SEB Bulletin March 2005 - The Write Medicine
Rebecca Turner, Medical Writer
The Gardiner-Caldwell Group Ltd, part
of The Thomson Corporation
Do you have the following skills and experience?
An ability to communicate effectively to a wide range of audiences.
An ability to analyse and interpret data accurately.
A background in medicine?
Well, two out of three really ain't bad if you want to be a medical writer. According to Rebecca Turner who works as a medical writer for a medical writing agency, “Although the majority of medical writers have a medical-related background, there are also many with a wide range of backgrounds including biochemistry, animal and plant sciences, and even some English and journalist degree graduates.”
Of course, in order to get into the industry you do need to have an interest in the medical and pharmaceutical industries since this will be the central subject of all your writing. However, the most important factor is your ability to understand medical and clinical information and to be able to convey it in an effective and relevant way according to your audience. With a background in science, you will have been trained during your degree or PhD to interpret and analyse data, and you will have written reports and essays to summarise these and draw conclusions. The key to this industry is that you are also able to communicate the information according to the requirements and understanding of those for whom you are writing the information.
“We write up clinical data in a wide range of ways”, says Rebecca. “For example, if data has been generated from a clinical trial for the development of a drug for prostate cancer a medical writer will need to sift through the information and produce a wide range of literature. This could be to brief doctors, nurses or pharmacists on the potential clinical uses of the drug, or it could be to produce a leaflet for patients. It could even be at a higher level, assisting the investigators with preparing their data for publication in a research journal such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology”. Not only this, you will often be working to tight deadlines, since the pace of medical communications can be fast and furious.
Pharmaceutical companies employ their own medical writers but there is also a huge medical communication agency sector. Therefore, the agencies need to meet the requirements of the industry by packaging the key points accurately, providing clarity and turning complex information into simpler language according to the targeted audience. This may even mean providing materials for a presentation including back boards for exhibitors, powerpoint slides and promotional materials during medical conferences.
An interest in medical conditions and diseases is integral to a career in medical writing as you will be required to read up on their background as part of the process of identifying the key issues with which they are associated and the current and previous developments in their drug treatment. You will also need to be able to identify who will need to know the information both at the pre- and post-drug launch stages. Another key area in which medical writers work is in the accredited medical education sector which works independently to provide up-to-date information on drugs and therapies for doctors who are required to gain credits in order to retain their medical status. Specialised accredited providers receive funding to carry out this work which is regulated by recognised societies in order to ensure unbiased and independent knowledge is disseminated to clinicians and doctors.
You will, of course, be provided with training on the job when you join a company as a trainee a period which can last between 1 and 3 years depending on a person's background and ability. Following training, you will become one of the core medical writers of the company and will be expected to work more independently. Further responsibilities will take you up to management or team leader level. At this point you will be taking on more of a consultancy role and there is also the opportunity to set up on your own as a freelance medical writer, of which there is a vast number.
“Most of the jobs in the medical writing industry are clustered in hotspots where pharmaceutical companies are based and/or there is a suitable talent pool for recruitment”, says Rebecca. “In the UK this is around the South East, London and Oxford as well as in the North West of the country. There are hotspots in the USA and Europe such as the North East Coast of America, New York and Switzerland. The majority of the writing is produced in English”.
The job situation for medical writers is good and is one of the few science communication areas where there is a good salary and career structure in place. Jobs are advertised regularly in the New Scientist, in national newspapers and on the European and American Medical Writers Association websites1,2. It is also possible to write on spec with your CV. “You will need to show a proven interest in science writing”, says Rebecca. “This can be in the form of published work during your degree, PhD or post-doc, or evidence of communicating your science to other audiences in the form of competitions, websites, or writing for schools or the public.”
If you are selected at the early stages you will probably be asked to undertake a writing test which could be in the form of a short abstract or summary report of several papers. At interview you will need to demonstrate a basic understanding and interest in medicine and the treatment of diseases as well as the ability to communicate complex information in an understandable format.
“If you are interested in taking up medical writing as a career”, concludes Rebecca, “you will be joining an industry which is always fast-moving, varied and challenging”.
Sarah Blackford
Education and Public Affairs
American Medical Writer's Association http://www.amwa.org/
European Medical Writer's Association - www.emwa.org/
