduction to Medical Editing. Students will discuss ethical and legal issues involved in medical publishing, statistics, and the design of studies as they apply to editing a medical document, and the nomenclature encountered in medical communications of varying types.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Medical Editing or at least one year of experience in the industry.This course has been approved for 0.75 Professional Development Credit.

winter 2 011

$1,350 Early registration ends January 27 / $1,450 Regular registrationThursday–Saturday, February 17–19 / 9 am–4:30 pmTuition includes daily continental breakfast and networking lunch.Instructor: Stacy Christiansen

surve y of pharmaceutical w ritinG

Three-day seminarThis course provides an overview of writing in the pharmaceutical industry. The course will give students experience with the various kinds of writing that need to be done by the pharmaceutical company at each stage of the development of a new drug or biologic.


sprinG 2 011

$1,350 Early registration ends March 17 / $1,450 Regular registrationThursday–Saturday, April 7–9 / 9 am–4:30 pmTuition includes daily continental breakfast and networking lunch.Instructor: Howard M. Smith



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preparinG an investiGational ne w druG application

Three-day seminarAn approved Investigational New Drug Application (IND) is the document that permits any new drug or biologic to be tested for the first time in humans or to be exported from the United States to be tested in humans in other countries. An IND is unique to the United States; other countries, such as Canada and some European countries, have documents that serve a similar purpose, but they are not as complex as the IND. In this course, the IND will first be discussed in the context of overall drug development, and then the sections of the document will be discussed in detail. Particular emphasis will be placed on the writing of these sections. Finally, the IND will be tracked through the approval process at the FDA, and the maintenance of the approved document will complete the discussion of this important regulatory document.


autumn 2010

$1,350 Early registration ends November 18 / $1,450 Regular registrationThursday-Saturday, December 9–11 / 9 am–4:30 pmTuition includes daily continental breakfast and networking lunch.Instructor: Howard M. Smith

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Documents

2010-2011 Medical Writing and Editing Program Brochure