Entering medical writing

Medical writers enter through different combinations of education, previous work, writing practice and personal contacts. Finding a first opportunity involves discovering what the work requires, testing whether it fits and making existing abilities visible to people who need them.

Different routes into the work

There is no single route into medical writing: entrants can prepare deliberately through education, discover that writing research is more appealing than doing it, or begin in a communications job and learn its scientific subject matter. ^{1, 2, 3, 4} Accounts include careers beginning in science, medicine, health care, journalism and communications, with prior experience contributing different knowledge and skills. ²

The first writing role may develop from work already being done inside an organisation. ^{5, 6, 7} One temporary employee at a pharmaceutical subsidiary became its first medical writer when it recognised a need for people dedicated to protocols and reports. ⁵ A clinical research associate who showed enthusiasm for writing was given study documents to draft and became a full-time medical writer in 2008. ⁶ An international clinical project manager who had continued writing manuscripts for enjoyment discussed a change with her manager and transferred to the CRO’s medical writing department. ⁷

An entry role may also draw on editorial or production skills. ⁸ In one case, a temporary employee at a medical publisher made managers aware of her editorial and design abilities and was hired full-time as a desktop publisher and editorial assistant. ⁸ The work included manuscript figures, copyediting, journal styling, databases and work across computer platforms. ^{8, 9}

Testing the fit

Talking with practising medical writers, attending an association conference, shadowing a writer or taking an internship can help someone judge whether the career fits before pursuing it fully. ¹⁰ Side assignments can also test the move while another career or course of study continues. ^{11, 12}

One clinical-psychology doctoral student discovered the possibility through an account of a psychology graduate who became a writer, joined AMWA, sought feedback from trusted people and looked for side work. ^{11, 12} An unsuccessful application for a part-time role was followed weeks later by an invitation to interview for similar work requiring only occasional travel. ¹² She obtained the contract, allocated twenty hours a week and researched and wrote summaries of health measurement methods, matching her research training and interests. ¹² The combined demands of graduate school, writing and home life led her to reduce the writing to progress her dissertation; an affiliated research centre later offered editing of grants and manuscripts, which she continued alongside her studies. ¹²

Before choosing the field, prospective writers can ask four questions. ^{13, 14, 15}

1. Are they good at turning volumes of data into clear, concise and meaningful messages?
2. Are they keen to keep up with research trends?
3. Does interpreting data interest them?
4. Did they enjoy writing assignments or a thesis?

^{14, 15}

Contacts that open a door

A conversation can reveal a career that an entrant did not know existed. ^{16, 17, 18} One student contacted a former employer to ask about her career, learned about medical writing and subsequently pursued a master’s in technical and scientific communication before entering a pharmaceutical company. ^{16, 17, 19} Another prospective writer saw a former teacher’s LinkedIn job post, asked what medical writing was and began investigating the profession rather than applying immediately. ¹⁸

Referrals can also bring an application to someone’s attention after an initial rejection. ²⁰ One applicant rejected by a cancer centre for lack of experience later had his CV passed through a family contact and a former fellow student to the scientific-publications department, where his career began. ²⁰

In a small interview study published in 2016, all three academic medical writers and editors had originally planned tenure-track careers and were referred into writing or editing by a friend or colleague. ²¹ Their cases show different stages of transition: after doctoral training, after postdoctoral training and after securing an assistant professorship and a career-development grant. ²¹

Persistence through the first search

Finding the first medical writing position can be the most difficult step. ^{22, 23} Writers should be patient and persistent, take available writing opportunities and look for needs not being met by existing writing resources. ²⁴ Proactivity, getting to know people and finding ways to demonstrate abilities can help after repeated rejections. ^{25, 26, 27}

One new graduate’s search took about nine months, from starting applications in June 2005 to beginning work in March 2006. ²⁸ General and biotechnology job boards, direct company applications, recruiters and telephone calls mostly brought requests for experience he lacked. ²⁹ A family member then heard that his company needed safety narratives and referred him; he was interviewed and hired as a medical writer intern, becoming an employee six months later. ²⁹ The company had created the intern title because it had not employed an in-house medical writer before. ³⁰ The writer’s conclusion was that a company can find a use for skills it needs even when no established role exists. ^{30, 31}

Another entrant, leaving postdoctoral research during the pandemic, struggled to translate academic skills into CV points and to interpret adverts asking for two to three years of industry experience. ^{32, 33} He sought a mentor’s advice, joined an online gathering of writers and helped organise a question-and-answer session with experienced writers about hiring. ^{32, 34, 33} By the time the session took place, he had interviewed with and was preparing to join the mentor’s company. ³³

Advice from established writers

In a March 2016 survey of medical writers in pharmaceuticals and medical devices, 62 of 112 respondents answered a question about advice to a new writer or their younger self. ^{35, 36, 37} Common themes were gaining broad experience, entering the profession early and recognising that the job involves more than writing. ³⁷ The responses were grouped into seven themes. ³⁸

Theme	Advice offered by respondents
Gain experience	Gain experience across writing and document types, regulations, standards and guidelines; these are adaptable with initial effort. Start early through a student magazine or internships. Read widely and learn many therapeutic areas. Practise before deadlines and expectations are imposed. Work overseas and travel. Speak up about relevant experience or a wish to participate. Get regulatory-writing experience, where respondents considered jobs abundant. Keep an up-to-date portfolio.
Acquire skills and training	Develop project-management and client skills as well as writing. Work on presentation skills early, described as essential for effectiveness and advancement. Communicate well, manage through influence rather than authority and learn to resolve conflicts; one response prioritised communication over scientific knowledge. Improve business skills.
Timing	Move companies after the first year to gain industry perspective. Start a writing career earlier, for example directly after a PhD; respondents cautioned that advancing in the laboratory did not bring a higher writing position or financial reward.
Qualifications	Obtain a health-related master’s such as an MPH, while recognising that experience generally outweighs degrees. A postdoc is unnecessary. Consider another career if writing and science are not enjoyable.
Personal attributes and qualities	Be enthusiastic, proactive and willing to volunteer, innovate and pursue good ideas. Push back appropriately, avoid fearing clients or authors, build partnerships with them and resist being taken advantage of. Ask questions and be curious. Stay calm, pause before addressing problems and remember that most can be fixed. Avoid worrying about small things. Seek colleagues’ help; most like to be asked. Accept comments as part of the job, develop resilience and avoid taking clients personally. Ask for enough time to produce accurate, good work rather than deliver poor work under pressure. Be rigorous but flexible and put science first. Accept uncertainty and ambiguity. Avoid excessively long hours that become expected, and do not read email after hours. Seek authorship and recognition more assertively. Focus on enjoyable work and remain open to changes in the job and career.
Network	Join a network of people in similar roles and participate in societies such as ISMPP and AMWA to keep up with the science.
Other	Make the most of the career if it is enjoyable and leave quickly if it is not; one response called it a one-way road. Allow time to find good opportunities. Seek a happy team. Highlight achievements to senior management, understand the job description and negotiate more starting pay. One response favoured moving from editing into writing sooner. Management is not required for fulfilment; writers who enjoy writing can avoid being drawn into it. Prioritise relationships when becoming too task-focused. Work towards personal aspirations rather than someone else’s.

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