The EMWA Professional Development Programme 

The EMWA Professional Development Programme (EPDP) provides high-quality training for medical writers through workshops and homework assignments. Workshops are selected, developed and approved for inclusion in the EPDP by the EMWA Professional Development Committee (EPDC), under the chairmanship of the EMWA Education Officer. The approval process is described in the Workshop Leaders Handbook, available here on the website.

By completing eight workshops, participants can obtain an EPDP certificate, as described below. This is one of the few opportunities of obtaining a qualification in medical writing.

One important aim of the EPDC is to ensure that EMWA certification is regarded by the medical writing community, employers and clients as a valuable qualification. To achieve this, the EPDC strives to ensure a high level of quality for workshops and workshop leaders, and to ensure that participants meet the required standards of performance to obtain credit when completing workshop requirements.

There are two levels of certificate: foundation and advanced.

An EPDP specialised or multidisciplinary certificate at foundation level is awarded to candidates who have gained credits for eight foundation workshops as follows:

• At least five workshops in a single option to qualify for a specialised certificate in that option.
• Workshops in at least two options but no more than four workshops per option for a multidisciplinary certificate.

Candidates may obtain more than one specialised foundation certificate after completing the appropriate requirements for each certificate.

An EPDP certificate at advanced level is awarded to candidates who obtain credit in any eight advanced workshops. Advanced certificates are limited to one per candidate.

Candidates for EPDP accreditation must be EMWA members and must also be enrolled in the EPDP at the respective level (foundation or advanced) in order to be eligible for credit. It is possible to participate in a workshop without being enrolled in the EPDP, but no credit towards an EMWA certificate will be awarded for that workshop, even if the participant enrols in the EPDP later: that is, credit cannot be awarded retrospectively.

It is possible to be enrolled either at the foundation level, or at the advanced level, or at both levels simultaneously. There are no formal prerequisites (e.g. completion of a foundation level certificate) to enrol at advanced level. However, to obtain maximum benefit from the workshop and minimise the risk of failing a workshop, candidates are strongly advised to select each workshop according to their educational needs and experience in that particular area.

To receive credit for an approved workshop, EPDP-enrolled candidates must successfully:

• Complete a pre-workshop assignment and a needs analysis questionnaire (usually up to 2 hours).
• Attend the workshop itself (3 or 3.5 hours).
• Complete a post-workshop assignment (usually up to 3 hours).

The times required to complete the pre-workshop and post-workshop assignments are a general guide only, and individual participants may require more or less time depending on their experience.

Candidates must submit assignments to the workshop leader by the deadlines provided by the workshop leader to qualify for credit.

Workshops described as “under assessment” are in the final stage of EMWA approval and are offered at a discounted fee. Although the standard of these workshops is expected to meet the EPDP standard, participants will receive no credit towards an EPDP certificate from attending these workshops. Even if the workshop is subsequently approved, retrospective credit cannot be awarded.

Workshops are available at the EMWA conferences and the workshops offered at any conference will depend on the availability of the workshop leaders. Registration is limited to four credit workshops (regardless of level) per conference. There is no limit on registration for non-credit (including “under assessment”) workshops that may also be offered during the conference.

Separate enrolment fees are applicable to each level and for every certificate. There is no time limit for completion of a certificate, but the enrolment fees are good for 5 years only, after which re-enrolment is required.

To enrol for the EPDP, tick the appropriate box on the conference registration form.

To see the EPDP committee members for 2008-2009, please click here.