Last Friday, October 23rd, BCLA hosted a Connect with Amgen- Medical Writing and Scientific Communication event at USC. The event was a huge success with information presented from a panel of four Medical Writers at Amgen, which included Sarah Madsen, Janice Ahn, Jesse Potash, and BCLA’s own Jacqueline Sayyah.
Moderated by Radhika Palkar, the panel offered valuable insight on how each writer experienced the transition from academia into the field of medical writing. The panelists also discussed the critical roles Medical Writers fill in the manuscript publication and medical communication team at Amgen. Importantly, the panel provided tips on what hiring managers potentially look for when hiring a medical writer and how to become a competitive candidate in this area. The audience raised many questions, including how to manage conflicts of interest, what factors determine a writer’s therapeutic, specialization area, how much job flexibility and stability exists in medical writing, and how much creativity is permitted during the writing process.
An engaging networking session followed the panel discussion; Attendees enjoyed pizza and refreshments while conversing one-on-one with panel members. Many attendees expressed interest in this promising field and in helping write for the BCLA News and Views section.