AUTHOR: I've written four books on healthcare issues,Strength in Study: A History of the College of Family Physicians; Paging Doctors: Messages from a medical journalist; The Future of the Managed Care Industry and Its International Implications, published by The Economist, and as editor and principal contributor to Communication for Doctors: How to Improve Patient Care and Minimize Legal Risks.

EDITOR: As well as serving as editor of Canadian Family Physician and as the first nonphysician editor-in-chief of the Canadian Medical Association Journal I feel compelled to edit everything from cereal packets to complex medical texts and marketing copy. I've also edited and ghosted editorials for Philadelphia Medicine.

WRITER: I've written several hundred articles, editorials, reviews and interviews … more than 100 cited in Index Medicus/MEDLINE (see under Woods, D). Regular contributor to the British Medical Journal.

SPEAKER: I'll speak at the drop of a hat. Topics include: How to write and get published in the health sciences; The future of medical publishing; Who's for Tennyson -- the case for language and literature in the medical school; Communication for doctors; Canada's health system: what's next, eh?; Physicians who became famous authors -- such as Somerset Maugham and Arthur Conan Doyle; Writing and speaking painlessly.

EDUCATOR: I started out my career as a teacher of English. I now serve as an adjunct faculty member teaching scientific writing in Thomas Jefferson University's College of Graduate Studies.

CONSULTANT: I worked with a consortium of 20 managed care companies in the challenge to improve the image of managed care; surveyed senior pharmaceutical executives on what keeps them awake at night for a financial publishing group; promoted in the UK and the US a company producing electronic point-of-care information for physicians and nurses, and helped develop a Zagat-style rating of healthcare websites.

Speaker Testimonials

"It has been two weeks since you so eloquently addressed our meeting of the {Pharmaceutical Advertising Club} and the congratulatory comments are still being heard."
-- Jules Machalek, PAC President.

"The positive response to your presentation, The Future of Healthcare Publishing, was outstanding. Your exceptional presentation skills and keen wit were praised by numerous colleagues throughout the day. Based on the participants' feedback, your presentation skills, knowledge and content were outstanding, the highest rating available on the 4-point evaluation scale."
-- Jaclyn M. Gleber, EdD, Director of Continuing Education, College of Health Professions, Thomas Jefferson University.

"Thank you so much for your outstanding presentation at the 2005 American Medical Publishers Association (AMPA) annual conference. I was most appreciative of your willingness to organize, moderate, and speak on the panel "Use of hand-held applications at the point of care." I want to congratulate you personally as well as your panel. I found your presentation to be enlightening and most informative. Thank you for your hard work on behalf of AMPA"
-- Robin Bartlett, President, AMPA, 2005-2006.