Learning the science as well as the documents
Medical writers need scientific knowledge to understand the research and diseases they describe. Learning can provide an overview of an unfamiliar field, refresh earlier study or build a foundation for further research.
Knowledge behind the writing
The GATE principles governing interaction between medical writers and authors require writers to have sufficient expertise in the topic or field. A journal editor's experience in 2012 was that professional medical writers often had only limited knowledge of the diseases they wrote about.
A working knowledge and appreciation of basic-science processes can benefit communication of clinical research, because clinical research often benefits from applying basic-science findings.
A foundation for further study
AMWA's science fundamentals curriculum was designed to orient writers and editors to scientific areas and provide a foundation for further study, without replacing a university science degree or providing a comprehensive science education. Its workshops supplied terminology, basic concepts and systems, commonly used methods, and references and resources, because participants needed to write about science and understand others' writing rather than perform the science themselves. A three-hour science workshop no more makes a scientist than a three-hour writing workshop makes a writer; it provides background and a foundation for further study.
The 2007 general workshop curriculum comprised the following subjects.
- The basics of genetics
- The basics of molecular biology
- The basics of cell biology
- The basics of human anatomy and physiology
- Biomedical research design
- Basics of epidemiology for medical communicators
- Statistics for medical writers and editors
- Reporting correlation and regression analyses
- Elements of medical terminology
The specialty workshops covered these subjects.
- Drug interactions
- Pharmacokinetics
- Understanding and reporting the results of routine clinical laboratory tests
- Basic immunology for medical writers and editors
- Introduction to the nervous system
- Introduction to orthopaedic surgery
The planned curriculum extended from general science topics such as genetics and molecular biology to normal human anatomy and physiology by body system, diseases, diagnostic methods such as laboratory methods and imaging, and treatments such as drugs and medical devices.
An overview of a recurring subject
A unified overview of a subject can help a writer research it more effectively and see it more broadly than learning it in fragments. Inflammation is one such subject: it underlies many diseases and recurs in research about diseases and drug effects.
In 2024, EUPATI's Open Classroom offered a comprehensive, free online resource on the drug-development process in Europe. An experienced industry practitioner recommended it for people entering medical writing and reported learning a great deal from its background information.