What is medical writing?
Medical writing involves the production of high-standard scientific content aimed at various target audiences, such as healthcare professionals, scientists and patients. Each requires a different style of writing. Medical writers are often funded by the pharmaceutical industry or clinical research organisations to develop scientific and educational materials. The content of these materials needs to be accurate, complete, balanced and presented appropriately. Medical writers therefore need to have a sound scientific background, an understanding of medical terminology and good written communication skills, so that they can distil and present often complicated scientific and medical data in a clear, logical and accurate way. Broadly speaking, there are three types of medical writing.
Medical education
The role of the medical writer in the preparation of medical education materials is to convey information and data in an accessible and memorable way in order to educate healthcare professionals or patients. Examples include the creation of training materials for doctor, nurse, or pharmacist education; writing disease-specific website content; or developing educational symposia at national and international congresses. There are also opportunities to be creative in medical education by preparing interactive workshops, slide kits and apps.
Scientific publications
Although medical writers usually do not develop their own scientific publications, they may work with clinical trial investigators to support them in preparing their data-driven publications and medical congress materials (presentations, abstracts and scientific posters). Some authors may also require medical writer support for book chapters and review articles.
Regulatory
Medical writers can be involved in preparation of regulatory documents which are filed with regulatory agencies. These may include clinical trial applications, new drug applications, marketing authorisation applications and benefit-risk evaluations. Regulatory writing requires an up-to-date knowledge of the legislation and guidance surrounding drug licensing and approval.
What qualifications are needed for medical writing?
At minimum, a degree is required, often in life sciences, medicine or pharmacy. A second degree is usually preferred, for example an MSc or PhD. An MSc or PhD provides an opportunity to develop scientific expertise further and, critically, to hone your writing skills through thesis preparation or the publication of peer-reviewed papers. However, it is possible to begin a career in medical writing straight after a first degree, but to do so it is advisable to get as much writing experience as possible before applying (see Panel).
What aspects of the pharmacy degree are relevant?
Medical writing involves communicating information about diseases and drugs. Pharmacy provides an excellent relevant knowledge base, covering the pathophysiology and pharmacology of many diseases. An understanding of the drug development process, including the clinical trial process and regulatory requirements, is also extremely useful. Understanding how to communicate scientific data is important. Pharmacy provides a good background in statistics and pharmacokinetics and, although medical writers are not expected to do the calculations, they need to understand the theory to present results in an accurate way. Pharmacy, with a focus on patient care, also provides an appreciation of the point of view of one of the key stakeholders in the drug development process: the patient.
What skills do you need?
• Excellent written English and the ability to organise and explain data logically and concisely
• Data interpretation skills
• Attention to detail
• Adaptability and enthusiasm: medical writers are sometimes required to work on subject areas in which they have little direct experience, meaning they need to be able to quickly apply and adapt their knowledge and skills.
• Time management: medical writing is deadline driven and content is prepared to pre-agreed budgets and timelines.
• Teamwork: medical writers work closely with the wider internal team, and maybe also with external healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical clients; therefore good interpersonal communication skills are critical.
• The ability to work independently
Where do medical writers work?
Some medical writers work directly for pharmaceutical companies, but many work for medical communications agencies. Medical communications agencies also employ account managers, editorial assistants, graphic artists, and e-media designers (and more) who collaborate with medical writers to provide a full medical communications service to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices industry. Many experienced medical writers also work on a freelance basis.
How can I start a career in medical writing?
Medical writing jobs are advertised on www.newscientist.com, www.jobs.ac.uk and via scientific recruitment agencies. Before applying, make sure there are no typos in your CV. Most medical communication companies will require potential interviewees to complete a short writing test before being invited for interview, for example, turning a slide deck of data into an abstract or article. Applicants are assessed on their ability to convey the scientific data in an appropriate format and on grammatical accuracy.
What is the career progression for medical writers?
New medical writers often start as associate medical writers. A good medical communications agency will provide training on all aspects of the industry, including grammar, scientific writing, data analysis, drug development and the pharmaceutical industry. As experience is gained there are opportunities to progress to medical writer and senior medical writer. Some writers choose to become experts in certain therapeutic areas, and some choose to keep their experience broad. Writers can progress further (eg, principal writer, scientific director) and move into managerial roles. Medical writing also offers the chance to travel. Conferences are held around the world and often medical writers attend to support speakers with any last minute changes to presentations and to help oversee the running of certain aspects of the conference.
Pharmacy provides a strong scientific background, and a good understanding of medicine, disease and patient care. If you like science and you like writing, then medical writing could prove a rewarding and varied career.
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