Physician Non-Clinical Career Spotlight: Medical Writing

There are several roles and rewarding career options for physicians in medical writing.

This article is a brief summary and guide to this broad and varied career.

What is medical writing?

Medical writing is the communication (written, audio, video) of medical and health-related content to a wide range of audiences: health care professionals, regulators, patients, students, and the general public.

Medical editing ensures medical writing meets quality, grammatical and regulatory guidelines.

Physician roles vary depending on the industry and the company. Roles include creating medical or scientific content for manuscripts, slide presentations, scripts for educational videos, informational brochures, website copy, and sales training. Physicians may conceptualize, write, edit, and oversee a team of other writers.

The employment options are employee, freelancer, or both.

Types of medical writing, job titles, and examples of employers.

	Writing Product Examples	Employer Examples	Job Titles Examples
Scientific Writing	Publications, manuscripts, abstracts, posters, Oral presentations.	Pharmaceutical/medical device, Biotech, Contract Research Organizations (CRO), Medical communication agency.	Associate medical/Medical writer, Medical director, Scientific affairs medical director, Director of medical writing.
Regulatory Writing	Briefing documents, New Drug/Device Approval submissions to regulatory agencies (FDA or EMA), Clinical trial protocols.	Pharmaceutical/Device, Biotech, CRO	Medical writer, Regulatory writer
Educational/ Promotional Writing	Test questions for students, CME for healthcare professionals, online health blogging, patient education brochures	CME/CPE providers, Medical Test Prep companies, Educational Institutions, Online Learning providers (ex: UpToDate)	Medical writer, Clinical content editor, Educational content developer, Promotional medical writer, medical marketing writer.
Journalistic Writing	bridges the gap between scientific knowledge and the consumer.	News and electronic media, magazines, publishing agencies.	Medical writer, Science writer, Health journalist.

What type of physician is a good fit?

Medical Writing might be a good fit for physicians who:

Love reading, thinking, and writing.
Are skilled at communicating and teaching complex medical concepts in easy-to-understand terms.
Are attentive to detail.
Enjoy staying up to date with medical and therapeutic developments.
Prefer flexibility and autonomy at work.

Qualifications and experience requirements.

Qualifications vary and depend on the industry and your writing experience. Review each job description for the details.

With the exception of Regulatory writing, residency and a medical license generally aren’t required to land a medical writing job.

Scientific and regulatory writing usually require some writing experience. But don’t let this stop you from applying for these jobs. Think about the writing you did in medical school and, in the clinic, (H+P’s, case reports, letters to insurance companies, powerpoint presentations, patient education materials). You can interpret a scientific article!

Writing samples are often required.

Median Gross Annual Income (USD) for Medical Communicators*

Employed Medical Communicators:

Regulatory: $112K
Marketing/Advertising: $95K
Scientific Publications: $92.5K
Medical Research/Grants: $79.5K

Freelance Medical Communicators:

Regulatory: $203K
Writing $151K, Editing: $77.5K
Marketing/Advertising: $114.5K
Sales Training: $106K

*Source: 2019 American Medical Writers Association Salary Survey.

Tips on how to explore a career in medical writing.

Start writing on the side, just for yourself. Do you enjoy the process?
Explore the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) website. You will find everything from education offerings, networking, mentoring, and job listings.
Talk to a physician who is a medical writer (search the AMWA directory or LinkedIn).
Consider a writing course:

Where to find jobs.

LinkedIn. Search for jobs with companies or connect with established freelance medical writers who may need medical writers for sub-contract work.

Create a profile on a “side-gig” site and bid on jobs! Pay tends to be low but will help you develop your writing portfolio.

Upwork
Freelancer
Guru

List yourself in the AMWA directory.

How to be a competitive job applicant.

Write as often as possible. Submit articles to Kevin MD, Huffington Post, Medium, or Doximity.com.
Self-publish on LinkedIn or create your own blog.
Create a writing portfolio.
Be open to writing articles outside of your specialty.
Be persistent! It can take 12-18 months to get your first role in medical writing.

Medical writing can be a rewarding career for physicians who enjoy writing, educating, and learning.

While it may take a while to build your writing portfolio and land your first job, medical writing allows you to use your “physician brain,” stay up to date with medical advances, and impact a broad audience.

And you can do it while working from home!

Two podcast interviews with physicians who have transitioned into medical writing.

From Clinical Practice to Medical Writing

How to Shine as a Technical Writer

“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something-anything-down on paper. What I’ve learned to do when I sit down to work on a shitty first draft is to quiet the voices in my head.”

Ann Lamott, bird by bird.