CME and Medical Writing

Here in the US, many states require physicians to earn educational credits every year to maintain their professional license. 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 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.