Non-profit employers
Health non-profits offer medical-writing work under a range of communications and editorial titles. Their staffing, recruitment and duties can differ from corporate employment.
Employers and job titles
US health-sector non-profit employers include hospitals, colleges, universities, treatment centres, research institutes and membership associations devoted to medical specialties or disease states. AMWA members had found work at the US Pharmacopeial Convention, the American Board of Radiology, the American Medical Association and Harvard Health Publications by 2013.
In 2013, health-related organisations employed the most people and commanded the largest share of revenue within the US non-profit sector. A forecast for 2008–2016 predicted employment growth of 22% in health-related organisations against 11% in the rest of the sector, generating an estimated three million new jobs nationwide.
Few non-profits use the job title medical writer; communications manager and health information specialist are more likely, alongside communications director, communications officer, newsletter editor, web editor and editorial director.
Recruitment and duties
Writers should not expect to work through a recruiter: non-profit salaries typically fall below the level that attracts recruiters whose fee is a percentage of earnings. Non-profits typically use recruiting firms for top positions such as board president or chief executive.
Small staffs mean employees frequently cover several functions; at an association's annual meeting, this can include helping with exhibits and fund-raising. A non-profit operations consultant's 2013 estimate put the proportion with fewer than ten employees at 80%. Writers should also expect requests to help write grants; in 2013, renewed applications were associated with wealthy investors being able to give again as the stock market recovered from its 2009 fall.
For many clients of the non-profit operations consultant, social media had transformed communications work over the five years preceding 2013. She described almost every non-profit as having an easily updated website and a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, with fresh content part of the communications function; in some organisations, staff who previously communicated by telephone or face to face were spending whole days composing updates and tweets.
Entry routes and career progression
Larger non-profits may have internal career ladders visible on their websites or journal mastheads: assistant or associate editor, publications manager, associate director of communications and director of communications. Applicants can look for the level matching their skills and experience.
Continuing professional education articles can provide an entry route to contract or staff writing, and many AMWA members have found jobs this way. Membership associations frequently publish these articles on paper or online with quizzes that help health professionals earn credits and maintain their licences.
Growing organisations are worth watching, and following them on LinkedIn may reveal growth. For example, the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians increased its staff by about 50% in the two years ending December 2012.
Online networks where non-profit professionals gather offer another way to make contacts; state capitals are a useful starting point because many non-profits lobby legislators or have other business with state government. Examples named in 2013 were the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations in Harrisburg, the Center for Nonprofits in Trenton and the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement in Wilmington.