President's Report 1999-2000
Southwest Chapter, AMWA

Membership

At the beginning of the year (May 1999), the total chapter membership numbered 214. As of March 15, the total membership numbered 231. The breakout of membership by area is as follows:

• Louisiana 26
• Arkansas 14
• Oklahoma 8
  New Mexico 11
• Texas* 172:
  • North/East (Dallas, Texarkana) 42
  • Central (Austin, San Antonio) 36
  • South (Houston, Galveston) 89
  • West (Lubbock, Amarillo) 5

* TX divisions are representative and not inclusive of all cities.

Numerous inquiries about AMWA membership and chapter activities were fielded by the national office, the chapter president, and other chapter members. Several inquirers became members.

Finances

The chapter finances are healthy, and we expect to be under budget this year.

Programs

Meetings

July 24, 1999, Clear Lake, Texas
At our annual summer meeting (usually held in south Texas), Ellen Koch, Ph.D., gave a presentation on medical quackery. Dr. Koch, whose Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania is in the History and Sociology of Science, both informed and entertained us with the history of quackery. Demonstrations of some questionable medical devices were also included!

September 23, 1999, Houston, Texas
The September meeting was a presentation and hands-on tutorial of Web page design, presented by Tom Gegeny, the chapter's Web site developer and then Publication Specialist for the Houston Academy of Medicine, Texas Medical Center Library. The class was modeled for beginners, who used Netscape Navigator and Windows Notepad to create a Web page complete with text, images, and links.

December 11, 1999, Austin, Texas
The December meeting was a workshop on yoga for carpal tunnel syndrome relief, led by Teresa Davidson, Ph.D., an AMWA member and certified yoga instructor. Dr. Davidson gave a brief overview of yoga and then instructed the class on poses for carpal tunnel relief studied in an investigation recently published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

January 20, 2000, Houston, Texas
The annual McGovern Award banquet and ceremony honored Dorothy Nelkin, Ph.D., for her excellence in medical writing. Dr. Nelkin, currently on faculty in the Department of Sociology at New York University, is the author of several books and articles dealing with the social impact of advances in medical genetics. She presented an excellent and thought-provoking lecture entitled "Bar-coded Bodies: Commercialization of Body Tissue in the Biotechnology Age." The dinner and lecture were attended by approximately 50 members and guests.

February 17, 2000, Houston, Texas
Paula Knudson, Executive Coordinator of the Office of Research Support Committees, University of Texas Health Science Center (Houston), gave a presentation on ethics in biomedical research. Ms. Knudson has been a pioneer in establishing institutional committees to oversee the protection of human subjects and the care and use of animals in research.

March 11, 2000, College Station, Texas
Ciro Sumaya, MD, MPHTM gave a presentation on general public health and rural public health issues. Dr. Sumaya is the dean of the newly formed School of Rural Public Health at the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center. He focused on the definition of public health, why it is important, and the top five issues impacting public health today.

May 15, 2000, Houston, Texas
The May meeting will include the announcement of newly elected officers for 2000-2001, followed by a series of networking roundtables. Each of the roundtables will feature a chapter member who will share his or her expertise in a certain area of medical writing.

Web Site

The AMWA Southwest chapter Web site is currently under development. A beta site has been created and should be online by the end of April. The chapter is currently negotiating an account and support services through the Houston Education Resource Network (HERN), which offers domain hosting and Web site development services to many area nonprofit and educational institutions. The chapter has allocated funds for this important investment in a Web presence. Thomas Gegeny, MS, ELS, the chapter's publicity chair, has undertaken this project.

The site will feature a regional calendar for chapter and national events, conferences, and meetings. Additionally, there will be a "bulletin board" for posting local freelance and employment opportunities, chapter news, and special announcements. Important contact information for officers and committee chairs will be available through the site. Links to other chapters, professional organizations, and resources will be included as well. Other features may include chat capabilities for "virtual" meetings/discussions and an online version of the chapter newsletter.

Other Activities

Plans for a regional core curriculum workshop were postponed; however, this remains a goal of the chapter, and we will try to plan one for the future. Less than 20% of the chapter membership attended the Annual Conference this year, and many chapter members have expressed an interest in pursuing their curriculum certificates through local workshops.

Sherri Bowen
Chapter President, 1999-2000

• Sherri Bowen, Central Texas
• Kris Williams, North Texas
• Janet Y. Shagham, New Mexico
• Angela Lorio, Louisiana
• Philip Gunby, Oklahoma
• VACANT, Arkansas