Postscripts v4 n26 _2014July

Official publication of the American Medical Writers Association Pacific-Southwest Chapter

AMWAPacSWJuly2014Postscripts

Special issue"Stories from My Life"By Lanie Adamson

Volume IV Issue 26

July 201 4Postscripts

EDITOR

Ajay K Malik, PhD

[email protected]

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Donna Simcoe, MS, MS, MBA, CMPP

President, AMWA PacSW

[email protected]

Postscripts Website:

http: //issuu.com/postscripts

Chapter Website:

www.amwa-pacsw.org

Find us at LinkedIn Groups:

click here

POSTSCRIPTS

AIMS AND SCOPE

Postscripts is the newsmagazine of the American Medical Writers

Association Pacific-Southwest (AMWA Pac-SW) chapter. I t

publ ishes news, notices and authoritative articles of interest in al l

areas of medical and scientific writing and communications. The

scope covers cl inical/regulatory writing, scientific writing,

publication planning, social media, current regulations, ethical

issues, and good writing techniques.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Postscripts is to facil itate the professional

development of medical writers and serve as a tool to advance

networking and mentoring opportunities among all members.

Towards this mission, Postscripts publishes significant advances

in issues, regulations and practice of medical writing and

communications; ski l ls and language; summaries and reports of

meetings and symposia; book and journal summaries.

Additional ly, to promote career and networking needs of the

members, Postscripts includes news and event notices covering

Chapter activities.

SUBSCRIPTION

Postscripts is published monthly except

in January and July. Subscription is

included in the AMWA Pac-SW chapter

membership which is automatic for al l

AMWAmembers with a mail ing address

in Southern California, Southern

Nevada and all of Arizona. This

newsmagazine is distributed on the 1 st

of each month. AMWAmembers can

request past issues by sending an email

to the editor.

INSTRUCTION FOR CONTRIBUTORS

We welcome contributions from

members and non-members alike.

Please contact editor.

ADVERTISING

Articles describing products and

services relevant to medical writers may

be considered or solicited. Members

may submit advertisements for their

services or products for free. Please

contact editor for detai ls.

American Medical Writers

Association

Pacific Southwest Chapter

(AMWA Pac-SW)

San Diego, CA

www.amwa-pacsw.org

Copyright 2011 -201 4, AMWA Pac-SW

All rights reserved.

(Authors retain copyright to their articles.)

BannerPhotoArtbyChipReuben,www.photoartwindows.com/Redphonebooth.ByPetrKratochvil,publicdomainpictures.net

Chip Reuben 2008

POSTSCRIPTS | VOL 4, NO. 26 | JULY 201 4 i

POSTSCRIPTS

July 201 4 | Volume 4, No. 26

COVER:LanieAdamson

Chip Reuben 2008

Special issue. . .

Stories from My Life

201 4 Lanie Mergel Adamson. All rights reserved

ii POSTSCRIPTS | VOL 4, NO. 26 | JULY 201 4

iii

Lanie Adamson: Stories from My Life

The time went too fast between my first childs birth and myfirst grandsons mustache. Lanie Adamson

Copyright July 201 4 by Lanie Mergel Adamson

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrival

system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the

author, Lanie Mergel Adamson.

Published by American Medical Writers Association Pacific-Southwest Chapter,

San Diego (www.amwa-pacsw.org). Design, layout and production by Ajay Malik.

POSTSCRIPTS | VOL 4, NO. 26 | JULY 201 4

Ajay Malik and Jennifer Grodberg of the American

Medical Writers Association encouraged me to tel l

my story to a wider audience after I gave a talk on

my unusual l ife and career at the historic train

station in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Four people deserve special thanks for introducing

me to medical writing: Michele Vivirito, Mary-Jane

Branin, El izabeth Stone and Jerry McKee. Michele

and Mary-Jane read the manuscript and l iked it.

El izabeth and Jerry are, sadly, no longer with us.

Christopher J Turner edited several drafts of the

manuscript. My husband checked the chronology

and content.

People who have read the manuscript are call ing it

inspirational, touching, well-written, and a story

that needs to be told, and these nice words come

from family and friends, who might be a wee tad

biased, and from people who dont know me. I hope

you find something useful to you.

Lanie Mergel Adamson

LanieAdamson@gmail .com

July 201 4

iv POSTSCRIPTS | VOL 4, NO. 26 | JULY 201 4

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements iv

An Unusual Route 1

Pennsylvania 1

I ts All in Your Head 1

Complications 2

College Dreams Realized and Lost 3

California 4

Childbirth Education 4

For Better or for Worse 6

Opportunity Knocks 7

Tulips, Windmills and the Rhine River 8

American School of The Hague 9

Raining Fish 9

Haughty Geese and Regal Swans 9

The Battlefields of Belgium 1 0

Looking Homeward 1 0

Back to California 1 2

AMWA 1 2

College Dreams Realized 1 4

My New Career 1 4

Career Interrupted 1 5

New Opportunity 1 6

Toastmasters 1 7

AMWAAwards 1 8

Retirement and Stand-up 1 8

Post-retirement 1 9

Parkinsons Disease 20

The Golden Apple 23

Lifes Lessons 28

AMWA Service and Honors 29

Comments by Friends 32-33

vPOSTSCRIPTS | VOL 4, NO. 26 | JULY 201 4

An Unusual Route

Pennsylvania

1 POSTSCRIPTS | VOL 4, NO. 26 | JULY 201 4

POSTSCRIPTS | VOL 4, NO. 26 | JULY 201 4 2


Penn State parade Winter 1 960

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California



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Tulips, Windmills and the Rhine River


Our second daughter was a lovely bridesmaid at her brothers wedding.

She and the bride were already friends, having shared some adventures

in the city, some of which I am probably better off not knowing. Our

youngest daughter was the flower girl . After the wedding, our two younger

daughters remained at home.

View from Lanie's second floor balcony in Holland: Boats on the Rhine River.

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Back to California


Lanie Adamson, Elizabeth Stone, unknown, unknown (partial ly hidden), Tom Lang, and

Rebecca Voorwinden (Dutch exchange student) at Asilomar

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Ole and Lanie


New Opportunity



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AMWA Awards


Gregory Mantel l Show (bottom); Lanie at book signing event (top).

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Parkinsons Disease

2

Morris AD, Rose, F. Clifford, Ed. James Parkinson His Life and Times.

Copyright Birkhauser Boston, 1 989, pp 1 31 -1 48.

3

Ibid, pp 1 52-1 61 .


The Golden Apple


.POSTSCRIPTS | VOL 4, NO. 26 | JULY 201 4 24

Lanie Adamson, Barry Fox, unknown, Michele Vivirito, and Ada Kahn at AMWA Pacific

Southwest Chapter meeting, San Juan Capistrano train station, 1 991 .


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Loraine Schacher, Ada Kahn, and Karen McKeown at

an AMWA Pac-SW chapter meeting at San Juan

Capistrano train station, 1 991 .

Michael Jones presents award to Lanie Adamson at AMWA

annual conference (date unknown)

Lanie receiving AMWA President's Award at AMWA's 68

th

Annual Conference, Louisvi l le, KY (top). With Sue and Jim

Hudson (middle left); with Lisa Kaspin and Michele Vivirito

(right) at Louisvi l le. With Jenny Grodberg, Michele Vivirito

and Ajay Malik at Columbus, Ohio, 201 3 meeting. Lanie

was honored with the AMWA Golden Apple award at

AMWA's 73

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Annual Conference at Columbus, Ohio.

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Pictures from AMWA Pac-SW event Real Life Experiences in Medical Writing by Lanie Adamson held at

beautiful Sarduccis Capistrano Bistro, San Juan Capistrano, CA, on a warm Saturday afternoon, September 8,

201 2. The bottom picture was taken via Skype from 450 miles away by Ajay Malik. Lanie's talk was summarized

by Bernard Delacruz, PhD, "Only Doctors Understand Medical Journals! Real Life Experiences in Medical

Writing" in Postscripts (Oct 201 2) Vol I I , issue 8.

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Lifes Lessons


AMWA Honors

201 3 AMWA Golden Apple Award

2008 Presidents Award

1 998 AMWA Fellow

1 993 President, AMWA Pacific Southwest Chapter

AMWAWest Coast Conference (Asilomar Conference)

1 997 Conference Director, Technology and Creativity: Can They

Coexist in Biomedical Communications? AMWAWest Coast

Conference, Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA

1 995 Conference Director, The Evolving Role of the Biomedical

Communicator AMWAWest Coast Conference, Asilomar Conference

Center, Pacific Grove, CA

1 993 Conference Director, Biomedical Communications: Pursuing the

Elusive Truths AMWAWest Coast Conference, Asilomar Conference

Center, Pacific Grove, CA

AMWA Courses Taught

2008 Adamson, Lanie and Hudson, Jim. Writing for the Medical Device

Industry. AMWAAnnual Conference, Louisvi l le, KY

2008 Current Trends in Print and Electronic Publishing. AMWAAnnual

Conference, Louisvi l le, KY

2007 Current Trends in Print and Electronic Publishing (Advanced

Course), Developing Research Materials into Articles (Course). AMWA

Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia

2007 Making Effective Presentations (Course), Developing Research

Materials into Articles (Course). AMWAWestern Regional Conference,

Seattle, WA

2006 Website Content: Winners and Losers (Open Forum), Current

Trends in Print and Electronic Publishing (Advanced Course),

Developing Research Materials into Articles (Course). AMWAAnnual

Conference, Albuquerque, NM

AMWA Service and Honors


2004 The Freelance Writer as Seen through the Clients Eyes. AMWA

meeting at California State University, Northridge, Nov. 20, 2004.

2004 Medical Writing. AMWA course, Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA.

May 1 3, 2004.

2002 Developing Research Materials into Articles (Core Course).

AMWAWest Coast Conference at Asilomar, Monterey, CA

2001 Developing Research Materials into Articles (Core Course),

Current Trends and Future Directions in Publication Production

(Advanced Course). AMWAWest Coast Conference at Asilomar,

Monterey, CA

2000 Current Trends in Print and Electronic Publishing and a panelist

for Scope of Medical Communications at the AMWAAnnual

Conference, Miami, Florida

2000 Writing Opportunities in the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device

Industries. AMWAMeeting, Costa Mesa, CA. Apri l 29, 2000

1 997 Developing Research Materials into Articles (Core Course).

AMWAAnnual Conference, Boston, Mass

1 996 Developing Research Materials into Articles (Core Course).

AMWAAnnual Conference, Chicago, IL

1 995 Developing Research Materials into Articles (Core Course),


(Advanced Course). AMWAAnnual Conference, Baltimore, MD



(Advanced Course). AMWAAnnual Conference, Phoenix, Ariz



(Advanced Course). AMWAAnnual Conference, Atlanta

1 993 Writing and Editing Regulatory and Nonregulatory Documents for

the Pharmaceutical Industry. AMWA Pacific Southwest Chapter

meeting, Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA


201 3 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching presented to

Lanie Adamson. Picture courtesy of LeeAnna Glessing.


31


"I have known Lanie since long before we ever met. Her tenacity and passion precede

her. Her abil ity to nurture and educate are legend. When we did meet, Lanies warmth

drew me right in l ike we were already dear friends. For that I wil l always be glad. Being

together with Lanie, and her husband, Ole, at the 201 3 annual conference in Columbus

was the best. Seeing her on stage receiving the Golden Apple Award for her

outstanding achievements as an AMWA workshop leader, and l istening to her speech,

were inspiring. She spoke of synergy. But I know better. Lanie IS synergy."

BRIAN BASS, President, The American Medical Writers Association

Author, The Accidental Medical Writer

President, Bass Global Inc, Robbinsvil le, New Jersey

"Lanies story inspires a HOW can I make this happen? not can I make this happen?

approach to facing l ifes challenges. She embodies intel l igence, strength, charm, wit

and grace. We have all been enriched for knowing her. THANK YOU, Lanie, for al l you

have given us and continue to give."

JENNY GRODBERG , PhD, RAC

Past-President, American Medical Writers Association Pacific Southwest Chapter

Fellow, American Medical Writers Association

"What a lovely and poignant story; a shining example of the different paths we all take

to medical writing. Lanie is an elegant writer and I am honored to know her better

through her words."

DONNA SIMCOE, MS, MS, MBA, CMPP

President, American Medical Writers Association Pacific Southwest Chapter

I was Lanies roommate at the second Asilomar conference I attended. She amazed me

then with a very brief sketch of her l ife as the mother of four children, and her work as a

childbirth educator. In the years since she has amazed many more people with her

charm, her professional work, and her steely perseverance in the face of physical

difficulties. Her good writing is on display in this book. We who have been in her

presence have the added pleasure of knowing her great laugh and her delightful

personality.

LORAINE F SCHACHER, Former Editor, Postscripts,

American Medical Writers Association Pacific Southwest Chapter

32

Lanie Adamson: Stories from My Life

Cover: Lanie Adamson

My thoughts of Lanie are those of the times when we served together as members of

the AMWA Board of Directors. Her very pleasing and sociable personality added to the

overal l meaningful experience of serving as a board member. I have thoroughly

enjoyed reading her l ife story and I truly admire her continued stamina and zest for l ife

despite the physical chal lenges that she faces on a daily basis.

MICHAEL L JONES, Former Director of Medical Writing,

TKL Research, Inc, Rochelle Park, New Jersey

Lanies autobiography helps decode the mystery that so many young people entering

our profession seekHow do you become a medical writer? . . . By first committing

yourself to the goal and sticking to it, grabbing every opportunity (no matter how

outrageous it may seem), having confidence that you can persevere, and sprinkl ing a

healthy dose of fun and living l ife as it is meant to be. The sharing of this remarkable

journey is another example of Lanie's generosity and her mentoring spirit.

AJAY K MALIK, PhD, Editor, Postscripts,

American Medical Writers Association Pacific Southwest Chapter

Lanie hired me to be the librarian at Advanced Medical Optics. She gave me a chance

at a time when most employers were fi l l ing jobs with younger people. She was my

boss, my teacher and became my very dear friend. Her story here has given me a

greater appreciation of how special a person she is.

Lee MacMorris, MLS, Librarian, Abbott Medical Optics

Member, Le Gourmet Toastmasters, Orange County, California

"Lanie has always been an admired and cherished family member. Now, after reading

her l ifes story, I also have a deep appreciation for her remarkable strength of character

and abil ity to overcome and persevere while continuing to laugh at herself and her

circumstances. Lanie's heartwarming style and grace permeates her writing as much

as her persona."

LeeAnna Glessing (Lanies cousin)

Lanie Adamsons remarkable career is al l the more remarkable when you think of al l

the careers she help launch or shape. I owe my own medical writing career to Lanies

advice and advocacy. This is something I can never repay, and wil l take a lifetime to

pay forward.

AMY LINDSAY, PhD, Lindsay Biomedical Communications, Inc. , California


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Postscripts v4 n26 _2014July

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