Harold Swanberg, MD: Why and how EMWA should remember him

Abstract

Before the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) and the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), there was the Mississippi Valley Medical Editors Association (MVMEA). Most medical writers are unaware of the history of MVMEA and of how it turned into AMWA and EMWA. Here, I chronicle the life of Harold Swanberg, MD, who founded the MVMEA and, when it faltered, reinvented it as AMWA. The story begins shortly after the American Civil War, when medical journals were becoming more respected as sources of information and when editors began to be employed as paid, part- or full-time editors. It continues with the rise and fall of the MVMEA and its rebirth as AMWA. Swanberg’s death coincided with the end of his vision for AMWA. However, the new vision for the association – and an international tragedy – allowed AMWA and EMWA to become key forces in developing modern medical writing as a profession.