Adapting Technical Communication Core Skills to Navigate the Health Care System  

Technical communicators gather data from subject-matter experts and then transform it into information that helps users accomplish tasks. In this workshop, we demonstrate how to adapt our expertise to effectively interact with health care professionals--to improve our understanding of the health care industry. By relying on our professional skills, we can successfully navigate the health care maze and effectively operate in the "foreign" environment of the doctor's office, hospital, and care facilities. And, in doing so, we will improve the quality of care we receive.

Isakson, Carol S. and Katherine Brennan Murphy. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

AMWA Journal

The AMWA Journal is the official publication of the American Medical Writers Association. Delivered quarterly to AMWA members and Journal subscribers, the AMWA Journal aims to be an authoritative, comprehensive source of information about the knowledge, skills, and opportunities in the field of biomedical communication worldwide.

AMWA. Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

AMWA Position Statement on the Contributions of Medical Writers to Scientific Publications  

AMWA formed a new task force in 2001 to develop a statement regarding AMWA’s position on the contributions of biomedical communicators to scientific publications.

Hamilton, C.W. and M.G. Royer. Hamilton House (2003). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

Anthrax Case Research

Compare the Anthrax technical information offered at the three major sites below. Where does the information seem most credible? Where is it the most complete and detailed? Where is it the easiest to navigate and read? Write a detailed analysis report comparing the information at the three different sites.

Lannon, John M. Pearson Education (2003). Academic>Course Materials>Biomedical

Are There ELF's in Your Monitor?  

Technical writers are justifiably concerned with the health risks that their work entails. Although the dangers of poor ergonomics, stress and repetitive motion are well known, the effects of Extremely Low Frequency radiation may also present a hazard. This presentation looks at what research is telling us about this risk.

Devine, Kevin M. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Technology>Biomedical

"Aristotle's Pharmacy": The Medical Rhetoric of a Clinical Protocol in the Drug Development Process      

This article analyzes the clinical protocol within the rhetorical framework of the drug development and approval process, identifying the constraints under which the protocol is written and the rhetorical form, argumentative strategies, and style needed to improve and teach the writing of this document.

Bell, Heather D., Kathleen A. Walch and Steven B. Katz. Technical Communication Quarterly (2000). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

Assessing Information Needs of Diverse Users to Guide Web Design and Content Development  

This paper presents a qualitative study of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's diverse users and their mental models regarding injury-related content. The study employed an innovative modified contextual inquiry method utilizing tailored, in-depth interviews with five distinct user groups. Included in this paper is a detailed description of the background, framework, and method used for this study. Analysis of the full results was still in process at the due date of this paper. The results will be in the presentation's slide set and available from the STC website www.stc.org.

Pettit Jones, Colleen and Susan J. Robinson. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Web Design>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

The Association of Medical Illustrators

The professional objectives of the AMI are to promote the study and advancement of medical illustration and allied fields of visual communication, and to promote understanding and cooperation with the medical profession and related health science professions. Its members are primarily artists who create material designed to facilitate the recording and dissemination of medical and bioscientific knowledge through visual communication media. Members are involved not only in the creation of such material, but also serve in consultant, advisory, educational and administrative capacities in all aspects of bioscientific communications and related areas of visual education.

AMI. Organizations>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Biomedical

Audience-Driven Web Design: An Application to Medical Web Sites    

We begin by identifying the problem of defining medical Web site credibility and then identify the gap in Web design research, a gap that fails to identify or address specific audience needs in Web site design. We then present our process for identifying and fulfilling specific audience needs, describe a framework, and present a case study in audience-driven Web design using the framework to guide the discussion.

Swenson, Jenni, Helen Constantinides and Laura J. Gurak. Technical Communication Online (2002). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design>Biomedical

Biomedical Writing

Learn about biomedical writing and biomedical writers, what they are doing at various stages of their careers, and what their interests are.

Velez, Lili Fox. Earthlink (1999). Careers>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

Biotechnology: Opportunities for Technical Communicators  

Tanrikulu describes the opportunities and professional requirements for technical communicators seeking employment in the biotechnology industry. The article includes a list of Web sites where readers can seek more information.

Tanrikulu, Marta. Intercom (2001). Careers>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

Bird Flu: Communicating the Risk

Most people have already heard a little about bird flu. But people face a host of other problems, and except for public health officials and poultry farmers, few are gearing up for action about H5N1 [the virus that causes the flu]. Yet.

Sandman, Peter M. and Jody Lanard. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Risk Communication>Biomedical

Board of Editors in the Life Sciences

The Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) was founded in 1991 to evaluate the proficiency of manuscript editors in the life sciences and to award credentials similar to those obtainable in other professions. The Board was founded by 10 editors who had long been active in national and international professional associations in scientific editing and publishing. They began working on the development of the certification program in the early 1980s. They were assisted by consultants in testing and by administrators of certification programs in other professions. BELS was incorporated in the state of Maryland on January 23, 1991, and the first official certification examinations were offered that year. BELS now has hundreds of members in the United States, Canada, and several European countries.

BELS. Organizations>Editing>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

Bringing Usability to the Front Lines of Medicine

Will Emergency Medical Records (EMRs) make our delivery of medical care more usable?

Whitney, Hunter. Usability Interface (2008). Articles>Usability>Biomedical

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Have you ever been working at the computer so long that your eyes 'went buggy?' Or so intensely that you could barely move when you got up? Working long hours at a computer may be more hazardous than you know. One real possibility is that you will develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).

Rollins, Cindy. Boston Broadside (1991). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Biomedical>RSI

A Case Study of Health Risk Communication: What the Public Wants and What it Gets  

The task of informing the public about various health risks is fraught with many problems. It is essential to overcome them if risk communication is to be improved. In 1989, the National Research Council (NRC) released a report that is important for many reasons. In particular, it helped establish a conceptual framework for risk communication and identified a research agenda to improve risk communication practices. One area of need identified by the report was better use of case studies to understand, e.g., 'how people react to different types of messages and channels; [and] what their actual concerns, frustrations, and data needs are' with regard to particular health risks.

Trauth, Jeannette M. Franklin Pierce Law Center (1994). Articles>Risk Communication>Biomedical

Challenges for Technical Communicators in Bioinformatics  

Bioinformatics, a specialized field in the area of biotechnology, has been a major growth market for the last decade. Generally, bioinformatics companies serve pharmaceutical and other life science research institutes by providing powerful computational solutions for the analysis, storage, and integration of molecular data. The project-oriented organizational structures, international environment, and interdisciplinary approaches that characterize bioinformatics companies provide a wealth of challenges and opportunities. Technical communicators who want to work in this field must be willing to apply strategies and techniques that enable them to streamline communication channels and write effective documentation.

Weirich, Margaret. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

Communicating in a Crisis: Risk Communication Guidelines for Public Officials  

Sound and thoughtful risk communication can assist public officials in preventing ineffective, fear-driven, and potentially damaging public responses to serious crises such as unusual disease outbreaks and bioterrorism. Moreover, appropriate risk communication procedures foster the trust and confidence that are vital in a crisis situation.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2002). Books>Risk Communication>Biomedical>Crisis Communication

Congratulations, You Have ADD!  

The author describes his history after being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), including a brief discussion of what the disorder is, how he came to be diagnosed as having it, and how he has come to live in harmony with, and even embrace, ADD. Murray concludes by offering helpful hints for accommodating the disorder that have helped him lead a fulfilling and successful career in technical communications.

Murray, Mike. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

Context-Driven: How is Traditional Chinese Medicine Labeling Developed?    

To promote intercultural understanding in medical communication, this article studies a regulation issued by the Chinese government to standardize traditional Chinese medicine labeling. Then the author claims that the traditional Chinese medicine labeling is medicine-focused. This feature has its roots in traditional Chinese philosophy of stressing the context while de-emphasizing individuals. The author examines a particular medicine label to support his claim that the medicine-focused feature draws patients' attention to the situations that cause disorders.

Ding, Daniel D. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2004). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical>Regulation

Contribution of the Indian Medical Service to the Documentation of Materia Medica, Medicinal Plants and Medical Topography of India, 1750-1925    

India's medical tradition and knowledge base can be traced back to the Vedas (c.5000 BC), especially the Atharvaveda. The works of Charaka and Sushruta (c.2000 years ago) are well known. Parts of this ancient knowledge have been passed down generations by word of mouth and through the gurukula system. However, documentation about the incidence of diseases, the state of health of the people, medical practices and health care delivery in India during the period prior to the 18th century is meager, the sources being mainly the notes, memoirs and travelogues of visiting travelers. During the colonial period (c.1615-1930) western medical practices took roots in the country. The colonial powers recognizing that 'knowledge is power', commissioned surveys and studies about the terrain, fauna, flora, climate, environment, customs, and indigenous health practices, etc. in different parts of India. Officers of the Indian Medical Service (IMS) wrote over 1400 books, reports, tracts and papers covering a wide range of medical and health topics. Such sources together with the tacit knowledge of the officers involved contributed to the 'colonial knowledge base'. This paper discusses briefly this knowledge base and lists the writings of the IMS officers in the fields of (1) materia medica, (2) botanical studies including Indian medicinal plants, and (3) medical topography of India.

Neelameghan, Arashanipalai. International Journal for Technical Communication (2006). Articles>Knowledge Management>Biomedical>India

Debate-Creating vs. Accounting References in French Medical Journals      

This article investigates the quantitative and qualitative evolution of debate-creating (DEB) vs. accounting (ACC) references in 90 French medical articles published between 1810 and 1995. My findings suggest that nineteenth-century French academic writing tends to be more polemical oroppositional than cooperative by contrast to its twentieth-century counterpart. These results suggest that the debate-creating vs. accounting opposition could be a rhetorical universal of referential behavior in medical literature.

Salager-Meyer, Francoise. Technical Communication Quarterly (2000). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

Design in Observational Research on the Discourse of Medicine: Toward Disciplined Interdisciplinarity    

This article turns to the concept of interdisciplinarity as a framework for the design and development of observational studies investigating the discourse of medicine in language-based fields such as linguistics, rhetoric, composition, and professional communication. It argues that observational studies be designed as disciplined interdisciplinary studies, defined as research that makes an acknowledged contribution to both medicine and language studies. It proposes two guiding principles for the design of observational studies in medicine, both of which focus on issues of prospective design.

Barton, Ellen. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2001). Articles>Research>Biomedical

Disease Classification and the Organization of Large-Scale Web Sites      

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) has been employed by the world's public health officials to chart the nature, frequency, and geographic origins of diseases and causes of death in human populations since the late nineteenth century. The ICD has been modified every decade since the 1890s, and a study by Bowker and Star of these changes, in concert with the work of others on the practices employed in information mapping, can be used to better understand the organization of large-scale web sites. Specifically, web designers must adapt classification schemes to fit multiple social worlds. Additionally, we need to understand that these systems can become so entrenched in our thinking that they become "invisible," thus undermining our ability to adapt them as future needs or insights arise.

Applen, J.D. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (2001). Articles>Information Design>Web Design>Biomedical

Distinguishing Characteristics of Medical Writing  

Medical writers and editors need to understand medicine as a discipline, its nature as a science, its humanitarian rather than commercial goal of alleviating pain and suffering, the sensitive nature of some subjects, and the reduced or distorted cognitive abilities of some patients. They need to understand medical terminology, the nature of truth, the scientific method, the primary research paper, numbers, probability, risk, statistical significance, and some specific language issues.

Zoll, Mary. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical