---
title: AMWA Blog | Education for professionals
description: Education for professionals | For professional medical writers, medical editors, and medical communicators, the AMWA blog offers relevant and accessible information plus insightful best practices in the field of medical communication.
---
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# AMWA Blog
## [Root Cause Analysis for Effective CME Needs Assessments](https://blog.amwa.org/root-cause-analysis-for-effective-cme-needs-assessment)
[Needs assessments](https://blog.amwa.org/best-practices-for-writing-cme-needs-assessments) are essential to continuing medical education (CME), helping identify where health care professionals have gaps in knowledge or performance. But too often, they stop short of the deeper question: *What is the cause of these gaps? *
November 17, 2025 at 2:03 PM
[Read More](https://blog.amwa.org/root-cause-analysis-for-effective-cme-needs-assessment)
## [Best Practices for Writing CME Needs Assessments](https://blog.amwa.org/best-practices-for-writing-cme-needs-assessments)
*By Donald Harting, MA, MS, ELS, CHCP, President, Harting Communications LLC, Downingtown, PA, and Ruwaida Vakil, MSc, Principal, ProMed Write LLC, Somerset NJ*
A needs assessment (NA) is any passage of text that documents the need for instruction on a particular topic among physicians and other health care professionals. This NA may also be called a gap analysis. Normally the NA is just one part of a larger document, often called a CME grant proposal. Typically this larger document will also include sections on budget, audience generation, and outcomes analysis (Figure 1). A proposal for an accredited activity will also contain some indication of how many continuing education credits may be awarded and information about the organization awarding credit. These additional sections are NOT included in this blog.
September 12, 2022 at 1:00 PM
[Read More](https://blog.amwa.org/best-practices-for-writing-cme-needs-assessments)
## [Medical Sales Training and Beyond](https://blog.amwa.org/medical-sales-training-and-beyond)
Product training—or medical sales training—is an essential ingredient in bringing new medical devices and pharmaceutical products to market.
Pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies spend enormous amounts of time and money implementing medical sales training when launching new products or when products are approved for new indications. Creating medical sales training materials is a growing opportunity for medical communicators who can leverage their skills and experience to help bring better products to healthcare providers and patients.
July 25, 2022 at 1:30 PM
[Read More](https://blog.amwa.org/medical-sales-training-and-beyond)
## [How Do You Identify a Practice Gap for CME Activities](https://blog.amwa.org/how-do-you-identify-a-practice-gap-for-cme-activities)
An essential skill for medical communicators involved in creating materials for continuing medical education (CME) activities is learning to identify a practice gap by conducting a gap analysis.
October 18, 2021 at 1:00 PM
[Read More](https://blog.amwa.org/how-do-you-identify-a-practice-gap-for-cme-activities)
## [Making the Case for Writing Compelling Case Studies](https://blog.amwa.org/making-the-case-for-writing-compelling-case-studies)
This blog is based on content presented by [Scott Kober](https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-kober-mba-a333332/), MBA, and [Eve Wilson](https://www.linkedin.com/in/eve-johnson-wilson-phd-chcp-facehp-71511121/), PhD, ELS, FACEHP, at the AMWA Medical Writing & Communication Conference, as well as a panel discussion co‑hosted by AMWA’s Delaware Valley and Mid‑Atlantic chapters.
Crafting compelling case studies is a marketable skill for medical writers, especially those working in continuing medical education (CME). Demand is strong among medical education companies for freelance writers who can write brief screenplays for patient case simulations delivered via proprietary computer platforms.
September 20, 2021 at 1:00 PM
[Read More](https://blog.amwa.org/making-the-case-for-writing-compelling-case-studies)
## [Principles of Instructional Design for Medical Writers](https://blog.amwa.org/principles-of-instructional-design-for-medical-writers)
This blog is based on content presented by [Deborah Anderson](https://blog.amwa.org/author/deborah-anderson-phd), PhD, MT(ASCP)SH, at the AMWA Medical Writing & Communication Conference.
The term “instructional design” may not sound familiar to some medical writers, simply because they were never formally taught this concept during their education. However, many writers incorporate the principles of sound instructional design in their [medical writing](https://info.amwa.org/medical-writing-a-professionals-guide-to-advancing-your-career)without realizing it. In most instances, they develop these skills while learning on the job.
August 16, 2021 at 1:00 PM
[Read More](https://blog.amwa.org/principles-of-instructional-design-for-medical-writers)
## [Tips for Creating an Effective Needs Assessment](https://blog.amwa.org/tips-for-creating-an-effective-needs-assessment)
*This blog is based on an article written by* [*Donald Harting*](https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-harting-ma-ms-els-chcp-817b80b/)*, MA, ELS, CHCP, and* [*Nathalie Turner*](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-turner-ms-els-b6724b5/)*, ELS, that was originally published in the*[*AMWA Journal*](https://www.amwa.org/page/Journal)*, and on content presented by Harting, Turner, and* [*Katherine Molnar-Kimber*](https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-molnar-kimber-phd-19610b7b/)*, PhD, at the AMWA Medical Writing & Communication Conference.*
Needs assessments are a critical step in the development of continuing education for health care professionals. Medical communicators working in this [professional focus area](https://info.amwa.org/medical-writing-a-professionals-guide-to-advancing-your-career#building_your_value_as_a_medical_communicator) are likely to participate in creating needs assessments.
July 5, 2021 at 1:00 PM
[Read More](https://blog.amwa.org/tips-for-creating-an-effective-needs-assessment)
## [Best Practices in Writing Test Items](https://blog.amwa.org/best-practices-in-writing-test-items)
*This article is based on content presented by [Lori L. Alexander](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-alexander-mtpw-els-mwc-7b661bb/), MTPW, ELS, MWC, at the AMWA [Medical Writing](https://info.amwa.org/medical-writing-a-professionals-guide-to-advancing-your-career) & Communication Conference. It was originally published in the* [AMWA Journal](https://www.amwa.org/page/Journal)*.*
Continuing medical education credits are often awarded based on answers to test questions, so it is essential that the questions be designed well.
Research shows, however, that “almost half of all test items have flaws,” said veteran continuing medical education writer and editor Lori Alexander. This problem is driving the need to develop better test items and is creating job opportunities for medical writers and editors. In this open session, she explained how to write test items using guidelines and best practices from the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Internal Medicine.
October 21, 2019 at 12:00 PM
[Read More](https://blog.amwa.org/best-practices-in-writing-test-items)
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