Train Broadly. Write Specifically.

I get one question repeatedly from new medical writers wanting to be trained. They are often not sure of what direction they want to take, so they ask: "Should I take a lot of medical writing courses and learn everything, or should I specialize in a specific type of medical writing?" It's really two questions, and let me separate them for you.

The first question is, "What kind of training should I take?" The second question is, "Should I be a specialist or generalist?" Both are good questions, and they are two questions, not one.

My simple and I hope memorable advice is: Train Broadly, Write Specifically.

When employers or companies look for medical writers, they typically want someone for a specific job, or a specific type of medical writing. They like to hire and work with specialists - people who know the particular field, who are familiar with the literature and practice around specific ailments, populations, pharmaceuticals, or devices. Everyone wants someone who knows what they are talking about, in order to get the most bang for the buck out of an author.

So, when you are presenting yourself for work, it's best to be the specialist who really knows what they are talking about.

Now, of course you can have specialties in a number of different areas. It's good to do that. That way you can have broader appeal to potential employers or buyers of your content. But they are only interested in the specialty relevant to THEM. Present yourself through your payer's eyes. Be the specialist THEY want.

Now, with regard to training, think about training broadly. There are about 7 different kinds of medical writing:
Consumer Health Writing
Abstracts and Posters
Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Grant Writing
Scientific Journal Writing
Regulatory Writing
Continuing Medical Education (CME) Writing

You can be well known in one or two kinds. But you should train broadly. That means Abstract and Poster Writing, and Biostatistics and Epidemiology skills are broadly applicable to Consumer Health Writing, Scientific Journal Writing, CME Writing, and Regulatory Writing.

And Scientific Journal Writing, Regulatory Writing and CME Writing require similar discipline in gathering evidence, performing analysis, drawing conclusions, and making recommendations. So, when you think of getting trained, train broadly, consider packages of Medical Writing Training. 

When you think of getting work, present yourself as the specialist to your potential payer.

Remember this simple advice: Train Broadly. Write Specifically.

Which Medical Writing Training Courses Should I Take?

We do lots of consults with budding medical writers each week, and people tend to ask us the same question. "I have an interest in X. What course or courses should I take?"

We used to recommend, "Take this course, then this course, then this course."

But now we've gotten better, and we help people more quickly.

We've identified five different kinds of interest people have, and put packages of courses together to meet those interests. Plus, we can discount the pricing significantly because people buy ONCE in a package, rather than needing to have us and them think about it 3-4 times. What a great solution!!

These Packages include both online Courses and online Seminars to round out your learning.

Here they are. Click on the one that interests you and see if this doesn't help you think about YOUR medical writing training needs.

1. New to Medical Writing

2. The Consumer Health Writer Package

3. The Scientific & Regulatory Writer Package

4. The Continuing Medical Education Package

5. The Complete Medical Writing Training System

And for those of you who like the Big Picture, here's a Comparison of all Five Packages. Let us know what you think.

Jonathan Marx
Medical Writing Training
info@inquill.com

Great article entitled How to Become a Competent Medical Writer by Dr. Suhasini Sharma, published in Perspectives in Clinical Research.

Before you read that, check out our new Complete Medical Writing Training System here: http://www.medicalwritingtraining.com/complete-medical-writing-training-system/

Now, here's the article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3149406/

Jonathan

What Kind of Medical Writing Should I Do?........... I was Skyping with a scientist the other day who wanted to get into medical writing. She was interested in one of our medical writing courses, and she wanted to know which medical writing course she might start with.


We talked for awhile. She had an undergraduate and graduate background in science, was working for a pharmaceutical company preparing specific reports, and wanted to stretch out more broadly into earning money as a medical writer, or getting a medical writing job. Consumer health writing was of interest, but she wanted something more technical.

We discussed our Science Journal Writing Course, our medical writing course called Regulatory Writing in the U.S., and lastly, our CME Training for Medical Writers. With discussion, she decided to start with Regulatory Writing, as this was closest to what she was currently doing. When she is done with that, she'll move on to CME Training for Medical Writers, because she is interested in working with physicians. A brief conversation really helped with her direction, and she was very appreciative.

We help medical writers get trained, get work, get jobs, with our various services. It can be a puzzling decision to make, but we can help you too. You can enjoy a free video webinar on "Career Opportunities in Medical Communication," get a listing of our courses, and even a discount on your first purchase.

Check it out: www.medicalwritingtraining.com

JM

We're all about helping medical writers develop their businesses and careers.

With all the social media available these days, it's my thought that if you're not present in some way with a profile, comments, and content, displaying who you are and what you think, that you are at significant disadvantage in getting found online for business and career prospects.

Have a full profile on our Medical Writing Network, with a picture, is a good thing. Doing the same on Linked In is also important.

I know many medical writers tend to be on the introverted side. That introvert gift is what makes you a great medical writer... the ability to think, research, organize, and write.

The good news is that being social in social media plays on your given and developed talents. It's almost ALL writing.

How well can people find YOU on the Internet?

Thoughts?

Jonathan Marx is Senior Vice President of InQuill Medical Communications and an expert in medical writing, medical writing training, medical marketing, and CME.

www.inquill.com - CME medical writing and accreditation.
www.medicalwritingtraining.com - Online, affordable medical writing training
http://medicalwriting.ning.com - Network of 2000 medical writers.

Five steps to getting published with your medical writing.

Here are five first steps to getting published with your medical writing.

Your first best step is to do homework and research on what magazines, periodicals, societies already publish in your area of interest or specialty.    

Second, identify those who are most likely to take content from you based on what they already publish. Go WITH the flow of these publications.

Third, read the last 4-5 issues and see what the magazines are focusing on.  

Fourth, get the contact information and editorial guidelines for the relevant publications. Make a list for yourself, so that you can get in touch with them.    

Fifth, after doing your research, make contact with the publication to discuss what you have to offer in the way of writing based on what THEY want or what direction THEY are going in. Forget what you are researching. You have to go in THEIR direction.

With careful research, you will hopefully choose publications that are a good match for you and are interested in what YOU are already researching and writing. If there is no match, you have to find another publication, or you have to change what you are doing to make a good match.

Jonathan Marx is Senior Vice President of InQuill Medical Communications and an expert in medical writing, medical writing training, medical marketing, and CME.

www.inquill.com - CME medical writing and accreditation.
www.medicalwritingtraining.com - Online, affordable medical writing training
http://medicalwriting.ning.com - Network of 2000 medical writers.

Getting your first job in medical writing.

A lot of people ask me how to get a FIRST job in medical writing.

I often hear two questions.

The first question is: "I want a job, but they tell me that I need experience. And they won't give me a job, because they want experience. So, how am I supposed to get experience if they won't give me a job?"

The second question is: "If I take a Medical Writing Training.com course, how long will it take me to get a job? Can I get a job right away?"

Allow me to share the answers I share with such inquiries.

First, there's no simple formula of "Do this, and you'll get a job." Getting a start as a medical writer, even if you are an MD PhD with years of work experience, takes consistent and never-ending work.

But there are three efforts you can put forward which do work consistently over time. They are easy to remember, and take some work to do.

First: Get Trained. Pick your writing specialty and get trained in that specialty. You need to know the basics, the formats, the protocols, to be able to compete with other candidates.

Second: Get Experience. Write articles for your own portfolio, so you can offer writing samples when asked. Work for free or reduced cost to get started. Take a low level position to get into a company, and then move up. You CAN build your own experience. I've heard such great stories from people just like you who don't wait for a job, but start building their experience and creating their own opportunities.

Third: Get Known. You have to get your profile out there. Build a complete profile with work and education history and photo on the Medical Writing Network. You really need a photo... the photo helps create connection. Participate in social media discussions anywhere. Develop an email list and send emails. Become familiar to people so that you are top of mind when they have a need. Make an impression online. So many recruiters and employers search online first, so be there when they search.

Remember these three imperatives for starting out in medical writing:

Get trained.

Get experience.

Get known.

They take some work on your part. With time, these efforts pay off!!

Jonathan Marx is Senior Vice President of InQuill Medical Communications and an expert in medical writing, medical writing training, medical marketing, and CME.

www.inquill.com - CME medical writing and accreditation.

www.medicalwritingtraining.com - Online, affordable medical writing training

http://medicalwriting.ning.com - Network of 2000 medical writers.