Foundations

A reader chooses here by the competence a question draws on that every medical writer needs, whatever their area: the science, the evidence, the language, the reader, visual and spoken forms, making a document, the tools, or ethics. The documents, rules and ways of working of one area of practice are left to areas of practice, and the writer's working life to profession.

• Scientific background — the body and how it works, disease areas from cancer to rare diseases, diagnosis, testing and prediction, treatment from how medicines act to advanced therapies, and population and planetary health
• Evidence and data — study design and real-world evidence, measuring outcomes, recording and managing data, statistics, appraising and interpreting evidence, and presenting numbers
• Language and style — the standard scientific language is held to, accuracy and stance, words and terms, sentences, grammar, punctuation, paragraphs and flow, style manuals and disputed usage, and English across languages
• Writing for the reader — audience and purpose, plain language and health literacy, readability and testing with readers, narrative technique, clear instructions, standard operating procedures, communicating risk and uncertainty, readable layout, and accessibility for readers with disabilities
• Visual and spoken communication — visual communication, slides, posters and talks, video and multimedia, and illustration and standalone visual formats
• Making a document — planning and drafting, finding and managing sources, revising and reviewing, and managing projects and the people on them
• Tools and technology — software and tools, collaboration and shared-document tools, artificial intelligence, and blockchain for shared records
• Ethics of the work — working through an ethical situation, professional codes of ethics, confidentiality and data protection, equity and bias, and building an ethical workplace culture