Introduction
Medical writing is an elaborate and fulfilling field of writing. Many compare it to a never-ending journey. From innovative medical methods and treatments to hypotheses and high-end clinical trials that contribute to the success, understanding, and saving of our species, the field of medicine is fascinating!
However, with every new discovery about treatment or disease, information has to be conveyed to the audience practically and jargon-free. This information comes from drug regulators and healthcare professionals and intends to reach the general public and patients. This is where medical writers and medical writing comes in.
What Is Medical Writing?
Medical writing is the writing profession related to the development of medical, health, and scientific content. This includes communicating patient information, research reports, and drug regulation documents to the public.
What Is a Medical Writer?
A medical writer is a professional who writes medical documents, blog posts, and articles and even helps develop case studies.
Becoming a successful medical writer calls for the cultivation of specific writing skills. At the same time, health education, public health knowledge, pharmaceutical marketing, and the regulation process also play a major role in a medical writer’s career. In other words, the biggest challenge for medical writers is distilling highly technical information to people of average educational levels.
Hence, considering how complicated medical information is, medical writers should be able to communicate it through easy-to-read content. For this reason, having a few writing aces up your sleeve can make the difference and help you skyrocket your career as a medical writer.
Let’s see the four writing secrets only the best medical writers know!
Four Tips and Tricks for Medical Writers
Below you can find a few handy tips on how to write medical content that will boost your healthcare writing skills.
Tip #1. Take Ownership
A key to boosting your success as a writer in the medical field is always delivering exceptional work. When clients see you constantly delivering high-quality work, they see you as a writer with a high sense of accountability and reliability. As a medical writer, you need to take ownership of your work. You’re expected to be accountable for each fact you present, so make sure you use proper referencing.
Remember: Transparency, accuracy, and high quality are non-negotiable, not only in medical writing but in every form of writing.
Tip #2. Develop Analytical Skills
Medical writers have to have analytical and statistical skills. From industry analysis to data analysis, medical writers work with various medical documents and develop large amounts of information into clear and concise content that is easy to read and digest.
For example, when summarising research studies, statistics are used to explain the authors’ positions and findings, so the medical writer has to be able to understand them and explain them to the target audience. Otherwise, the audience won’t be able to trust the medical article, which decreases the medical writer’s credibility.
Tip #3. Expand Your Knowledge
Having a basic but solid understanding of medical concepts and medical terminology is a must for every medical writer who wants to have a career in medical writing. Yet, many forms of medical writing need a deeper understanding of each topic at hand. Consequently, expanding your knowledge of medical specialities will help you build a powerful foundation for highly technical-related concepts with your target audience.
A clear understanding of the review process for medical devices and drugs and knowledge of the complex requirements from regulatory bodies is pivotal for medical writers who want to produce regulatory documents.
Tip #4. Always Stay Up-to-Date and Relevant
Medical writers have to stay relevant and updated with the latest developments in the medical industry and specifically with the medical field they’re covering. Therefore, subscribing to medical journals, attending conferences and events, and undergoing medical writing training are recommended ways to stay on top of a constantly expanding field.
Most recruiters of medical writers favour certification and writing experience. Currently, there are many bodies with courses on medical writing.
Types of Medical Writing
Now that you know the best medical writing tips, it’s time to see what medical fields you can apply them in. Generally, medical writers produce or assist in producing technical, promotional, information, or educational medical content.
These are the main types of works for medical writers, grouped by area of employment:
Freelancing
- Writing medical content for various clients is mainly found on freelancing platforms like Upwork and Fiverr.
Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Industry
- Study reports
- Clinical trial publications & protocols
- Product marketing
- Consumer medicine & device information
Healthcare Organisations
- Hospitals, non-profits, private practices
- Health promotional content
- Educational content
- Case reports
- Cohort studies
- Case series
- Medical conference abstracts or presentations
- Grant writing
Contract Research Organisations
- Study reports
- Clinical research reports & clinical trial publications
- Consent forms
Regulatory Bodies and Government Agencies
- Post-Marketing documents
- Consumer medicine information
- Device information
Regulatory Documents
- Protocols
- Annual safety reports
- Clinical data summaries
Medical Publication Industry
- Copyediting
- Manuscript editing and proofreading
- Assistance to medical journals
Medical Journalism
- Medical news stories
- Patient stories
- Podcasts
- Transcripts
- Blog posts
Medical Communications and Marketing Agencies
- Health promotional content
- Marketing materials
- Educational content
- Web content
- Social media copy
Virtual Assistant
- Working as a virtual assistant for medical companies or private practices
Why Do I Need a Medical Writer?
Enlisting a medical writer is a fantastic way to kickstart your medical content and produce professional and well-written medical information that’s easy to understand by your target audience. In fact, content produced by a professional medical writer is always well-written and properly referenced, compliant with guidelines, and less likely to be retracted.
Contrary to random freelancers or ghostwriters, acknowledging medical writers is positive for your company or website since it shows accountability, integrity, and transparency in your content. It helps you build trust and connect with your readers.
Conclusion
Don’t jump on the first training program available. Do your due diligence and ask current medical writers for information on getting started. This way, you will avoid burning your money on unnecessary and unrecognised credentials. In the end, what really matters for a recruiter is your portfolio. So, having prepared a solid portfolio of medical articles, case studies, and medical documentation may give you the edge over the competition.
Suppose you have trouble writing medical articles, or you need to work with already established expert healthcare writers. In that case, you’re more than welcome to reach out to a professional content writing solution, like Strategically.
So, stop wasting your time. Use the above tips to skyrocket your medical writing or hire subject-matter experts for complete peace of mind.
The choice is yours!
