Consider becoming a medical writer if you’re interested in a job that allows you to combine your love of writing with your interest in medicine. The function of medical writers in disseminating knowledge in the fields of medicine and healthcare is crucial. Understanding the nature of the work and the expectations of potential employers is crucial before making any moves toward entry into this area.

What follows is an analysis of the job prospects for medical writers, a definition of the role of a medical writer, and instructions for how to get started in the field.

Who is a Medical Writer?

Someone who writes exclusively about health and medicine is called a “medical writer,” a subset of the larger technical writing field. People with medical writing backgrounds might find employment in many different sectors. In addition to hospitals and clinics, they frequently provide content for businesses in other industries, such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, insurance, advertising, and publishing.

Writers in this field may target everyone from doctors and nurses to consumers and policymakers while developing content. Instances of medical writing include:

• Abstracts
• Write-ups for periodicals
• Textbooks and general reference works on medical subjects
• Healthcare policy documents
• Coursebooks and other educational resources
• Detailed directions for using a medical gadget or another health-related item
• Medicinal or health-related product advertising and promotion
• White papers and medical reports
• Medical and health-related public presentations, announcements, and addresses
• Applications for funding proposals
• Text for medical and health-related websites, including those of groups and businesses
• Employer and area of expertise can affect what a medical writer does on the job. However, several duties are typical for all medical writers to share. Among these are:
• Being aware of content needs and intended recipients
• gathering information through interviews or consultations with experts
• Preparing an outline or draft of a piece of writing
• Making or locating relevant visuals to accompany the text
• Correction of typos and other errors in their writing or those of other medical writers.

Writing in the medical field can be very specialized, and thus:

Employment opportunities for medical writers include, but are not limited to:

• Institutions of higher learning or instructional providers focused on medical fields
• Marketing and advertising firms
• pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms
• Organizations specializing in communication
• Companies that research contract
• Authority Figures in Government
• Providers of medical treatment
• Insurance agencies for medical care
• Publications of the press and other forms of media
• Producers of Medical Equipment
• Institutions of Higher Learning in Medicine
• Associations of Health Care Professionals
• Book and journal publishers in the medical field

Numerous medical writers also operate independently as freelancers in addition to those mentioned above. Depending on your industry, company, and employment status, the specifics of your job are likely to vary from one day to the next. However, in most cases, 40-hour workweeks are standard for salaried medical writers, whereas the hours worked by freelancers can vary depending on how many projects they take on. It is standard practice for authors to spend extra time on nights and weekends to complete their projects on time.

The majority of time is spent indoors, and a computer is required for all research, writing, editing, and communication. To complete their jobs, some medical writers, especially those who work for the media or publishing houses, may need to visit medical facilities and interact with doctors and other specialists.

10 Writing Tips for Healthcare

These tips can help you succeed in the medical writing industry.

• Pick your adventure

Because there are so many different sorts of medical writing and companies that use writers, it can be good to narrow down your focus. If you know this is going into your career, you’ll be able to make better decisions about where you want to go. Consider your goals, values, and skillsets when you make your decision. Consider medical writing for non-profits and government organizations if you wish to work in public health.

Take into account your tastes. For example, consider whether to be a full-time writer for an organization’s established schedule and assignment requirements or a self-employed writer with more freedom.

• Use simple language

The most important rule of successful writing is to use simple, ordinary language and avoid jargon wherever feasible. Change “commence” to “start,” “if” to “if,” and so on. Don’t allow “fluff and flowers and verbosity seep in,” as the great Mark Twain once put it.

Abbreviations, scientific jargon, and medical language abound in medicine; nevertheless, not all readers will be familiar with them. Different people read at different speeds. Understanding your target demographic is essential when writing for the web. Typical authors make a common mistake: assuming too much information on the part of their audience. Think about how much medical information your readers already have before you start writing.

• Write attention-grabbing headings

Think about all the headlines you read daily when doing online research or browsing social media. What draws you to an article or blog post? The headlines often focus on this. Create a catchy headline to catch readers’ attention because it may be the only thing they remember about your work. A title should be as short as possible, although there is no hard and fast rule. At most, keep it between 6 and 10 words (or 50 and 60 characters).

Here are some things to keep in mind if you write a headline.

• Include “You” or “Yours” to make the title more specific. The more conversational and relevant your headline is to the reader’s problems, the better.
• Titles should not use the passive voice. You should substitute these weaker terms with more forceful, action-oriented alternatives.
• Humans are inherently curious; thus, playing on that trait can be beneficial when crafting titles.

• Fascinate your audience with your first paragraph

If your headline catches the reader’s attention, the first paragraph is your chance to keep their attention. You need to ensure that your paper’s first sentence is attention-grabbing. This can be achieved by using a tale, an interesting statistic, or a memorable phrase.

• Discuss your experiences in the form of anecdotes

As I mentioned, telling a tale is an excellent approach to getting people interested in what you have to say. There is more to writing than just relaying facts and figures. It’s crucial that viewers feel something as well. One’s mental response to a narrative differs from that elicited by other types of data or information. Unlike facts and data, which only activate a particular part of the brain, stories activate a network of brain regions that work in tandem to elicit complex affective reactions.

One of the best methods to make your work come alive is through stories. ‘Tell me a fact, and I’ll learn,’ as the North American Indian saying goes. If you tell me the truth, I will accept it. But if you tell me a story, I’ll never forget it.

• Please proofread before sending it out to press

Before releasing your work to the public, you should always check for errors. Locate someplace peaceful and undisturbed. For maximum concentration, silence all distractions by turning off your phone, TV, and radio.

Your document will serve you better if you print it out. A printed version of your work will always reveal more mistakes than the original. Covering up the lines below the one you’re reading with a blank sheet of paper prevents you from skipping ahead and missing any potential errors.

A second piece of advice is to read it out loud. Reading aloud can help you catch mistakes you would have missed otherwise. It is beneficial for finding awkward or unnatural sentences like run-ons.

Besides catching typos, you should look for the following:

• Have you punctuated correctly? You look unprofessional if you don’t take the time to punctuate your writing correctly. Check for comma splices and apostrophe omissions, especially. The interchangeable use of “its” and “it’s” is a typical source of confusion.
• Is it possible to condense any of these lengthy sentences?
• How often do you find yourself employing the passive voice? If that’s the case, you should use an active voice.
• Check to see if your paragraphs connect and your ideas logically.
• Any sentences that sound like they’ve been used before? Is there anything missing necessary background information?
• Do you have the proper citations for your sources? Facts presented in content should come from credible sources. Verify the credibility of any statistics or quotations used.

Check that all the links in your article are active and that the post is formatted correctly before publishing it online, such as on a blog. The Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress checks your post for readability, identifies passive sentences, and prompts you to add keywords to boost your blog’s visibility in search engine results. Therefore I recommend you get it.

The best way to get a fresh take on your work is to give it a day to marinate. It is preferable to have a reliable reader check the content for errors. Maybe you won’t believe how many errors you overlooked.

• Just one more thing. Conclude with a command to do something

What is the one takeaway you hope readers will have from your work? In the final paragraph, you should encourage and enable the reader to put the advice you’ve given into action.

Learning how to write well takes time and effort, but it’s a skill that can be honed with practice. Please find these suggestions practical and inspiring as you hone your writing ability to persuade and inspire your readership.

• Produce unique content

One of the things to avoid when generating content is plagiarism. This violates the intellectual property of the other website and may also harm your search engine rankings.

The greatest option is to create your material. While there are other identical articles on the internet, writing an original copy will allow you to communicate information in your distinctive voice and offer something different from the rest.

Writing is complex, and writing for healthcare is even more difficult. Aside from the quantity of research required, there are regulations and procedures in the healthcare profession that you must follow. However, if you put in the effort, you will be rewarded handsomely. Excellent content will attract a larger audience and establish your organization as a trustworthy healthcare provider.

• Ensure that the information is correct

The healthcare industry is constantly evolving. Discoveries, medical advances, and prior studies are constantly disproved or supported. As a result, it is critical to select only credible, timely, and topic-relevant sources.

Remember to mention your sources correctly as well. Visitors to a website need to know that solid studies and research support the material they’re reading. Consider RightPatient’s blog entries, which always mention trustworthy sources to help demonstrate why a touchless biometric patient identification system is critical for US healthcare professionals.

Google also encourages well-researched content, which can improve your search ranks and drive more traffic to your website.

• Use the K-I-S-S rule

The “K-I-S-S Rule” should be applied. When you “Keep It Simple, Stupid,” or more accurately, when you “Keep It, Super Simple,” you make it easier for ideas to flow. The acronym KISS serves as a helpful reminder that keeping things simple is beneficial to the reader (and the writer.) Avoid medical and clinical jargon, such as clichés and overused terminology, and keep things brief and straightforward.

3 Healthcare Writing Examples

• Panadol- Great Example of a Leaflet

Panadol is an OTC prescription medication used to treat headaches and muscle pain. Despite this, Panadol needs to provide more thorough information in its booklet.

A patient information leaflet is a standard technical paper with every drug purchased from a medical store. It offers critical information on how to use the drug, preventive measures, what the drug does, and any side effects that may occur.

Panadol’s leaflet shines in every way. Medical communicators frequently collaborate with senior medical writers and healthcare specialists to review the company’s research findings and develop a leaflet.

• WebMD – a Practical Example of Writing Medical News

Anyone interested in medical writing has either heard of or come across WebMD, one of the world’s largest online journals covering medical news, human health, life sciences, diseases, and general well-being.

WebMD is a for-profit firm that hires skilled medical communicators to deliver thorough information on health-related topics.

The medical news includes concise summaries of the most recent clinical research findings. Some WebMD and similar website stories are lengthy, citing numerous journals, researchers, and clinical specialists. Medical writers also attend conferences and workshops to learn about the most recent research discoveries and write about them for top medical news sites.

With the constant changes in the medical industry, medical writers are in high demand. If you want to start your writing career in medicine, writing for a medical news website is an excellent place to start. Consider the web copy for the “Pregnancy” part of WebMD’s official website.

The language is straightforward and covers everything from getting started with pregnancy to ongoing testing, diet programs, needed vitamins, and other vital information. The copy in this leaflet is brief, concise, straightforward, and written in bullet points. It also addresses the most prevalent patient concerns.

• Multimedia Presentations and Pitch Decks – Heal

Heal is a healthcare firm founded in 2020. Thanks to its pitch deck, it raised $100 million to grow its business operations and deliver at-home premium medical services. The pitch deck emphasizes data, statistics, and numbers to appeal to the target audience.

Healthtech firms, such as Heal, frequently hire medical writers specializing in multimedia presentations to produce pitch decks to assist the company in obtaining funding.

Corporate investors are the intended audience for pitch decks. You must produce excellent, to-the-point copy free of jargon and technical terminology.

Investors are not medical professionals, so medical writers must utilize non-technical language that the target audience can understand.

What Are the Different Types of Medical Writing?

The scope of medical writing includes, but is not limited to, the following.

• Drug information leaflets
• Trials in humans Clinical research
• Published reports
• Writing for regulations
• Display slides

Medical writing comes in a variety of forms, as described by the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA):

• Writing for regulations
• Texts for use in teaching
• Discussions About Health
• Articles for advertising
• Writing proposals for funding

Writing for the sake of gaining regulatory approval for novel medical devices, medications, clinical trial data, regulatory documentation, and post-approval documents is known as “regulatory medical writing.” If the document is intended to meet the standards of regulatory writing, the writer will need to provide clear definitions of any medical terms used.

Medical devices, biological, and healthcare writing are all part of the field of educational and medical writing. In addition, the material of medical websites like MayoClinic and WebMD, as well as blogs, falls under this category. The primary goal of medical educational writing is to educate the public and healthcare professionals about medications, diseases, medical publications, scientific and clinical data, and internal company training materials.

Professionals specializing in medical and health communication write and edit materials like the ones listed below.

• Patient decision support tools, including blogs and articles
• Informational Content for Public Health Campaigns
• Topics covered on this website include medical and health-related news.

The goal of promotional writing is to increase pharmaceutical or medical device sales by presenting the product in the most favorable light possible. Businesses frequently employ medical writers to develop promotional materials for diagnostic and therapeutic devices. Pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device industries seek such content.

When securing funds for new research, medical writers also play an essential role in the success of biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

Bottom Line

Your academic or professional background may have yet to emphasize the importance of good writing, but putting in even a little effort to improve your writing skills may do wonders for your reputation, practice, and communication capacity.