DIALOGUE ◆ A Curriculum for Biomedical Writing and Editing: A Second Volley

Courses for Biomedical Writers and Editors Core Courses 5. Communication Theory and Research 1. An Overview of Biomedical Research and Publications Forms of communication (interpersonal, mass, computer-assisted) Epistemology and philosophy of science and its alternatives Classical rhetorical theory (argument, persuasion, exposition) The scientific method: biomedical research terms and concepts Diffusion of innovations and marketing communication Practices and ethical principles of animal, pharmaceutical, Research into written communication and clinical research Psychology of meaning-making and interpretation The drug-development process Effect of communication media on messages The scientific literature: journalology Organizational communication Types of biomedical communication and publication Evaluating written communication (protocol analysis, focus groups, Authorship, falsification, fraud, and plagiarism surveys, and so on) Evidence-based medicine 6. Medical Writing 2. Medical Editing Data-collection techniques (interviewing, Internet, libraries) Review of grammar, syntax, and punctuation Audience analysis Review of sentence and paragraph structures Techniques of writing Medical terminology, nomenclature, and discourse Collaborative writing Marking a manuscript, editing and proofreading techniques, and Writing original research articles: the IMRAD format queries Writing review articles, case reports, and chapters Style manuals and electronic information sources Writing feature and news articles Submitting a manuscript (guidelines for authors, Uniform Writing patient-education materials Requirements, the CONSORT statement) The author-editor relationship 7. Publication Design and Production The working environment: editorial offices and writing groups Principles of graphic design Principles of publication design 3. Reporting Statistics in Medicine Principles of typography, paper selection, and color Data and descriptive statistics Introduction to desktop publishing Hypothesis tests, P values, and confidence intervals Introduction to printing technologies Association, correlation, and linear-regression analyses Introduction to online and multimedia publishing Multiple regression and analysis of variance Preparing production schedules and budgets Survival analysis and concepts of epidemiology Project management Diagnostic tests Economic evaluations and pharmacoeconomic studies Elective Courses Meta-analysis and decision analysis Writing Theory-based Patient-Education Materials Pharmaceutical Marketing and Physician Education 4. Data and Visual Displays Publishing Biomedical Journals Principles of visual perception and Gestalt perceptual psychology Medical Journalism and Science Writing Basic tables Public Relations for Hospitals and Research Institutes (Unique Issues of) Specialized tables and their interpretation Biomedical Book Publishing Basic charts and graphs Freelancing as a Career Specialized charts and graphs and their interpretation Online and Multimedia Publishing Medical illustrations, posters, slides, displays, and overhead Overview of Pharmaceutical and Regulatory Law and Documentation transparencies Writing INDs (Investigational New Drugs) and NDAs (New Drug Photographs and medical images (handling, cropping, highlighting) Applications) Intellectual property and copyright law Project and Personnel Management

CBE VIEWS ♦ VOL 22, NR 1, 1999 ♦ 3 DIALOGUE

In a recent issue of CBE Views, Susan East- specialty with its own knowledge base and of science involves reading the literature wood began “the first volley in a match to skill set. This premise is important because of science, which exposes students to the define an optimal curriculum for biomedi- it forms the basis of a professional identity. nature and forms of scientific discourse cal manuscript editors” (1). Having given For example, I know several physicians who and hence to many aspects of biomedical this topic considerable thought over the believe that they write so well that their writing. However, as mentioned above, I years myself, and having known Susan even manuscripts do not require much editing. believe that skill in the profession must be longer, I was surprised by the number and Yet these same physicians do not hesitate acquired intentionally, not incidentally, as is nature of the differences between her think- to use medical illustrators—they know that the case with many scientists-turned-writ- ing and mine. they do not have the skills of an illustrator. ers. Thus, I suggest that the desirable edu- For example, although the concept may Neither do they hesitate to use biostatisti- cational preparation for biomedical writers be implied, the word “communication” does cians—they know that they do not have is neither that of a scientist who writes not appear in her curriculum. Also, I am at the knowledge of a statistician. They are nor an English major interested in science, a loss to distinguish content differences but rather someone who is fascinated by, between “introductory” and “advanced” and schooled in, the relationships among courses on abstracts, references and prin- The most desirable educational reader, writer, message, and social context. ciples of attribution, editorial technique, preparation for biomedical writers That is, the most desirable educational and proofreading. In addition, a number preparation for biomedical writers and edi- of courses, such as the 6 years of recom- and editors is communication. tors is communication. mended language courses (at least 1 year of Communication is a social science. Its Greek, 1 of Latin, 2 of a modern Romance willing to claim proficiency in writing only study involves learning and applying the language, and 2 of a non-Romance lan- because they do not recognize biomedical scientific method as well as the techniques guage), seem to me unnecessary, however writing as a specialty, a specialty in which and strategies by which “one mind influ- personally satisfying they may be. formal, prolonged study of a distinct body ences another”. It focuses specifically on On the other hand, I think that her cur- of knowledge and a specific skill set is now the processes of communication, whereas riculum includes many worthwhile topics, possible and desirable. English courses can fixate on the prepara- including most of the important ones. It’s tion of the written message. I am not argu- just that I judge many topics to be more Educational Preparation ing that English courses have no place in peripheral to the profession than central I do not believe that English, by itself, is biomedical writing, only that the preferred to it. So, in the spirit of continuing the vol- particularly good preparation for biomedical intellectual orientation to biomedical writ- ley among CBE members, I propose here writing and editing. A degree in English is ing is not “writing” per se but “written a set of courses on topics that I believe almost always a degree in literature; that is, communication”. form the core of the profession of medical a degree in how to read, not how to write. writing and editing. Before presenting my True, some English majors focus on com- Reporting Biomedical Research curriculum, however, I discuss its purpose, position, but this focus is dominated by the In my opinion, the fundamental purpose the preferred educational preparation for it, writing of essays, short stories, reports, and of biomedical writing is to communicate and why it focuses on documents reporting forms of personal expression and is usually biomedical science and, in particular, to biomedical research. applied in the teaching of freshman compo- communicate it through the scientific sition courses. That is to say, I suggest that literature, especially the scientific article The Purpose of the Curriculum there are important differences between and related regulatory documents. I do not Susan’s curriculum appears to provide a lib- “knowing how to write” and knowing how mean to exclude other areas of the profes- eral arts education with a focus on biomedi- to communicate technical information in sion, such as public relations, marketing, cal writing, and I have no qualms about such writing. (For more discussion of this topic, patient education, and physician education. an approach. I simply need to state here that see “The Problem with Technical Writ- However, I suggest that these areas of the my approach has been to identify the topics ing Is Freshman English”, by Britton [2], profession draw their information directly that form the core of the profession, as well and “Technical Writing Is Not One of the or indirectly from the scientific literature. as those needed to allow students to qualify Humanities”, by Lang [3].) Thus, an understanding of how this litera- for the most common employment posi- Neither do I believe that science, by ture is structured seems to me to be essen- tions in the profession. itself, is particularly good preparation for tial to the profession. The curriculum is also based on the biomedical writing, although in my opin- Central to an understanding of the sci- premise that biomedical writing is now a ion it is better than English. The study entific literature is my construct that docu-

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ments reporting biomedical research have 4 A Final Thought the nature of, demand for, and require- dimensions of quality: Colleges and universities will begin programs ments of biomedical writing; and to sup- ● the biology (the importance of the in biomedical writing when they believe that port academic institutions with trained and research question) their graduates will find employment in the experienced instructors who know what the ● the science (the adequacy of research field and that existing programs are not job entails. design, data collection, and analysis) meeting the demands of the field. Thus, an Thomas A Lang ● the documentation (the adherence to important step in the professionalization of Senior Scientific Writer reporting requirements—such as the biomedical writing is to educate administra- Division of Clinical Care Research Uniform Requirements (4), CONSORT tors of academic institutions about the field New England Medical Center guidelines (5), and Food and Drug and about what curriculum is required for Boston, Massachusetts Administration regulations—that specify graduates to enter the field. what information must be included in the From my perspective, it is critical that References manuscript so that the research can be we differentiate the knowledge and skills 1. Eastwood S. Growing a biomedical manu- adequately evaluated) required for biomedical writing from those script editor. CBE Views 1998;21(2):51-2. ● the presentation (the accuracy, clarity, and currently required in English literature and 2. Britton WE. The trouble with technical economy of the text and visuals) composition programs. When technical writing is freshman English. J Tech Writing writing took off as a profession in the 1970s, Comm 1974;4(2):127-31. My experience has been that many bio- stimulated by the introduction of personal 3. Lang T. Technical writing is not one of medical writers and editors focus primar- computers, many English departments the humanities. AMWA J 1987;2(5):3-8. ily, if not exclusively, on the presentation tried to convert some of their faculty into 4. International Committee of Medical dimension. I firmly believe, however, that technical-writing instructors to recapture Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for we must become experts in the documenta- enrollments that waned after the boom of manuscripts submitted to biomedical jour- tion dimension as well if we are to increase the 1960s and 1970s. These “retreads” (their nals. N Engl J Med 1997;336:309-15. our value-added to employers and to change term, not mine) were not oversuccessful, for 5. Begg C, Cho M, Eastwood S, Horton the widespread notion that all we do is the simple reason that they had no training R, Moher D, Olkin I, Pitkin R, Rennie D, copyediting. My proposed curriculum, then, or experience in technical writing. Today, Schulz KF, Simel D and others. Improv- stresses the knowledge and skills needed however, there are doctoral programs in ing the quality of reporting of randomized to document and to present biomedical technical communication with curricula controlled trials: the CONSORT statement. research. peculiar to the needs of technical writers. JAMA 1996;276:637-9. Thus, the task I see for CBE is twofold: The Curriculum To educate university administrators about The 7 courses listed in the table represent what I believe to be the core of biomedical writing and editing in the 1990s. The elective Information for CBE Views Contributors courses allow further breadth and specializa- tion. Each course was designed to qualify for 3 units of college credit on the 10-week • Submit manuscripts for the “Articles” • All material should be in the style quarter system; about 3 hours is to be spent section as 3 typed, double-spaced recommended by Scientific Style and on each of the 8 topics listed for each course. paper copies for peer review. Format, with references in the citation- Thus, 2 additional 3-hour blocks of time are sequence format. available in each course for exams, guest lec- • Submit material for the “Features” turers, special events, and so on. This format and “CBE News” sections as one • All material is subject to copyediting. typed, double-spaced paper copy and, could thus provide 24 credits, or enough for Send material and editorial inquiries to if possible, as an ASCII computer file a certificate or a minor in biomedical writing Barbara Gastel, Editor, CBE Views, on a disk or as an e-mail message or and editing. By requiring some introductory Department of Journalism, 230 Reed attachment. science courses, an internship, and more than McDonald Building, Texas A&M Univer- one elective, the program could easily qualify sity, College Station TX 77843-4111; tele- • All submissions should include the as an academic major for a bachelor’s degree. phone 409-845-6887, fax 409-845-5408; telephone and fax numbers and e-mail e-mail [email protected]. address of the corresponding author.

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