Becoming a Medical Writer

Transcription

Becoming a
medical writer
How to launch a
successful career
writing about
medicine & health
Diego Pineda, MS
Note: Please read the disclaimer of warranty and limits of
liability regarding the contents of this e-book.
© D&D Books 2007 - All Rights Reserved
About the Author
D
iego Pineda is a passionate medical writer. After obtaining a master’s degree in science and technology
journalism from Texas A&M University he went to work for
the nonprofit organization Immunizations for Public Health
(i4ph) as a science writer. In this role, he has written more
than a hundred articles on vaccines and immunizations,
many of them published on the Web site of the National
Network for Immunization Information (NNii).
Diego is the co-author of Do Vaccines Cause That?! A
Guide for Evaluating Vaccine Safety Concerns and the bestselling booklet Are Vaccines Safe? Evaluating Information
about Immunizations on the Internet.
As an officer in the Southwest chapter of the American
Medical Writers Association (AMWA), he is actively involved in the medical writing community. He has also been
invited to lead roundtable discussions and open sessions at
the AMWA annual conference.
Diego lives in the Houston-Galveston area with his wife
and two sons.
Visit his Web site at diegopineda.com and his medical
writing blog at medicalwriter.blogspot.com.
Table of Contents
How to get the most out of this book—5
Those Burning Questions
What is a Medical Writer?—9
Do I Need to Be an M.D. to Become a Medical Writer?—14
How Much Can I Earn as a Medical Writer?—24
Should I Work for a Company or be a Freelancer?—28
Should I Focus on Clinical or Consumer Health Writing?—31
Writing for the Pharmaceutical Industry
An Overview of the Industry—35
Regulatory Writing—38
Medical Marketing Communications—44
Medical Education—48
Technical Documentation—50
Getting the Job: Recruiters, Resumes, and Interviews—
53
Consumer Health Writing
Writing for Consumer Health Magazines and Web Sites—
59
Breaking into Consumer Health Writing—63
Other Medical Writing Opportunities
Academia, Hospitals, Nonprofits, and More—73
Public Health and Policy Writing—75
Grant Writing and Editing—78
Working as a Freelance Medical Writer
The Freelance Path—83
How Much Should I Charge?—87
Attracting Clients—91
Professional Organizations for Medical Writers and Editors—96
Sample Job Postings from AMWA’s Job Market—107
Recommended Resources—117
Introduction
How to get the most
out of this book
A
lthough you will find some writing tips here, the scope
of this book is not to teach you how to write medical
articles, or how to write better in general—there are many
other books that can teach you that, some of them referenced
in Recommend Resources towards the end of the book.
Rather, Becoming a Medical Writer is a comprehensive
guide to the various routes into medical writing, a tool for
launching your new career.
If you are completely new to medical writing—you are
still wondering whether this is about writing prescriptions—I
suggest you first read through the whole book once and then
re-read the book with the following ideas in mind. If you
have some previous knowledge about medical writing but
are not sure where to start, you will be wise to take note of
these ideas from the first pass.
• Take charge of your future. As you begin a career in
medical writing, friends, family, and other people may
tell you what they think you should do: “Why don’t you
apply for a job at XYZ company? I heard it was good,” or
“Why are you going back to school at your age?” Don’t
let others decide for you. Read this book and the recommended resources. Gain some knowledge. Join a professional organization. Then choose where you want to work
and how to get there.
• Identify your strengths and desires. Think about
your previous jobs and your education. What were you
always good at? What is your area of expertise? How can
you exploit those strengths in medical writing? You will
find that some types of writing require different skills and
background. Pay special attention to the types of writing
that match your strengths. But don’t forget your desires.
Maybe you are tired of your area of expertise and want
to try something new. Then focus on what you like and
assess realistically whether you can accomplish that.
• Create your own definition of success. In other words,
set your own goals. Write them down. Would you be successful earning $100,000 or more as a freelance writer?
Or would you be successful earning $100,000 as Chief
Medical Writer at a company?
• Invest time and money in your new career path.
Reaching your goals will require some effort and resources.
Perhaps you’ll need to take some courses or even obtain
a degree—those cost time and money. Or perhaps what
you need is work experience in medical writing—you
may need to spend a few months or a year in an entrylevel position to gain experience, make contacts, and get
a sense of the market. Whatever it is, don’t be afraid to
invest—you’ll see the payoffs in the future.
• Develop a plan of action. Read this book. Take notes.
Review your list of strengths and desires and your definition of success. Now write down the specific activities you
need to do to reach your goal. It may look like this:
1. Join the American Medical Writers Association
2. Enroll in a certificate program
3. Send resume to a recruiter
4. Create business plan for freelance business
Add a timeline to your plan of action and check off any
completed items. If you commit yourself to follow your plan,
you’ll surely succeed. I hope you do.
Those Burning
Questions
CHAPTER 1
What is a Medical
Writer?
Writing is easy: all you do is sit staring at the blank sheet of paper [or your
computer screen] until the drops of blood form on your forehead.
Gene Fowler
T
wo years into his post-doctoral fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Steve Palmer real-
ized that he didn’t want to spend his life doing research.
“To be a successful researcher you have to be very programmatic and keep doing the same kind of stuff,” he says.
“I was not interested enough in any one thing to make that
my life’s work. But I did like to write.”
Steve had never heard of medical writing until one of
his wife’s friends mentioned it during lunch one day. “I was
quite curious about it.”
Shortly afterwards, Steve met the then president of the
American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) who gave
him a couple of freelance assignments and later offered him
a job at The Texas Heart Institute as a Scientific Medical
Writer.
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Steve works with scientists at the Heart Institute to write
articles for publication in medical journals.
Medical writers like Steve Palmer write about complex
topics in such a way that scientists with no background in
the topic (and even non-technical readers) can understand
it—which brings us to the most important consideration of
every writer: the reader.
Medical writers can have different kinds of readers,
depending on their work or type of publication. For instance:
• Some medical writers write for the general public;
• Others write for health professionals; and
• Others write documents for regulatory agencies like the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The purpose of the medical writer’s work ranges from
advertising to public health education. Consider the variety
of occupations of the more than 5,000 AMWA members:
• Administrators
• Advertisers
• Audiovisual Producers
• Authors’ Editors
• College and University Professors
• Journal Editors
• Pharmaceutical Writers, Editors, and Managers
• Public Relations Specialists
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• Publishers
• Reporters
• Researchers
• Scriptwriters
• Statisticians
• Translators
Do you see yourself in such positions? As a medical writer
you can work for government agencies, journals, hospitals,
nonprofit organizations, pharmaceutical companies, book
publishers, universities, or as a freelance writer.
Medical writing can be an exciting and rewarding job—
you get to work with remarkable scientists while communicating information that will improve the health of many
people. In the words of the late Victor Cohn, science writer
for the Washington Post for 25 years:
“A good medical reporter is privileged to contribute to
the great fabric of news that democracy requires. There is
no more important job than giving people the information
they need to work, to survive, to enjoy life, to participate in
and maintain a free democratic society.
“A good medical reporter also has fun, fun talking to
some of the world’s most dedicated and interesting people,
fun writing copy that zings and captures the reader, fun
that injects passion into the job, for it is a job that needs
passion.”
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In the following chapters you will find what you can write
about and what the skills you need to be a successful medical
writer are. You will also learn how to break into consumer
health publications and how to get a job as a medical writer
in the pharmaceutical industry. And a lot more.
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“I decided to go into medical writing because the 21st Century will be filled with medical miracles to cure diseases
and improve the quality of life for humanity. And with every new discovery, writers will be needed to help scientists,
doctors, and researchers tell their stories. Career opportunities will be as boundless as the imaginations of the world’s
best minds.”
Elaine Voci, Ph.D.
Development Director, Cornea Research Foundation of
America
CHAPTER 2
Do I Need to Be an M.D.
to Become a Medical
Writer?
I see you have an interesting paper in the latest number of Brain. When
is the English translation coming out? (Remark to a London physician on
the publication of a somewhat obscure paper.)
Sir F. M. R. Walshe
O
ne need not be an M.D. (or other health professional)
to write about health,” says Barbara Gastel, professor
of medical journalism at Texas A&M University and author
of the Health Writer’s Handbook (2nd edition, Blackwell,
2005). “Having a background in the health professions does,
however, help one get up to speed more quickly on health
topics, and it can provide useful context.”
Although many medical writers are M.D.s or basic scientists, a large number have earned their degree in humanities
or liberal arts. The 2004 AMWA salary survey found that
among the medical writers who participated in the study:
“Approximately one-half had earned their highest degree
in science (33.8%) or health care, including pharmacy (5.1%),
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medicine (4.8%), public health (3.1%), or nursing (2.4%). Approximately one-fourth had earned their highest degree in
the humanities, including English (14.4%), journalism (5.3%),
communication (4.3%), or technical writing (2.4%).”
Whatever your background, you can become a medical
writer if you possess:
• The ability to research topics thoroughly
• The ability to think critically and logically
• The ability to write clearly
According to Gastel, there are a number of ways to break
into medical writing, and different ones can be best for different people. “Often, it can help to do one or more of the
following: take courses in medical writing (or more broadly
in science writing), enroll in a graduate program or certificate program in medical writing or science writing, do an
internship in medical journalism or a related field, participate in organizations such as the American Medical Writers
Association and the Association of Health Care Journalists,
and just jump in by applying for a medical writing job or
trying to write a medically related freelance piece.”
In my case, I took the educational route before jumping
in. After graduating from journalism school I enrolled in a
master’s program in science journalism and took both writing
and science classes. The degree opened the doors to my first
job as a medical writer and to freelancing opportunities.
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Choosing the Right Program
Perhaps you are a health professional who loves to write.
Such was Barbara Gastel’s case, who in medical school discovered her passion for writing. Or like me, you may be a
writer curious about science and medicine.
On either case, you have to work on your weakness. If you
have a strong science background, take some writing classes;
if writing is your forte, enroll in some science courses.
Fortunately, existing medical writing programs offer alternatives for people of diverse backgrounds. While some
require applicants to have a degree in science, others welcome only journalists. Most programs, however, are open
to both types of students and adapt their curricula to their
individual needs.
If you are not sure whether you should enroll in a medical writing program, consider this: salaries increase with
education level (see the next chapter). In fact, some companies will only hire writes with certifications such as the one
offered by AMWA.
Graduate programs
Master of Arts in Health Journalism, University of
Minnesota (33 credits). This program offers courses in both
journalism and public health. The curriculum can be built
according to your background, journalism or health care. If
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you have questions, contact the program coordinator Leyla
Kokmen at (612) 626-1851, [email protected].
Master of Arts in Journalism and Advanced Certificate
in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting, New York
University (44 credits). This 16-month program trains students in reporting and writing about consumer health for
the print media while exposing them to a wide range of important scientific issues. Contact the program director Dan
Fagin at (212) 998-7970, [email protected].
Master of Arts in Science-Medical Writing, Johns Hopkins University. This MA program is designed for part-time
study with evening or weekend classes. The curriculum includes some courses on writing about health, but no science
courses. For more information contact Mary Knudson at
(301) 495-9379, [email protected].
Master of Arts and Master of Science programs in
Technical and Scientific Communication, James Madison
University (36 credits). These programs prepare students in
the communication technologies used to produce technical
and scientific documents and develop the skills needed to
work in industry and academia. Contact the program support technician at (540) 568-8018, [email protected].
Master of Science in Biomedical Writing, University
of the Sciences in Philadelphia (36 credits). This program
includes several courses on regulatory writing—a good op-
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tion if you are interested in working at a pharmaceutical or
a biotechnology company. For details contact the director
of the Biomedical Writing Program, Danny A. Benau, at
Master of Science in Science and Medical Journalism,
Boston University (48 credits). This program focuses on
writing and reporting science and medicine for the mass
media. For more information call (617) 353-4239 or email
Doug Starr at [email protected] or Ellen Ruppel Shell at
[email protected].
Master of Science in Science and Technology Journalism, Texas A&M University (33 or 36 credits, depending on track). A comprehensive program designed mainly
to prepare students for careers as reporters, writers, and
editors specializing in the coverage of science, technology,
and medicine. Students choose between an internship track
and a thesis track. For further information, contact the program coordinator, Dr. Barbara Gastel, at (979) 845-6887,
[email protected].
Master of Science in Technical Communication, North
Carolina State University (33 credits). The program,
which can be taken part-time, prepares students for various careers, including medical communication. For more
information contact Stan Dicks at (919) 513-7354, sdicks@
unity.ncsu.edu.
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Certificate programs
AMWA Certificates, American Medical Writers Association. The American Medical Writers Association
(AMWA) offers core and advanced certificate programs
through workshops and courses offered at national and chapter conferences. Workshops include all areas of biomedical
communications and some basic science. Visit the AMWA
Web site for more information.
Editor in the Life Sciences Certificate, Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS). BELS developed a test
for editors in the life sciences to demonstrate their editorial
proficiency. To be eligible for BELS certification, you must
usually have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent and at least 2
years of experience as a manuscript editor in the life sciences.
Visit the BELS Web site for more information.
Medical Marketing Writing Certificate, University of the
Sciences in Philadelphia (12 credits). Designed for people
with advanced degrees, this certificate can be obtained in
as little as four months. For details contact the director of
the Biomedical Writing Program, Danny A. Benau at (215)
596-7509, [email protected].
Medical Writing and Editing Certificate, University of
Chicago. This program offers courses on all types of medical
writing. You can sign up for just one course but must complete at least four to obtain the basic certificate. You can also
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earn an advanced certificate when completing more courses.
Contact the program office at (773) 702-1682 or send questions about the program to [email protected].
Regulatory Writing Certificate Program, University of
the Sciences in Philadelphia (12 credits). Designed for
those with advanced degrees, this certificate can be obtained
in as little as four months. For details contact the director
of the Biomedical Writing Program, Danny A. Benau at
What About Online Courses?
Medical Writing Training.com offers accesible online courses on Consumer Health Writing, Regulatory Writing, and
more. Also, USP lets you complete the Master of Science or
Certificate of Biomedical Writing completely online. Read
the experience of an online student in the MS program on
my blog.
Self-Study and Writing Conferences
As an alternative (or complement) to formal medical writing training you can sharpen your skills by regularly reading
medical and pharmaceutical journals, textbooks, or primers
on statistics, and studying medical terminology. Start building a special library with medical dictionaries, books on writing, and style guides (see Recommended Resources).
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You may also try the AMWA Self-Study Workshops:
• Basic Grammar and Usage
• Punctuation for Clarity and Style
• Sentence Structure and Patterns
According to AMWA, “each self-study module includes
a workbook with examples and exercises, as well as a CDROM featuring an interactive PDF of the workbook. Selfstudy workshops can be used to acquire credit in AMWA’s
core certificate program (2 credits for , 1 for Punctuation,
and 1 for Sentence Structure).”
Finally, get connected with other medical writers through
a professional organization such as AMWA or the Council
of Science Editors (CSE).
Medical writer Lanie Adamson says she discovered the
American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) at the
University of Leiden Medical School Library in 1986. “I was
doing some research for whatever interested me at the time.
I turned the page of the journal and saw an ad for the 1986
conference of the American Medical Writers Association.
Be still my heart! I loved to write and was very interested in
medicine. I had no idea that medical writing existed.”
Almost all medical writers agree that organizations like
AMWA were essential at the beginning of their careers.
“I joined AMWA and went to my first meeting in 1986,”
Adamson says. “It was held at the Los Angeles Press Club
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and I was unnerved about attending a meeting of medical
writers when I wasn’t one. The warm reception and encouragement started me on my way. This was an important step
toward becoming a medical writer.”
The encouragement received and contacts you make at
medical writing meetings may be just what you need to break
into medical writing (see Appendix A for a list of professional
organizations for medical writers and editors).
“Taking some of the AMWA courses will connect you
with people who hire medical writers,” Adamson says. “The
people who teach are often the people who hire.”
Successful medical writers often had a mentor—either
a professor or a supervisor—who helped them launch their
careers as they entered the field.
“It was my interest in medicine that made me get involved
in ophthalmology and I had a mentor who taught me where
to go,” Adamson says.
This was true in my case too. During graduate school,
my mentor, Barbara Gastel, taught me how to write better.
After graduation, I went to work for a scientist who taught
me most of what I know about vaccines and infectious diseases.
Never underestimate the impact a mentor can have on
your career—it can make all the difference in the world.
Now let’s talk about money.
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“In a bout of frustrating job hunting in Boulder, Colorado, I
thought—why look for the same type of consumer research
job in the sciences that you’ve had? Why not take a hike in
these Colorado hills? On my walk down the mountain, an
idea—technical writer—came to me.
“Although I didn’t know what a technical writer was, the
day I returned to Cincinnati I met with a professor in the
English department to explain my vision on the mountain
and ask for advice. Explaining that my background was
science, I asked if a writing certificate would be helpful.
Instead that day I began my graduate studies in a master’s
program in professional writing where I focused on medicine and science.
“On completing my graduate studies, I was panicking, not
knowing what to do or where I would find a job. Rather than
write my resume, I sat down to meditate for direction. On
finishing my meditation, I opened the newspaper, read the
first ad, and found my next job, medical editor in a neuroscience group. This has been a blessed path for me.”
Mary Kemper
Medical Editor, Mayfield Clinic & Spine Institute
CHAPTER 3
How Much Can I Earn as a
Medical Writer?
In medical writing, there is no danger in being too precise—only in being
imprecise.
Edith Schwager, in Medical English Usage and Abusage
A
2005 CNN Money article qualified medical writing
as an “interesting six-figure job.” According to the re-
port, “medical writers in the pharmaceutical industry may
start out making $75,000 a year, but can top $100,000 after
three or four years ... Once you reach the managerial level,
you might make $120,000 or more.”
But this is true not only for writers working at pharmaceutical companies.
The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA)
periodically surveys its members about their salaries. The
2007 survey showed that for freelance writers the mean gross
income was $119,295. Not bad for a freelancer working from
home with his or her own schedule!
If you like to write and have medical knowledge—or at
least the willingness to obtain it—there is a place for you
among the medical writers’ community.
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Consider this statement by the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics:
“Demand for technical writers and writers with expertise
in areas such as law, medicine, or economics is expected
to increase because of the continuing expansion of
scientific and technical information and the need to
communicate it to others. Legal, scientific, and technological developments and discoveries generate demand
for people to interpret technical information for a more
general audience.” [Emphasis added]
—Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition,
Writers and Editors.
That means that job opportunities for medical writers
will keep increasing!
The AMWA salary survey found that several factors impact the income of a medical writer, including level of education, years of experience, type of company, and being a
male or a female (see figure on the next page).
If you take medical writing seriously and work your way
up, you could earn a six-figure income—many are right now!
Keep reading and you’ll learn how.
Note: Learn more about the 2007 AMWA Salary Survey on
my blog. Or, if you are an AMWA member, check the slides
of the survey in the members area (amwa.org).
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Figure 1. Predictive algorithm based on a regression module.
This formula can be used to estimate salary for a full-time
employee at a company or organization. Begin at the top of
the algorithm with a salary of $19,768, which represents the
salary for a medical writer or editor who is 21 years old, has
1 year of experience, and has an associate’s degree or less.
Add the indicated amounts according to type of employer,
experience, educational degree, and sex.
Source: FINDINGS FROM THE 2004 AMWA SURVEY By Tinker
Gray and Cindy Hamilton. AMWA Journal 2004; 19(4):148.
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Do you live in Canada? The AMWA-Canada Rate and
Salary Survey 2005 is just for you. Canadian AMWA members felt the results of the US AMWA Salary survey did not
reflect the Canadian market, so they did their own.
Although participation in the survey was low, the results
may be useful to Canadian medical writers (rates are given
in Canadian dollars).
“The mean gross annual income of freelances was $72,467
(range, $25,000 to $165,000), whereas the mean gross
annual income of employed respondents was $68,156
(range, $45,000 to $96,000). When the number of hours
worked per week was taken into account, the standardized hourly rate of freelances was $54.91 (range, $19 to
$138). However, when the hourly rate was calculated to
include nonbillable hours, the effective freelance hourly
rate was $42.08 (range, $14 to $122). The standardized
hourly rate of employed biomedical communicators was
$34.25 (range, $19 to $53).” (AMWA JOURNAL . VOL.
22, NO. 4, page 181, 2007)
The survey also provides rates for specific freelance jobs
and products (information not included in the US survey).
AMWA members can access the article summarizing the
results at amwa.org.
CHAPTER 4
Should I Work for
a Company or be a
Freelancer?
I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork.
Peter De Vries
M
any employed writers dream about the freelance
life—skipping the commute to the office, wearing
pajamas all day (or nothing at all), being their own boss,
and working their own hours.
Many freelance writers long for the corporate life—a
steady income, paid vacations and sick days, health insurance, retirement plans, company parties, and talkative coworkers.
Many other writers, however, are happy with their work
lifestyle, be it employee or freelancer. What about you? What
path should you take?
It all may come down to your personality. Read the following statements and see which category best describes
you.
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I can be a freelance medical writer because:
• I have the experience and contacts to attract clients
• I can tolerate risk
• I know what it costs to run my own business
• I have administrative skills (or my spouse does!)
• I know how to market myself and my services
• I don’t have major financial needs
• I have savings or passive income that will support me
for at least six months
Or, I’d rather work for a company because:
• I prefer the financial security of a paycheck
• I cannot tolerate much risk (for example, I am in
debt)
• I like to be around people
• I want to stay and grow in one company, eventually ascending to management
• I need sponsored health insurance and other benefits
If the descriptions above did not help much, perhaps the
following illustration will. In the first edition (1996) of his
book Careers for Writers, Robert W. Bly tells this story:
“When I went freelance in February, 1982, I had
very little money, but also very few expenses or responsibilities: I lived in a one-room apartment, didn’t have
a family to support, and didn’t own a car. I was only
twenty-four years old, with no one dependent on me.”
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By 1996, Bly had a wife, two young children, a house
mortgage, two cars, and had to save for retirement and college for his children. “I often wonder if I would make the leap
from corporate employment to freelance employment today
as readily and easily as I did in 1982,” Bly wrote. “I think I
would not: I am not a risk taker, and I would be afraid of
losing the security and income of a corporate job.”
Perhaps you have some of the things needed to be a freelance medical writer but lack others. Well, don’t worry. If
you desire a freelance career, set that as your goal.
Many medical writers work at a company for several years
before jumping into freelancing. Those years in the corporate
world confer them credibility, experience, and contacts.
“You need to work inside industry for a while before you
go out on your own,” says Lanie Adamson, who worked at a
pharmaceutical company for 14 years and is now a freelance
writer. “You have to get to know what the companies need
and what the products are like. Inside a company you get
to know how a product comes through research and development and then how it is marketed. Then [as a freelancer]
you can serve those companies.”
CHAPTER 5
Should I Focus on
Clinical or Consumer
Health Writing?
The cardinal sin in medical writing is not grammatical error but
obscurity.
Stanley Gilder
I
’ve always found clinical writing a bit boring. Of course,
my fellow clinical writers will disagree with me. They say
that consumer health writing is too light.
It’s all a matter of personal interest and, in part, background. I prefer writing for a lay audience because of my
journalism background and because of the challenge of
translating technical concepts into simpler language.
But clinical writer Sherri Bowen thinks differently. “I love
being a good regulatory writer, following prescribed agency
guidelines and formulas, without the agony of writing fiction
or spin,” she says. “Over the years, I have developed a great
deal of skill in interpreting clinical data and the ability to
write about it clearly and concisely. In my own small way, I
know I am helping people by bringing important drugs to
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the market. I have learned so much about so many different
topics in science and medicine—really fascinating!”
While clinical writing is detailed and complex, consumer health writing is lively and sometimes sketchy. The
backbone of clinical writing is data; the center of consumer
health writing is story.
Despite the differences, you can find clinical writers who
tell fascinating stories of drug development in their clinical
reports, and consumer health writers who delve into hard
science in their articles.
No matter what path you take, or who you write for, a
passion for medicine and writing is indispensable. Freelance
medical writer Cindy W. Hamilton says she loves the level of
intellectual challenge her job provides. “I love to work with
people who are very excited about their research, passionate
about the science. Let’s face it, if people want to write about
something is because it’s new and exciting and that really
adds to my day-to-day job—to know I’m going to make a
difference.”
Further in this book I describe clinical and consumer
health writing in more detail and offer some tips on how to
break into them.
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“Few writers could equal the feat of Watson and Crick,
who described the double helix (the molecular structure of
nucleic acids) in 900 words, one table, and six references.
Arthur Kornberg reported on the enzymatic synthesis of
DNA in 430 words. Cournand and Ranges reported on the
first catheterization of the human heart in 950 words. Fritz
A. Lipmann described coenzyme A in 250 words, one table,
and five references.”
Edith Schwager, in Medical English Usage and Abusage
Writing for the
Pharmaceutical
Industry
CHAPTER 6
An Overview of the
Industry
M
ost medical writers work for or contract their services to the pharmaceutical industry. This section
describes the types of writing you would likely do for pharmaceutical and similar companies.
Each type of writing requires a special set of skills and
background. For example, post-docs who have a passion for
writing are very desirable in medical writing because they
understand the science and probably have already published
in medical journals.
Let’s start with some definitions to better understand the
pharmaceutical industry.
Pharmaceutical companies research, develop, market,
and/or distribute drugs. Some of the major pharmaceutical companies (a.k.a. Big Pharma) in the world are Pfizer,
Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, and Sanofi Aventis
(see a larger list here).
Biotechnology companies may also produce drugs but
use derivatives of biological systems or living organisms.
The leading biotech companies are Genentech, Amgen, and
Genzyme (see a larger list here).
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Contract Research Organizations (CRO) are independent contractors that offer their services to pharmaceutical
companies—the services include product development and
formulation, clinical trial management, data management,
preparation of regulatory documents, and more (see a list
of CROs here).
Medical Device Companies develop instruments or
machines intended to diagnose disease or other conditions,
or cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent a disease. Examples of devices include cardiac implants, infusion pumps, and elastic
bandages. Top medical device companies include Boston
Scientific and GE Healthcare . For more information about
the medical device industry visit the Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry Web site.
Medical Communications Agencies provide marketing
and public relations support to pharmaceutical and medical
device companies, targeting both health care professionals
and consumers. Some medical communications agencies are
Pascale Communications, Rete Biomedica, and Complete
Healthcare Communications Inc.
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Companies in ‘FORTUNE’S 100 Best companies
to work for’ (2007) that hire medical writers.
Ranking
Company
Industry
Headquarters
2
Genentech
Biotechnology
San Francisco
9
Methodist Hospital System
Health care
Houston
21
Griffin Hospital
Health care
Derby (CT)
23
Vision Service Plan
Health plans
Rancho Cordova (CA)
35
Children’s Healthcare of
Atlanta
Health care
Atlanta
37
Northwest Community Hosp.
Health care
Arlington Heights ( IL)
40
Amgen
Biotechnology
Thousand Oaks (CA)
43
Genzyme
Biotechnology
Framingham (MA)
52
OhioHealth
Health care
Columbus
54
Baptist Health Care
Health care
Pensacola (FL)
62
Mayo Clinic
Health care
Rochester (MN)
65
Alcon Laboratories
Pharmaceuticals
Fort Worth (TX)
71
AstraZeneca
Pharmaceuticals
Wilmington (DE)
72
Medtronic
Medical devices
Minneapolis (MN)
80
Lehigh Valley Hospital
Health care
Allentown (PA)
CHAPTER 7
Regulatory Writing
Preferred background: Pharmacy, medicine, science; also English
T
he Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates
the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. The
FDA has five centers, which are responsible for prescription and over-the-counter drugs, medical and radiological
devices, food and cosmetics, biological products, and veterinary drugs.
The FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
(CDER) evaluates the safety and efficacy of new drugs before
they go on the market. But CDER does not conduct testing
of drugs—that is the responsibility of the pharmaceutical
company which develops the product. The company tests the
drug in animals and humans and then submits documents
with evidence of its safety and effectiveness.
Scientists at the FDA then review the documents submitted.
As a regulatory writer, possible documents you would
write include clinical study reports, investigator brochures
(manuals on conducting a clinical trial), and regulatory
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39
submissions (INDs, NDAs, CTDs, MAAs). These are defined below.
• Investigational New Drug Application (IND)—the
company requests permission to test a drug in humans.
The IND includes scientific information about the chemical composition of the drug, an overview of previous
animal studies, and whether the drug has been used in
humans overseas. If the drug has been tested overseas, a
complete summary of all efficacy and safety information
to date also needs to be submitted.
• New Drug Application (NDA)—the company has
completed its research in humans and now submits the
results in the NDA. This comprehensive document contains data on the effectiveness and safety of the drug obtained during preclinical and clinical trials.
• Common Technical Document (CTD)— in the early
1990s, regulatory authorities and experts from the pharmaceutical industry from Europe, Japan, and the United
States created the International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of
Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). The ICH seeks
to harmonize the interpretation and application of technical guidelines and requirements for product registration to avoid the duplication during the development of
drugs in every region. As a result of this harmonization
40
came the CTD, which includes information on how the
product is administered and prescribed and other documentation on the drug’s quality, safety, and efficacy. The
CTD was designed for use in Europe, Japan, and the
United States. For more details about the CTD visit the
ICH Web site.
• Marketing Authorization Application (MAA)—the
company submits an application requesting marketing
authorization of the drug in the European Community,
which includes chemical and clinical data on the drug.
For more information, I suggest you read the article The
FDA’s Drug Review Process: Ensuring Drugs Are Safe and
Effective.
While CDER regulates drugs, medical devices are the
responsibility of another FDA center. The FDA’s Center for
Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) regulates companies that manufacture, repackage, relabel, and/or import
medical devices sold in the United States—in addition to
radiation-emitting electronic products such as lasers, x-ray
systems, and ultrasound equipment. A good overview of the
regulatory requirements for medical devices is available at
the FDA’s site.
A third FDA center you may write documents for is the
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), which
is responsible for blood products, vaccines, human tissue,
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allergenic materials and antitoxins, and biotechnology products. For instance, once an IND for a vaccine is approved, a
company will submit a Biologics License Application (BLA)
to CBER. For more information visit this site.
As a regulatory writer you should have good knowledge
of clinical study design and conduct; how to write protocols and how to read and interpret clinical data (summary
tables and listings). You should also be aware of case report
form design, good clinical practice (GCP) regulations and
regulatory document guidelines such as the ICH.
The Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS) offers online courses and books on regulatory issues, although
they tend to be expensive. AMWA and DIA also offer workshops targeted to regulatory writers.
Because of the complexity and technical details of regulatory documents, companies prefer to hire writers with a
medical background.
“Our experience is that you need to be a good scientist
first, preferably with a degree in the health sciences (pharmacist, pharmacologist, nurse) and then hopefully have a talent
for writing,” says Larry Liberti, an experienced regulatory
writer who now works for Thomson Scientific. “The latter
can be developed but it is rare to be able to train someone
in the health sciences on the job.”
42
According to Liberti, in a support services company such
as Thomson Scientific, salaries are based on degree and years
of experience and “range from $60,000 for a starter to $95,000
for a senior writer (no management responsibilities).”
Charlene Tucker, Sr. Director of Regulatory Medical
Writing at Cephalon, Inc. says that the best place to start
for someone with little writing or pharmaceutical experience
is with a Contract Research Organization (CRO). “CROs,
if they offer a medical writing function, are often hired by
pharmaceutical companies to write individual patient narratives needed for clinical study reports. This is perfect job
for a “junior” writer.”
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“I’ve worked as a nurse (15 years), clinical research coordinator (5 years), consultant, writing SOPs for Pharma companies (2 years), then medical writing (7 years and counting). The latter is the best job I’ve ever had, as it draws on
so many different parts of me. I was in the right place at the
right time at so many points in my life. I could chalk it up
to luck, but I also remind myself of Pasteur’s observation:
“Chance favors the prepared mind.” If you are considering
a career in medical writing, don’t be afraid to take a risk.
Try it, you might like it!”
Becky Hansen
Regulatory writer, MGI PHARMA
CHAPTER 8
Medical Marketing
Communications
Preferred background: English, Journalism, Public Relations
M
edical companies and organizations must promote
their products and services to reach the public.
As a medical marketing writer in a drug company you
would write copy for ads that promote drugs in easy-to-understand language for the consumers—indications for use,
pros and cons, side effects, and interactions. You would also
develop educational material for health care professionals
about the same drugs but in more technical terms—efficacy,
side effects, and other considerations.
In a different setting, let’s say working at a hospital, you
would write informational articles about diseases/conditions
to be published in newsletters, Web sites, magazine articles,
brochures, CD-ROMs, manuals, and direct mail. Besides
hospitals, other organizations that require marketing medical writing services are:
• Associations
• Clinical practices
• Foundations
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45
• Medical publishers
• Medical schools
• Patient advocacy groups
• Government (all levels)
A third source of medical marketing communications is,
of course, a medical communications agency. As mentioned
before, medical communications agencies provide marketing services to pharmaceutical companies.
According to Erin Caffrey, director at Pascale Communications, these medical communications agencies:
• Run programs to educate medical professionals about
procedures and treatments
• Ghostwrite manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed
journals
• Develop and pitch compelling stories to trade publications to address key messages
• Plan and develop the agenda for advisory board meetings
• Develop content for presentations by physicians
• Write abstracts for submission to major medical meetings
As a medical writer in a medical communications agency,
you would ghostwrite materials for clients—that is, they will
be identified as the authors, not you. These materials include
abstracts, manuscripts, slides, or trade journal articles.
46
Caffrey says that Pascale posts positions for new account
executives (medical writers, for example) as they garner new
clients. “The skills we often seek are established project
management, writing and interview abilities, and a desire
to work in a technical field,” Caffrey says. “Public relations
or journalism/writing experience is greatly desired. It is not
common to find a candidate who already has the technological background. As such, we feel that the ability to manage
accounts, interview, and write will provide the foundation
on which to build the technical expertise. Generally, we’ve
seen our employees gather this technical prowess within 2-4
months of starting here.”
Medical writer Lori de Milto says that if you want to
break into marketing medical writing you should do “anything” to get good writing samples. For example, writing a
newsletter for a volunteer group or writing a health article
for a small, local newspaper. “Stay focused and actively look
for opportunities. Marketing medical writing is a terrific
field with many opportunities, but it takes time for each
writer to find the right path (work he/she likes and is good
at),” de Milto says.
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“I graduated from college with a degree in English and intentions to do some sort of writing, but really had no idea
what direction I would go. I took a job at a nonprofit and
put together their newsletter, but wanted more. Finally, in
2002, I applied for a job as a medical/business writer for a
small communications company based in Phoenix, where I
was living. I submitted samples from my newsletter writing,
as well as clippings from my college newspaper, where I was
Editor-in-Chief. They must have seen something good in my
resume and I took a writing test. This was probably the hardest thing I ever did! I had no clue! But, as I have learned, if
you are a good enough writer, you can write on just about
any topic. I’ve been at my job for more than four years and
love medical writing! I am even on my way to becoming a
certified medical writer through AMWA!”
Patrice La Vigne
Medical Writer, VerusMed
CHAPTER 9
Medical Education
Preferred background: Science, medicine
M
any states require physicians to earn educational
credits every year to maintain their professional li-
cense. These credits are earned through continuing medical
education (CME) courses.
Writing the content of CME courses for health care
professionals is a lucrative opportunity for medical writers.
The purpose of CME courses or materials is to update the
medical community with the latest information on medical
treatment, patient care, and other topics. CME content is
delivered in many different formats, from self-study guides
and monographs about a particular disease to multimedia
presentations and educational videos.
Medical education is also directed to patients, who need
accurate and reliable information to make decisions about
their health. As a writer in this field, you would write patient education materials such as brochures explaining how
to take a medication or how to cope with a disease, Web site
articles, and video scripts.
Some medical communications agencies specialize in
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49
producing CME and patient education materials and they
usually have medical writers on staff. You may also do this
kind of writing at universities or medical schools, which often have a CME office.
In an interview for the AMWA Journal (Vol. 21, No. 4,
2006), Eve Wilson, Director of Continuing Medical Education at INNOVIA Education Institute said that the best
medical writers in her CME group are those who love to learn
and are eternally curious about medicine and science.
What qualifications and skills does she look for in new
CME writers?
“I weigh the quality of writing samples and/or writing
tests very heavily—in my opinion, medical writing should
be precise, succinct, clear, as free of jargon as possible, and
accurate,” Wilson says.
“In the CME world, we also tend to look for expertise
in specific therapeutic areas (say cardiology or neurology)
that fit the areas we do our work in. Experience in multiple
therapeutic areas is always a plus. Experience in CME per se
is not necessarily critical, but experience in education would
be a real asset.”
CHAPTER 10
Technical
Documentation
Preferred background: English, Technical Communication
M
edical devices come along with instructions on how
to use them; medical diagnostic equipment includes
user guides and reference manuals. These documents are
called technical documentation.
As a medical technical writer you would write manuals
for medical equipment, software, and services using the information provided by the engineers, programmers, or other
experts who developed them.
What makes a good technical writer?
• A good technical writer “translates” the specialized language of the engineers and programmers into a language
that nonspecialists can understand.
• A good technical writer understands the needs and background of his or her readers.
• A good technical writer not only focuses on language
but also on the format, design, and order of the information conveyed.
Technical writer ranked 13 out of 50 in the 2007 Best Jobs
50
51
in America list by Money magazine. According to Money
magazine the average pay for a technical writer is $57,841,
but the top potential compensation is $95,538 (5% of technical writers make more than this).
If you are interested in this field, you should join the Society for Technical Communication (www.stc.org). STC’s
Web site offers valuable resources, including a job database,
a membership directory, conference proceedings, specialized
publications, and a salary survey.
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“I went straight through college and grad school, earned
a Ph.D. in zoology at Indiana University, and worked as
a postdoc there doing research in neurocytology. My husband was active in Toastmasters, and at speech contests I
met people who worked at the Johnson Space Center (JSC)
in Houston. They told me who to talk to about a job in
life sciences at JSC. After finding out which sciences were
represented at JSC, I didn’t think a neurocytologist would
be very employable there, so I decided to look for a job as a
technical writer. I had written numerous research proposals,
abstracts, and articles, and when I found out about AMWA
I joined it. I was hired by a NASA contractor, Northrop
Services, in the summer of 1982. In 1987, another contract
was consolidated with Northrop’s and the other contractor
won it. I have worked for that company, now Wyle Laboratories, for 20 years. My job has included writing articles
and presentations for scientists and the public, working on a
database of flight experiments, and now full-time technical
(and non-technical) editing. I have never looked back, but
the best part is that when I was in high school I wanted to
be a “space scientist” and work in a government laboratory.
I achieved that dream almost accidentally!”
Jane Krauhs, PhD, ELS
Senior Scientist, Wyle Laboratories
CHAPTER 11
Getting the Job:
Recruiters, Resumes,
and Interviews
O
ne of the best ways to land a job at pharmaceutical,
biotechnology, or medical device companies is to sub-
mit your resume to a personnel recruiter such as Placemart
Personnel Service (www.placemart.com). Placemart matches people and organizations by identifying, recruiting, and
placing candidates in several areas, including medical regulatory writing.
According to Bill Kuhl, Principal Recruiter for Placemart,
there are many advantages to using a recruiter:
• The recruiter will strive for a fair compensation, reconciling the company’s budget with the candidate’s salary
expectations.
• The recruiter is in direct communication with the hiring manager and key decision makers.
• The recruiter generally has knowledge of internal information not included in the published job description.
• The recruiter can provide guidance through the extensive sequence of steps in the hiring process.
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Recruiters that serve medical writers
• Aerotek Scientific
• The Bandish Group
• Bioforce Solutions
• The Cambridge Group
• Chiltern Integrated Resourcing Solutions
• ClinForce
• Kforce Professional Staffing
• Medical Staffing Network
• Metropolitan Research Associates
• Pharmaceutical Careers
• SRG Woolf Group
Before submitting your resume to a recruiter, be sure it
is right on target. What do companies look for in your resume?
Managers and human resources people believe that what
happened in your past is predictive of what will happen when
they hire you. That is why your resume must show that you
have been successful at writing something—papers, newsletters, abstracts, reports. Published articles will certainly
grab their attention.
Remember that you are applying for a medical writing
job, so present yourself as a scientist writer, not just as a sci-
55
entist. Otherwise they may offer you a position you are not
interested in.
Below are some tips for a great resume.
1. Demonstrate your writing experience including full and
correct citations—complete citations will suggest that you
are detail-oriented, which is a necessary quality in medical writers. Include also information about any training
in writing such as certificates, courses, or degrees.
2. Demonstrate your medical education and/or experience
including details about your therapeutic areas.
3. Make sure that your spelling and presentation are perfect—they say a lot about you.
4. Show your progression from education to professional
experience with no gaps—include the month and year
for everything you did (beginning and end).
As a plus to the information above, you can make your
resume even better if you can demonstrate that you have:
• An understanding of the clinical research process and
domestic and international regulatory requirements
• Knowledge of medical style guides and writing templates
• Project management skills
What if you don’t have much work experience? Perhaps
you just graduated from college and are applying for an entry-level position as a medical copywriter. Or perhaps this is
56
your first job after graduate school. If that is your case, you
can compensate for the lack of professional experience by
listing in your resume all courses relevant to the work you
would perform at the company—and list any papers and
presentations as well.
In some cases, the company you are applying to (or the
recruiter) may give you a writing/editing test. For example,
they would ask you to write the synopses of several scientific
articles or to edit a manuscript. However, if you have good
writing skills, you should not worry about these tests—you
will probably pass them easily. Instead, focus on performing
well during the interview.
Being called for a face-to-face interview means that the
hiring person thinks that you probably have what it takes to
do the job. Now, he or she will evaluate whether your personality and behavior fit with the culture of the company.
Some tips to remember:
• Do your homework before the interview—know the
company
• Go in with a positive and cheerful attitude
• Always maintain eye contact with your interviewer
• Answer every question directly and with honesty
• Turn off your cell phone!
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The etiquette and advice for any job interview also apply
for medical writing jobs. Get more interview tips at Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com.
Consumer Health
Writing
CHAPTER 12
Writing for Consumer
Health Magazines and
Web Sites
H
ealth stories make the covers of magazines and newspapers almost every day. From the latest weight loss
method to a potential cancer cure, editors are actively seeking story ideas.
Freelance medical writers who write health articles for
consumer magazines can get as little as $50 for short pieces and as much as $5,000 for feature articles in top magazines.
Magazine writing is an art in itself and there are entire
books solely on this topic, like the Writer’s Digest Handbook of
Magazine Article Writing, edited by Michelle Ruberg. Here’s
some useful advice from that book:
“... health magazines are extremely niche-oriented, so
freelancers must be savvy to each publication’s distinctive slant when pitching article ideas. For example,
Health ‘is very much about a healthy lifestyle,’ whereas
Let’s Live is ‘all about nutrition,’ and Men’s Health is
definitely a guy thing.”
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The Handbook of Magazine Article Writing includes tips
on how to write query letters (or emails), how to send your
manuscripts, and much more. Remember to always follow
the publication’s guidelines for contributing authors. Ignoring those simple rules can put your great story idea in the
rejection pile.
Keep in mind, though, that some health magazines receive
dozens of queries every day and most of them are rejected.
So be prepared for rejections and keep on querying—the
more you query, the greater chance you’ll be published.
Web sites that specialize in health topics tend to follow
similar guidelines to print magazines when it comes to story
ideas. But writing for the Web is certainly different.
“It’s easy to just write and write, with no particular reader
in mind,” write the authors of The Web Content Style Guide.
“The problem with this sort of writing is that nobody reads
it. Always keep the reader in mind when writing. Think of
them as busy, impatient people who are on the Web to find
out something.”
When writing for the Web try to make your text clear
and concise; use highlighted key words and bulleted lists;
and be objective with credible links. Also, ask this about
your writing:
• Is this clear?
• Is there a simpler way to say this?
61
• Is there a shorter way to say this?
• Is this necessary?
We asked ourselves these questions when developing the
‘Immunization Science’ section for the Web site of the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii). ‘Immunization Science’ includes synopses of the latest articles
on vaccines and immunizations in the scientific literature.
Because we wanted this information to be accessible not
only by health professionals but also by parents, we created
a special template (click here to see an example), breaking
down the information into distinctive headings:
• The article—full citation of the article and a link to the
original abstract or full text
• The question—what the researchers wanted to find
• The study—description of the methods of the study
• The findings—the results; the answer to the question
• The relevance/bottom line—the conclusion of the article
• NNii’s comment—an editorial comment on the strengths
and limitations of the study</list>
As you can see, format is very important when writing for
the Web. A ‘Questions and Answers’ format is also a very effective method. For instance, for the NNii site we developed
a successful section for parents where we address common
concerns about vaccines, using questions and answers.
62
One of the world’s authorities in Web usability is Jakob
Nielsen. His site has a great section about writing for the
Web.
CHAPTER 13
Breaking into Consumer
Health Writing
N
ow that you have an idea of how magazine and Web
articles are written, let’s look at four simple ways to
break into the consumer health market.
1. Write a story based on a medical
journal article
Most medical journals offer journalists and freelance writers the chance to see embargoed copies of their articles a
week before publication. You can obtain these copies (and
the journal’s advance table of contents) by subscribing to the
journal’s ‘media alerts.’ These media alerts usually include
the names and contact information of the articles’ main authors for interviews.
Knowing in advance what is going to be published gives
you the opportunity to pitch stories to editors even before
they hear about the studies. There are hundreds of journals
out there, but be sure to subscribe to the alerts for the top
publications such as the New England Journal of Medicine
(NEJM) and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
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64
You may decide to specialize in an area that interests you
or that is familiar. In that case, monitor the journals covering that area. Because I specialize in vaccines and infectious diseases I subscribe to the alerts of Pediatrics, Pediatric
Infectious Diseases, Vaccine, Clinical Infectious Diseases, and
other related journals.
Journal subscriptions can be expensive. That is why you
must take advantage of the free online access given to media
subscribers. Note, however, that not all journals offer free
access to their articles and others will only allow you to see
the current issue, not the archives. One way around this is
to find a medical library near you that either has a print or
an electronic subscription to the journal you need.
Before these media alerts became available, medical journalists spent considerable time scanning dozens of journals
to find newsworthy articles. Now, journal media offices (or
editors) select the articles they think are newsworthy in each
issue and feature them in the media alerts. This certainly
makes your job easier.
Stories based on journal articles will most likely interest
publications that carry health and medicine news. Write
them in journalistic style, using the inverted pyramid—that
is, describe the most important facts first and then offer details. Start off with a clever lead that hooks your readers and
invites them to keep reading.
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I have included an example of a story I wrote based on an
article published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
I decided to write the story because the topic of smoking cessation is of general public interest. The story was published
online at AssociatedContent.com—a good site to get publishing samples (and get paid), if you are just starting out.
Newly Approved Drug to Quit Smoking Appears Effective: Study Shows Short Term and Long
Term Efficacy of Varenicline
By Diego Pineda
Are you trying to quit smoking? Then you’ll do better taking these
new pills than chewing nicotine gum or wearing a skin patch. According to a study published in the August 14/28 issue of the Archives
of Internal Medicine, the recently approved (May, 2006) drug varenicline tartrate is more effective than other treatments in helping smokers kick the habit.
Current smoking cessation aids—as these drugs are known—fall in
one of two categories: nicotine replacement therapies (NRT), such
as chewing gum, skin patches, tablets, nasal sprays and inhalers; and
non-NRT medications, such as the antidepressant drugs bupropion
and nortriptyline.
Scientists have tried to develop new smoking cessation aids for two
main reasons. One, NRTs carry some known health risks. For example,
nicotine patches can have toxic effects if used while still smoking. Two,
66
bupropion and nortriptyline are not highly effective—on average, only
between 7 and 30% of users are still not smoking after a year.
The new drug, varenicline, is a non-NRT that simulates the effect
of nicotine in the brain without creating addiction. When nicotine
is present, the drug helps suppress some of the reinforcing effects of
smoking.
In the Archives study, researchers selected 638 healthy adults between
18 and 65 years of age who smoked at least 10 cigarettes per day. They
were randomly assigned to one of three different treatment groups:
varenicline, bupropion or placebo (usually an inert substance such as
a sugar pill). The varenicline group was further divided into one of
three dose regimens (0.3 mg once daily, 1.0 mg once daily, or 1.0 mg
twice daily).
The study participants were treated for seven weeks and were then
asked to participate in follow-up counseling (to prevent relapsing into
smoking) for up to a year after the beginning of the treatment.
The study found that more people taking varenicline (48%) quit smoking than those treated with bupropion (33%) and placebo (17%). The
higher the dose of varenicline, the more effective it was.
“In this study,” the authors wrote, “varenicline tartrate, 1 milligram
twice daily, effectively helped subjects quit smoking, with response
rates three times higher than those for placebo while demonstrating
a good tolerability profile in this population of smokers who on average had smoked approximately 20 cigarettes per day for approximately 24 years.”
67
This is good news for those looking for alternatives to help them kick
the smoking habit. Be cautioned, however, that Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer of varenicline, funded the study; independent researchers
must confirm these positive results. Varenicline is marketed under the
brand name Chantix and requires a doctor’s prescription.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the approved
course of Chantix treatment is 12 weeks. Those who successfully quit
smoking during treatment can use it for another 12 weeks to further
increase their chances of staying away from the cigarette pack. Side
effects include nausea, headache, vomiting, gas, insomnia, abnormal
dreams, and change in taste perception.
Stories such as the above easily fit in a newspaper or news
site, but not so much in a magazine, where you have to query
several months in advance. The study, however, may serve
as background information for a feature magazine article
about smoking cessation aids.
2. Cover a medical conference
Many health publications or medical organizations rely on
freelancers to cover conferences or specific sessions.
I was still in graduate school when I covered my first scientific conference for a magazine. The editor wanted me to
write up summaries of a few sessions about scientific publishing, which were of interest to the readers of the magazine.
68
Since the program included many other topics, I attended
other sessions in search of story ideas. From one of these
sessions, for example, I wrote an article about the genetics
of obesity for a science Web site.
Look for medical conferences being held in your area
and pitch editors about covering the event for their publications. But before you send out your queries, make sure
that you are knowledgeable on the topic (perhaps you’ll find
one that suits your background) and whether the sessions
are geared toward a specialized or a mixed audience. If you
are not an expert on breast cancer, for example, you’ll benefit more from a session for the general public than one for
breast cancer researchers—otherwise the whole talk will be
over your head.
In any case, remember to do your homework—read as
much as you can about the topic and make a list of speakers
you would like to interview. If possible, obtain a press pass
from the organizers and schedule interviews in advance.
3. Profile the work of academic
researchers
Universities are gold mines for medical writers, who can dig
out valuable stories from research labs. Some years ago, I noticed that a publication specializing in genomics was looking
for freelance writers. I was no genomics expert, but I was sure
69
I could find one. So I went to the largest university in town
and interviewed a real expert. Turns out that this expert was
doing some breakthrough research in genomics!
On another occasion, I stumbled upon one of the pioneers of modern cloning technology by just asking around
for names of renowned professors at that same university.
The resulting interview profiled a sharp scientist with a fascinating life story.
Building relationships with researchers will reap fruits
when you need background information or a good quote
for a story.
What if you don’t know any experts? Fortunately, there
are resources available. You can call the non-profit Media
Resource Service (www.mediaresource.org) at (800) 2231730 and they will help you locate (at no charge) an expert
to interview for your story.
Another useful source for experts is EurekAlert!’s Science
Sources: A directory of public information officers. Request a
copy of this directory by contacting EurekAlert! (www.eurekalert.org).
4. Write a book review
Book reviews in trade journals and consumer magazines
are usually assigned. However, if you suggest reviewing a
book in an area you are an expert on, editors will usually
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consider your query.
According to Barbara Gastel, book review editors tend to
appreciate when someone offers to review a book. “Calling
their attention to little-publicized but valuable new books
can be especially useful. And anything that helps editors
expand their pools of qualified, willing, reliable reviewers is
likely to be welcome.” (From ‘A strategy for reviewing books
for journals,’ BioScience Vol. 41, No. 9, 1991).
A good book review should describe the book contents
and evaluate its strengths and limitations. Here are some
tips for writing a book review:
• Describe the stated purpose of the book and whether it
was met or not
• Provide information about the context of the book—for
example, is it about a new treatment or does it follow up
on previous works?
• Discuss the qualifications and expertise of the author
• Note any special features of the book such as illustrations, exercises, or glossaries
• Tell who will benefit more from the book—health care
professionals or patients?
How do you find books to review? Go to Amazon.com
and look at the Health and Science sections under ‘New &
Future Releases.’ If you don’t want to buy the book or wait
for the publication to reimburse you, write to the publisher
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(or the author) and ask for a review copy of the book.
The four suggestions in this chapter will help you generate enough writing samples to convince editors to give you
larger—and more lucrative—assignments like feature articles
and nonfiction books.
Other Medical
Writing
Opportunities
CHAPTER 14
Academia, Hospitals,
Nonprofits, and More
W
hat do the American Cancer Society, the Institute
of Medicine, and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention have in common? They all employ medical
writers.
In fact, many organizations outside the media and industry need medical writers to communicate their activities and
interests. Think about your town’s university and its medical
school; or the patient advocacy group based in your city.
For example, the University of Texas Medical Branch at
Galveston, where my organization is based, offers numerous positions for which the skills of medical writers are required:
• Science Writer / Editor
• Publications Production Manager
• Marketing Coordinator
• Outreach Representative
• Internet Communications Coordinator
• Media Relations Coordinator
• Coordinator of Marketing and Communications
• Editor
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• Technical Writer
• Editorial Assistant
• Informational Writer
Because this is a medical school and hospital, people in
these positions write about medicine—annual reports, brochures, grants, magazine articles, manuscripts, newsletters,
press releases, and Web content.
The next chapters will look at two other types of writing you can do as a medical writer: public health and grant
writing.
CHAPTER 15
Public Health and Policy
Writing
P
ublic health is a fascinating but complex field. Just think
about some of the public health challenges in recent
years: the AIDS epidemic, the anthrax attacks, or even the
recent E. coli contamination of spinach that caused deaths
in several states. All these issues create uncertainty and fear
in the public.
As medical writers we must inform and increase awareness of health issues; influence the attitudes of political and
social groups; and even help shape public health policy.
I come across many complex public health issues in my
area of specialization, vaccines and immunization. One recent concern was the controversy surrounding compulsory
vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV)—the
main cause of cervical cancer.
In mid-2006, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended universal immunization of 1112 year-old girls with the HPV vaccine. By February 2007,
more than 20 states had introduced bills to make HPV immunization mandatory for entry to middle school. A controversy erupted.
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While conservative groups opposed the mandates, arguing that the vaccine would encourage promiscuity, some
health experts argued that mandates were premature, the
vaccine being so new.
In light of the public’s ignorance about HPV and the
cultural barriers to immunizing pre-adolescent girls against
a sexually transmitted disease, we decided to write a series
of articles about HPV. This was an important public health
policy issue that needed to be addressed.
Medical writers can write about public health and policy
from various positions—working for a federal agency like
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or
for a nonprofit organization such as Immunizations for Public Health (i4ph).
Understanding the importance of good medical reporting,
the CDC foundation instituted the Knight Public Health
Journalism Boot Camp, a six-day seminar for working journalists interested in the science and issues of public health.
This is a description of the Boot Camp from a promotional
brochure:
“Held on CDC’s campus in Atlanta, scientists discuss
the latest findings on dozens of topics, including bioterrorism, vaccine development, genetic links to disease
and the prevention of chronic illness. Participants gain
skills to help them analyze health risks, evaluate the im-
77
portance of clinical studies, and improve their reporting
on a wide range of public health issues.
“Approximately 15 journalists are selected to participate
each year. Preference will be given to working journalists who have at least five years experience and cover
health, science or the environment for general audiences.
Each journalist will receive an allowance for housing
and food.
“Our programs are ideal for mid-career journalists who
are looking for a way to deepen their understanding of
public health reporting. A number of our participants
are transitioning to medical reporting and seek our programs to give them a solid foundation and immediate
credibility. You’ll find all of the information you need
at: www.cdcfoundation.org/knight.”
Public health and policy writing can be very rewarding.
You could find a cause you are passionate about—AIDS
prevention, health disparities, you name it—and make a
difference through your writing.
CHAPTER 16
Grant Writing and
Editing
R
esearch institutions, universities, and nonprofit organizations need money. Medical writers help them
obtain money by writing or crafting grant proposals that
are submitted to the government (the National Institutes of
Health, for example), private foundations (such as the Robert
Wood Johnson foundation), or other organizations (such as
the American Heart Association).
Depending on the amount of funding requested and
the agency, a grant proposal can be a couple of pages long
or may require 10 pages or more. In a nutshell, a grant proposal must say:
• Who you are
• What you need
• Why you need it
• How much money you need and how and when will
you spend it
• Expectations and evaluation of the project
Learning how to write grants is not difficult. A web search
on “grant writing courses” will prompt more than seven million results. Local colleges, communication companies, and
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large universities among others offer these courses. AMWA
also offers grant writing/editing workshops during its annual conference.
Good grant writing is a craft, often called grantsmanship—the use of strategic elements to write and present a
proposal. Some of these elements are:
• Understanding what the funding organization or agency
is looking for—what are the guidelines?
• Understanding the review process—who are the reviewers and what are their expectations?
• Making the best use of the limited space—what information and facts will make the case better?
Although some medical writers may write grants in their
entirety, a team of scientists, writers, and editors usually
develops grants. Oftentimes, the role of the medical writer is limited to editing and improving what the principal
investigator—who has the knowledge and interest in the
topic—has written.
Karen Klein, Assistant Director of Grant and Publication
Development at Wake Forest University, says that scientists
are sometimes so involved in the details of their work that
it’s hard for them to step back and ask the most important
questions about their grant proposal. That’s where a medical writer can help.
“A lot of it is common sense,” Klein says, “trying to put
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yourself in the shoes of the reviewer reading the grant. What
do I think they would want to take away from the grant if
they are only going to read a few pages? What are the most
important parts of the grant? How can we be convincing
within these limitations?”
According to Klein you should “get your feet wet with
volunteer organizations that have a need for grant writing or
want advice about grants. This would be a good way to learn
what it’s like, to learn how to do it, how the various parts
fit together, and, in some cases, working with the funder to
make the project happen.”
Klein also says that confidence is a very important aspect
of writing grants. “When you are insecure, you tend to focus
on the flaws, but the idea is to focus on the positive. Practice
really helps with that. The more you do it, the easier it is to
put your best foot forward.”
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“When I submitted my first grant for NIH funding to do
research, I asked the chairperson in my department what he
thought about the grant and he looked at me and hesitated
for a moment. Then he said, ‘it’s really well written from an
English standpoint.’ That’s all he said to me. So that’s when
I knew I was probably a better writer than a scientist.
“I really enjoyed writing manuscripts, posters, and slides,
whereas most of my colleagues couldn’t stand to write or do
anything remotely associated with writing. I always found
it fun to figure out how to make science sound better or at
least more understandable.”
Clifford S. Mintz, Ph.D.
Medical writer
Working as
a Freelance
Medical
Writer
CHAPTER 17
The Freelance Path
I
t is said that good marketing is all about building relationships; so it is with freelancing.
Medical writer and editor Jude Richard began freelanc-
ing in 1991 as a sideline to his regular job at MD Anderson
Cancer Center (MDACC) in Houston, Texas.
“I have been very lucky,” Richard says. “Many of my
clients found me either by being referred or approaching
me directly. I have never really scrambled to find clients. At
MDACC, I began a freelance relationship that is now entering its 12th year with a research fellow who was going home
to Europe after a 1-year fellowship and needed someone to
edit his future manuscripts for correct English.”
The relationships Richard built with his clients allowed
him to leave his job and become a full-time freelance writer.
While Richard works mostly with medical manuscripts,
there are many opportunities for freelance medical writers.
You can specialize in one type of writing or you can work
with different types of projects such as:
• Abstracts
• Brochures, flyers
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• Clinical Reports
• Continuing education materials
• Grants
• Medical manuscripts
• Newsletters
• Patient education materials
• Scientific posters
• Web content
Are you ready for business?
You must realize that as a freelance writer you are self-employed. That means you will need to:
• Develop a business plan
• Come up with a name for your company
• Buy office equipment and supplies
• Pay for your health insurance
• Deal with legal and accounting issues related to your
business
• Attend meetings without compensation
• The list goes on...
There are many books on how to set up a freelance business. One of my favorites is Michael Meanwell’s The Wealthy
Writer: How to Earn a Six-Figure Income as a Freelance Writer
(Writer’s Digest Books, 2004).
I think the first thing you need to do is write down your
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target annual income— $30,000, $100,000? Then calculate
your fixed expenses like social security, taxes, insurance,
retirement account, and office supplies. Once this is done,
you must decide how much you will charge your clients in
order to achieve your target income. That is the next chapter’s topic.
86
“I became a medical writer through the scientific path. I
earned my PhD in neuroscience but realized I didn’t want
to work in a lab anymore. But, I loved science. So I wrote
a lot in grad school. I worked as a protocol writer after I
finished grad school. After I had my son, I started my own
company.
“I write all sorts of things—journal publications, clinical
trial protocols and informed consents, patient newsletters,
review articles. I love being involved in science without actually having to do it. I love the flexibility of owning my own
company, especially when I have 2 small children. However,
I am only working part-time now and will do so for the next
few years at least. There are some disadvantages to owning a
company though. You are always responsible for delivering
the product regardless of what is going on in your life.”
Jennifer Newcomb Fernandez, Ph.D.
Newcomb Scientific, LLC
CHAPTER 18
How Much Should I
Charge?
I
n my experience, fees are dependent on the writer’s experience and the client’s budget,” says freelance medical
writer Sherri Bowen. “The market plays a part (academic
markets pay much less than Pharma markets), but how much
a writer needs the work can also play a part.”
Bowen says her usual rate is $95/hour.
So, how much should you charge? Your rates will depend
on several factors:
• The type of client—you can charge higher rates to large
for-profit companies than to a small business or a nonprofit organization. Also, bear in mind that companies
in the East and West coasts are willing to pay more than
companies in the Midwest.
• The type of work—usually you can charge more for
projects that require research and writing than just editing or proofreading. You may also decide to charge higher
rates for more technical and complex projects.
• The duration of the assignment—you can offer discounts for projects that last weeks or months (between 10
and 20 percent of your daily or weekly rate) as opposed
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to short-duration projects.
As Michael Meanwell says in the Wealthy Writer, your
rate will also depend on your speed and skills as a writer:
“A slow writer may have a low hourly rate, which would
appeal to a client until they get the bill. A faster writer
may operate at a premium rate but complete the task in
half the time, making him or her cheaper and quicker,
which is why you need to talk in terms of the bottom
line—the overall cost of the project and the overall benefits to the client.”
Beginner medical writers often have trouble keeping track
of the hours they spend on a project and thus come up with
inaccurate estimates for their clients. Take into account that
you cannot charge for every hour you work in the week because you take time to do other things like checking emails,
paying bills, and so forth. For example, even if you spend
five days on a project, you would not charge the “standard”
forty hours but the actual time you spent on the project.
Jude Richard says he tracks the hours as he uses them. “I
count any hours used actually editing, performing literature
searches, or doing background research.”
You can track your hours using a:
• Notebook
• Excel spreadsheet
• Time tracking software (Google ‘freelance time track-
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ing’ and you’ll find both freeware and shareware/proprietary software)
You can also tally hours on the document you are working on, but remember to delete them before sending the
document back to the client.
Should you charge flat rates? Richard says he rarely does.
“I may charge a flat rate for a cash-strapped author [such as]
a grad student who needs a thesis lightly edited.”
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Typical Freelance Rates (Low-High)
Sources: Writer’s Market 2007 and personal interviews
Medical writing
$30-$180 per hour
Medical editing
$30-$125 per hour
Medical proofreading
$18-$125 per hour
Technical editing
$33-$100 per hour
Technical writing
$30-$125 per hour
Web page writing
$30-$150 per hour
Web page editing
$32-$100 per hour
White papers
$45-$135 per hour
Educational grant and
Proposal writing
$35-$100 per hour
Regulatory writing
$85-$125 per hour
Medical marketing $30-$150 per hour
Manuscript writing for scholarly
journals $40-$125 per hour
Consumer magazine
feature articles
$0.14-$3 per word
Trade journal feature
articles
$0.17-$3 per word
CHAPTER 19
Attracting Clients
T
he secret to freelance success is a steady pool of clients
who will keep you busy—but not swamped. Below are
some tips to promote yourself and fish for some clients.
1. Build a Web site and add a portfolio
with writing samples
I have been designing and developing Web sites since 1998
and can say with absolute certainty that now, more than ever
before, anyone can build his or her own site in a couple of
hours. I am not talking about large-scale, multilevel Web
sites that take months, but what I call “brochure sites.” These
are simple sites with a home page and 2-4 sub pages.
See for example my brochure Web site diegopineda.com.
Because I did not want to spend a lot of time on such a small
site, I used a template from another designer and adapted
the graphics and page names to my needs.
To create your personal brochure site and online portfolio, do the following:
1. Grab pen and paper and draw a site map, using rectangles for each page of your site (you may also use the
organizational chart feature in Power Point) and write
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the names of the pages in the rectangles. This will be
your site’s blueprint.
2. Write the content for each page in a word processor.
3. Collect writing samples and turn them into PDF files.
If you don’t have the full version of Adobe Acrobat, go
to createpdf.adobe.com. There you can create five PDFs
for free, or buy a subscription if you need more.
4. Buy a domain name (either your name or your company’s) and contract hosting. I recommend Doteasy.com
(their domains are more expensive than others but you
can get free hosting, which is a better deal in the end)
or 1and1.com. They have several hosting plans, but for a
brochure site, a basic plan will suffice.
5. Design and publish your site. Doteasy and 1and1 have
easy-to-use online site builders that will guide you step
by step on how to build a basic site.
Alternatively, you can hire someone to do all this work
for a fair price. I offer Web design services. Contact me at
[email protected] and I can give you an estimate.
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2. Actively look for writing opportunities
at professional network sites
Web sites such as Elance.com, Guru.com, and Suite 101 allow writers to bid for writing projects posted by employers.
Although the specifics for each site may vary, this is how
they generally work:
1. You open a “service provider” account under the Writing category and create your profile. Membership costs
vary, depending on how often you want to bid and the
payment plan you choose.
2. You then search the projects posted and bid on the ones
that you are interested in.
3. If you are selected for a project you will agree on the
terms with your client and deliver your work.
4. Once the project is delivered, the client will send payment through the site’s system (which takes out a commission) and provide feedback. The ratings from your
client’s evaluation will be available for prospect clients
to see and may impact (positively or negatively) your
future bids.
One disadvantage of these services is the fierce competition. Hundreds of writers from all over the world (especially
India) bid on the projects, even offering very low hourly rates
that we cannot afford in the United States. You may find it
hard to break in if you charge higher rates, but if you suc-
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ceed in one or more of these sites, you will probably never
lack clients.
3. Join AMWA and list your services in
their Freelance Directory
AMWA members can place a listing/resume in the Freelance
Directory for $75 per year. The listing contains your contact
information and a description of your services with area of
expertise. The AMWA site recommends: “List your areas of
expertise because many subscribers begin their search with
keywords such as immunology, biology, liver disease, clinical
medicine, and cardiology. You may list books and periodicals
to which you have contributed, and you may also describe
relevant positions and specific accomplishments.”
AMWA members can search the listing for free. Nonmember individuals and organizations who wish to search
the directory to hire a freelance writer must purchase a subscription.
4. Subscribe to Writer’s Market
Every year, a new edition of Writer’s Market hits the bookstores. It has been called the “freelance writer’s bible,” because it provides the contact information of thousands of
editors and agents in the United States and Canada—and a
few listings from the United Kingdom and Australia.
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In my opinion, the online version (www.writersmarket.
com) is better. For $29.99 per year or $3.99 per month, you
get access to a searchable database that can be personalized
to look for medical and health writing opportunities.
Plus, “you also get daily market spotlights, a guide to
Web resources for writers, tips on getting published, news
from the publishing world, our online submission-tracking
tools, and more.”
Writer’s Market can be very useful if you plan to write
for consumer health magazines and Web sites (or even publish a book), but it won’t guide you to clients in academia
or industry. As an alternative, consult the listing of health
magazine editors that comes as a bonus when you buy this
book.
Once you have worked with several clients—and you
are sure they were satisfied with your work—ask them for
referrals. Nothing beats word of mouth as a means of promotion—credible and free!
One last word of advice: If you are struggling to find
clients, maybe it is time to diversify your markets and work
on different types of projects. Perhaps you are focused on
writing; try editing.
APPENDIX A
Professional
Organizations for
Medical Writers and
Editors
T
he following is a list of professional groups that welcome medical writers and editors. They offer network-
ing, educational, and career-advancement opportunities. I
have included a description of each organization’s mission
(taken from their Web sites) so you can decide which to research further.
American Medical Writers Association (AMWA)
www.amwa.org
AMWA is the leading international professional association
for communicators of medical information. The association
offers continuing education, including distance learning;
networking opportunities through an annual conference
and chapter activities; Web site services, including job listings and a members’ freelance directory; and the AMWA
Journal.
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Members work for pharmaceutical companies, universities and medical schools, hospitals, nonprofit organizations,
government agencies, journals, and many other businesses
and organizations. Many work as freelance writers and editors.
Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ)
www.ahcj.umn.edu
The Association of Health Care Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public
understanding of health care issues. Its mission is to improve
the quality, accuracy, and visibility of health care reporting, writing, and editing. Eligibility for active membership
is limited to:
• individuals currently employed by editorially independent newspapers, news services, online services, syndicates,
magazines, television or radio stations or networks;
• teachers of journalism at the university or college level;
and
• independent journalists engaged in research or publishing in the field of health care.
American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA)
www.asja.org
ASJA is the nation’s leading organization of independent
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nonfiction writers. Its membership consists of more than
1,100 freelance writers of magazine articles, trade books, and
many other forms of nonfiction writing.
Council of Science Editors (CSE)
www.councilscienceeditors.org
CSE’s mission is to promote excellence in the communication
of scientific information. CSE’s purpose is to serve members
in the scientific, scientific publishing, and information science communities by fostering networking, education, discussion, and exchange and to be an authoritative resource
on current and emerging issues in the communication of
scientific information.
Member titles include: Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editor,
Section Editor, Managing Editor, Copyeditor, Production
Editor, Technical Editor, Publisher, Author, Author’s Editor,
Freelancer, Science Writer, Indexer, Abstractor, Information
Specialist, Science Librarian, Graphic Designer, Marketing
Specialist, Publishing Systems Operator, Typesetter, Printer,
and Electronic Publishing Specialist.
Drug Information Association (DIA)
www.diahome.org
DIA is a professional association of approximately 20,000
members worldwide who are involved in the discovery, de-
99
velopment, regulation, surveillance, or marketing of pharmaceuticals or related products.
DIA is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary, neutral forum for
sharing information that optimizes the process of drug development and lifecycle management by providing:
• Global and regional forums for the exchange of information, education, and training;
• Extensive multidisciplinary networking opportunities;
• Rewarding volunteer leadership experiences; and
• High-quality professional development opportunities.
Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA)
www.the-efa.org
EFA was formed to provide the means of developing and
implementing programs of benefit to professional editorial
freelancers and the publishing industry, and to support and
advance the interests of both. EFA members are editors, writers, indexers, proofreaders, researchers, desktop publishers,
and translators.
The European Medical Writers Association (EMWA)
www.emwa.org
EMWA seeks to provide a forum to promote standards of
excellence in medical writing by furthering the professional
development of members and increasing awareness of medi-
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cal writing throughout Europe.
EMWA has over 550 members from 24 countries (including 7 countries outside Europe), and includes academics and
professionals working in-house or freelance for pharmaceutical and medical communications companies, research institutes, and in the field of scientific journalism.
Health Academy, Public Relations Society of America
www.healthacademy.prsa.org
The Health Academy seeks to enhance the quality and stature
of health care public relations. Its members represent a variety of health care-related organizations including hospitals,
health systems, academic medical centers, pharmaceutical
companies, public relations agencies, device manufacturers,
biotech companies, medical and dental associations, health
plans, managed care organizations, insurance companies,
long-term rehabilitation facilities, alternative and complementary health organizations, health education and research
organizations, foundations, and government health units.
Health and Science Communications Association (HeSCA)
www.hesca.org
HeSCA is an association of communications professionals
committed to sharing knowledge and resources in the health
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and science arenas. Members include producers, graphic designers, medical illustrators, photographers, videographers,
instructional designers, multimedia designers, computer
animators, librarians, learning resource center managers,
educators, writers, trainers, publishers, distributors, health
care practitioners, and market specialists in academic, hospital-based, government, non-profit, and corporate environments.
International Society of Medical Publication Professionals (ISMMP)
www.ismpp.org
ISMPP’s mission is to support medical publication professionals through education in fields associated with publication
development and planning. The Society strives to promote
excellence in publishing effectiveness via open exchange and
debate of relevant issues, as well as dissemination of practical
information through high-quality conferences and training
programs.
The Society serves medical publishing professional’s interest by the following means:
• Providing a forum to facilitate the further development
and awareness of best practices in publication planning
and execution
• Facilitating and encouraging communications among
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publication professionals within the pharmaceutical industry, medical publishers, medical communications
companies, and other research, regulatory, and educational groups
• Fostering consensus for policies related to publication
planning and medical publishing
• Supporting career growth, training and the development of individuals involved in publication development
and planning
National Association of Science Writers (NASW)
www.nasw.org
The mission of NASW is to foster the dissemination of accurate information regarding science through all media normally devoted to informing the public.
Over the years, its officers have included both freelancers and employees of most of the major newspapers, wire
services, magazines, and broadcast outlets in the country.
It also welcomes members who are the public information
officers on science from government labs, universities, and
other institutions. Today, NASW is the largest organization
for science writers, with more than 2,400 members.
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National Writers Union (NWU)
www.nwu.org
NWU is the trade union for freelance and contract writers:
journalists, book authors, business and technical writers, web
content providers, and poets. With the combined strength
of 3,500 members in 17 local chapters nationwide, and with
the support of the United Automobile Workers (UAW), the
union works to defend the rights and improve the economic
and working conditions of all writers.
Plain Language Association International (PLAIN)
www.plainlanguagenetwork.org
PLAIN is a growing volunteer nonprofit organization of
plain-language advocates, professionals, and organizations
committed to plain language. PLAIN’s objectives are:
• To promote the interests of plain-language professionals.
• To promote standards and practices of the plain-language profession.
• To promote research and development in plain language.
• To provide marketing and networking services for our
members.
• To help people understand and use plain-language principles.
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Members include professionals who plan, write, design,
and create communications projects to better serve the needs
of the public, clients, customers, students, and staff. They
work as authors, communications specialists, consultants,
designers, editors, managers, professors, trainers and writers
in business, education, government, health, law, medicine
and social service.
Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS)
www.raps.org
RAPS is the leading worldwide member organization devoted
to the health product regulatory profession. With more than
10,000 individual members from industry, government, research, clinical, and academic organizations in more than 50
countries, RAPS develops professional standards for knowledge, competency, and ethics and is the leading source of
information on the scope of practice of regulatory professionals and their critical roles in the health sector.
Members are engaged in the regulatory process or in related scientific, clinical, or engineering areas involved in the
health product life cycle.
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Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP)
www.sspnet.org
SSP’s mission is to advance scholarly publishing and communication and the professional development of its members
through education, collaboration, and networking among
individuals in this field. Membership is open to any individual or organization from any of the scholarly communication sectors.
Society for Technical Communication (STC)
www.stc.org
STC is an individual membership organization dedicated to
advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication.
Its 18,000 members include technical writers and editors,
content developers, documentation specialists, technical illustrators, instructional designers, academics, information
architects, usability and human factors professionals, visual
designers, Web designers and developers, and translators—
anyone whose work makes technical information available
to those who need it.
Membership is divided into eight regions each containing
approximately 20 local chapters. In addition to the society
leaders, each local chapter elects a set of chapter-level officers.
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The Organisation for Professionals in Regulatory
Affairs (TOPRA)
www.topra.org
TOPRA is the global organization for Regulatory Affairs
professionals and for those who have an interest in Regulatory Affairs in the healthcare sector.
Membership is drawn from over 40 countries and members worldwide are actively involved in delivering the services
needed by busy regulatory specialists. Members are drawn
from industry, the regulatory agencies and the consultancy
community and work in all sectors including medical technologies, biotech, borderline products and pharmaceuticals.
Appendix B
Sample Job Postings
from AMWA’s Job
Market
Regulatory writing
Medical Writer
It is an exciting time at Premier Research Group, a leading
Contract Organization (CRO) headquartered just outside of
London and with offices and staff across the United States,
throughout Europe and Israel. Due to our continued growth,
we are actively interviewing candidates for our Medical Writer positions, preferably based in one of our following offices:
Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; Atlanta, GA; or San Diego, CA.
Our Medical Writers are responsible for writing Clinical
Study Reports, Protocols, Investigator brochures (IBs), as
well as a variety of regulatory documents including, but not
limited to, Investigational New Drug Applications (INDs),
and New Drug Applications (NDAs), as well as other documents including manuscripts. Qualified candidates will have
a minimum of five years experience preparing scientific,
clinical, and/or technical documents (must include direct
107
108
research experience) and demonstrated understanding of
experimental methods, research design and statistics Must
have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree (M.S. or Ph.D. in
biological sciences preferred).
Medical and Regulatory Writer
This position fulfils the writing and editing needs of IDRAC’s
United States (US) regulatory affairs module for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. The primary responsibility of this position includes writing and researching for
reports and timely news about US regulatory meetings. Responsibilities include researching, reporting, writing articles,
and attending FDA advisory committee meetings, workshops,
and relevant US pharmaceutical/biotechnology regulatory
meetings, in the Washington DC/Maryland/Virginia Metropolitan area. Reports are to be written, edited, published,
and executed by the end of the meeting. The ability to write
quickly and succinctly under tight deadlines is a must. Additional responsibilities include writing about FDA product approvals, guidances, and other regulatory documents.
Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree, preferably in journalism or
English; experience in medical writing, regulatory affairs, or
related experience will be considered. Qualified candidates
must possess the ability to summarize FDA clinical reports
and study protocols and the ability to research a variety of
109
topics through various online resources (databases, internet),
interviews, and observation. Proficiency in standard PC
programs a must. Must be flexible with work environment;
must be able to work independently from home and at meeting locations throughout the Washington DC/Maryland/
Virginia Metropolitan area; must be able to travel independently throughout the Washington DC/Maryland/Virginia
Metropolitan area. Must be able to thrive under pressure; be
highly efficient and independent; be able to complete tasks on
a timely basis with minimal supervision and guidance; the
ability to type and write quickly; excellent keyboard typing
skills are required in order to type summaries of regulatory
meetings under extremely tight deadlines; and good organizational and project management skills.
Medical Education
Senior Medical Editor
QD Healthcare Group, a dynamic, unique, and growing
medical education company based in Greenwich, CT, is
searching for a senior medical editor with prior CME or promotional projects experience to develop content for medical
education programs in various media and therapeutic areas,
including cardiology, endocrinology, oncology, and rheumatology. Roles and Responsibilities: • Develop content,
110
including hands-on creation of scientific outlines, drafts,
and other material for advisory boards, educational symposia, teleconferences, articles, monographs, slide kits. • Edit
manuscripts, slides, executive summaries for accuracy, clarity; • Incorporate author/reviewer revisions. • Ensure projects
are prepared appropriately for client medico legal review. •
Oversee accuracy and messaging of projects through all stages
of content development. • Participate in planning of and attendance at advisory boards. • Provide strategic oversight and
assure editorial quality of projects. • Develop and cultivate
relationships with thought leaders. • Interface with faculty,
account services, art, and meetings departments regarding
content and design. • Manage and coordinate an external
group of freelance writers and editors. • Travel to client and
onsite programs as needed. Requirements: • 7+ years as an
editor in medical education, pharmaceutical industry, or
health care industry. • Ability to multitask • Experience in
oncology, rheumatology, cardiology a plus. • Project management skills. Salary and Benefits: Salary is competitive and
commensurate with experience. We offer a comprehensive
benefits package including medical, dental, vision, flexible
spending account, 401k, and profit sharing.
111
Medical Communications
Medical Writer, Medical Communications
Under minimal supervision, critically evaluates, analyzes, and
interprets the medical literature to select primary resource
materials for adequate study design, statistical significance,
scientific rigor and absence of bias. Utilizes professional judgment and creative expertise to integrate the pertinent clinical
data into an original summary document that is clear, accurate, concise, comprehensive, and devoid of promotional
overtone. Provides evaluation of medical communication
instruments and makes recommendation for corrective action. Assumes responsibility for ensuring that the finished
document is complete, accurate and complies with approved
format. This position will support the Professional Contact
Center by developing standard response documents, FAQs,
formulary materials, etc. Drug information and/or Drug
Information Residency experience a plus. Education and
Experience: • Requires a minimum BS degree in pharmacy or Doctoral level degree in a biomedical field. • 2 years
experience in searching the biomedical literature. • 2 years
experience in interpreting and using medical communication documents. • A successful candidate will have Regulatory Writing Experience. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Knowledge of biomedical and pharmaceutical databases
112
(e.g. MEDLINE, CANCERLIT, EMBASE, BIOSIS, IPA)
and vendors for accessing them (e.g. DIALOG, OVID,
SILVERPLATTER). • Knowledge of Boolean logic/operators. • Knowledge of medical terminology and basic
statistical/clinical concepts. • Problem-solving capabilities
and excellent organizational skills. • Excellent grammatical
and communication skills. • Writer skills, i.e. command of
outlining, drafting, revising, and reviewing. • Basic editorial and proofreading skills. • Detail-oriented. Methodical.
Goal-driven. Good judgment. Able to work with minimal
supervision. • Ability to prioritize. • Adaptable and flexible
in nature. • Computer skills [word processing, spreadsheet,
bibliographic management]. • Good interpersonal skills.
Ability to work within a team.
Manuscript editing at a journal
Managing Editor
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, currently has a full-time opportunity for an editing-savvy candidate to perform substantive weekly online editing/revisions of all types of scientific
manuscripts of up to 50 pages long written by physician-authors for publication in our monthly issue of Mayo Clinic
Proceedings. We’ll rely on you to ensure the accuracy of all
data in the abstract, all technical content (including tables,
113
clinical photographs, and line art), all outcome measures as
reflected in the results, and all conclusions, which must not
go beyond the study’s actual findings. Your duties will also
include directing all layouts and data presentations, proofreading all authors´ revisions and corrections, and following
through on all editorial changes until each inconsistency is
resolved. Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in English, Journalism, or Communications, plus 5 years´ medical copyediting experience, preferably with a peer-reviewed medical
journal. Strong multi-tasking, decision-making, problemsolving, and judgment capabilities are also essential, as is
expert knowledge of the peer-review process and editorial
reference material (e.g., AMA style). Certification by the
Board of Editors in the Life Sciences a big plus. Mayo Clinic
offers an excellent salary and benefits package.
Public Health Writing
Senior Health Writer
Perot Systems Government Services is seeking Senior Health
Writer Candidates in the Fairfax, VA area for our National
Women’s Health Information Center contract. The Senior
Health Writer is responsible for the writing, editing, quality
control, and/or revision of contract materials that include:
Frequently Asked Questions publications, posted on wom-
114
enshealth.gov; Web site modules (special content sections)
on both womenshealth.gov and girlshealth.gov; various print
publications for women and teens, including booklets on
breast-feeding and prevention tips; articles for the Healthy
Women Today newsletter; advertisements; monthly “Did
You Know” messages for the contract call center; and press
releases. This person also will work closely with the client
to maintain production schedules and receive edits and approval on the content of all materials. He or she will also
work closely with the graphics department to ensure that
the images used on products are appropriate for the health
message. Additionally, the Health Writers are responsible for
supervising the NWHIC Editorial Advisory Board which
provides expert feed-back on materials. Education: Requires
a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree or equivalent. Experience: Minimum 5 years of related experience. Specific Skills Required:
Writing/editing experience for both consumer and health
professional audiences on health information for women and
adolescents. Experience developing low literacy and/or plain
language health materials for consumer audiences. Knowledge of research methods required to produce comprehensive publications for consumer audiences (experience with
Medline, CHID, other databases). Educational background
in a health-related field and/or communications/journalism.
Background in science/health. Desired Skills/Experience:
115
Master’s Degree in public health or other health related field
preferred. Knowledge of government health programs and
initiatives. Knowledge of non-profit/professional organization health programs/initiatives. Any knowledge/experience
breast-feeding.
Freelance Opportunities
Freelance medical/business writers
Freelance writers wanted – International consulting company needs freelance writers with a solid understanding of
both health care and business. Ideal candidates should be as
familiar with NPV, EBITDA, and ROIC as they are with
MI, COPD, and ADMET. They should also be able to explain complex medical and business concepts in clear, succinct prose. If you are interested in this opportunity, please
let us know if you have a specific area of expertise, such as
the drug discovery and development process, pharmaceutical sales and distribution, or how health care services are
delivered and paid for around the globe.
Medical Writer
Immediate openings for contract Medical Writers in the
pharmaceutical and CRO industries. Experience writing
regulatory submissions, CSRs, investigator brochures and
116
integrated summaries is strongly preferred. Competitive pay
rates, professional and reputable representation.
Appendix C
Recommended
Resources
Books
Bonk, Robert J. Medical Writing in Drug Development:
A Practical Guide for Pharmaceutical Research. Haworth
Press, 1998.
Cohn, Victor, Lewis Cope. News & Numbers: A guide
to reporting statistical claims and controversies in health
and other fields (2nd edition). Iowa State University Press,
2001.
Day, Robert A., and Barbara Gastel. How to Write and
Publish a Scientific Paper (6th Edition). Greenwood Press,
2006.
Gastel, Barbara. Health Writer’s Handbook (2nd edition). Blackwell Publishers, 2004.
Krug, Steve. Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense
Approach to Web Usability (2nd Edition). New Riders Press,
2005.
McGovern, Gerry, Rob Norton, Catherine O’Dowd.
The Web Content Style Guide: An Essential Reference for
Online Writers, Editors and Managers. FT Press 2001.
117
118
Meanwell, Michael. The Wealthy Writer: How to Earn
a Six-Figure Income as a Medical Writer. Writer’s Digest
Books, 2004.
Ruberg, Michelle (Editor). Writer’s Digest Handbook
of Magazine Article Writing (2nd edition). Writers Digest
Books, 2004.
Schwager, Edith. Medical English Usage and Abusage.
Oryx Press, 1991.
Strunk, William Jr. and E.B. White. The Elements of
Style (4th edition). Allyn and Bacon, 2000.
Zeiger, Mimi. Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research
Papers (2nd edition). McGraw-Hill Professional, 1999.
Zinsser, William. On Writing Well (30 aniv edition).
Harper Collins, 2006.
Manuals of Style
Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition. University of
Chicago Press, 2003.
JAMA & Archives Journals. AMA Manual of Style: A
Guide for Authors and Editors. Oxford University Press,
2007.
Huth, Edward J. Scientific Style and Format: The CBE
Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 6th edition.
Cambridge University Press, 1994.
119
Medical Dictionaries
Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 28th edition.
W.B. Saunders Company, 1994.
Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, 27th edition. Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins, 2000.
Mosby’s Medical Dictionary, 5th edition. C.V. Mosby,
1997.
Web Sites
HealthWeb www.healthweb.org
Free medical journals www.freemedicaljournals.com
Grant writing Tip Sheets (NIH) grants.nih.gov/grants/
grant_tips.htm
Grant writing tools for nonprofit organizations npguides.
org
Guide to grammar and writing grammar.ccc.commnet.
edu/grammar
Medline Plus medlineplus.gov
National Library of Medicine Online Databases www.nlm.
nih.gov/databases
Online medical dictionary www.online-medical-dictionary.org
120
E-books
Write An Article-A-Day, The Easy Way!
Get Paid to Write on the Internet
How to Write a Business Plan
How to Write a How-to Book
How to Write Feature Articles
Magazines
Writer’s Digest
AMWA Journal
Workshops
AMWA Workshops
Writer’s Digest Online Workshops

Becoming a Medical Writer

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