In 1974 I entered Harvard College dazed, confused, and depressed by my parents' divorce, which had been finalized less than a year before. After changing my major three times, I just barely managed to graduate with my class in 1978. English had always been my best subject, so I pursued my first career in journalism. I advanced from small- to mid-sized newspapers in Maryland, Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania, winning prizes for investigative and public service work. I won a fellowship and earned a master’s degree in newspaper journalism from Syracuse University's Newhouse School in 1992, just a few years before the American newspaper industry began to collapse. I transitioned into medical writing with help from the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA). I attended my first chapter workshop in Princeton, New Jersey in the spring of 2007 and that's where I first heard about the system of accredited continuing medical education (CME) in the United States. I attended my first AMWA national conference later that year and soon earned a certificate in medical writing and editing. I passed the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) exam in 2008. These credentials helped me land my first job as a medical writer in 2009, writing needs assessments full-time, from home, for a company in Georgia. I enjoyed the work so much I made CME writing my specialty. Today I work as a freelance CME writer from my home outside Philadelphia. To firm up the foundation for my second career, I invested in a second master’s degree, in biology. My thesis project was part life science, part continuing education research using the famous Delphi method. I also earned the CHCP credential, which stands for “certified healthcare continuing professional development professional.” To earn points toward recertification I conduct an annual survey of best practices for writing CME needs assessments. You can find out more in the Recommended Resources section of CME Writer's Marketplace. In my spare time I enjoy climbing hills on my bicycle, spinning the wheel on my rowing machine, building stone retaining walls in my garden, touring wine regions with my wife of 33 years, visiting our grown children, spoiling our grandchildren, and mailing free books to help children of divorced parents across the United States and around the world. Thank you for your interest in CME writing!
