Medical writing in Portugal
Medical writing in Portugal involves professional recognition, national networks and the country’s potential as a hub for remote work.
Recognition and recruitment
In 2024, a Portuguese medical writer working remotely considered Portugal substantially underrepresented in global medical writing despite its potential. She suggested two main reasons: graduates might not know about scientific careers outside academic research, including medical writing, and hiring managers might overlook a small country when seeking scientific graduates with writing ability. She proposed connecting potential Portuguese candidates with employers through education and awareness, expecting Portugal to become a European remote-writing hub once that gap closed. Her own choice to work in Portugal reflected safety, climate, food, cities, countryside and coastal areas.
A national network
In 2020, Portugal was described as lacking awareness of medical writing, with most writers working for contract research organisations or the country’s few pharmaceutical companies. Few medical or health communications agencies existed, and they mostly outsourced work to freelances; limited communication between experts created further barriers to emerging opportunities. A collaborative national group was proposed as a way to address these difficulties through education and networking, develop better specialists and advance the profession in Portugal.
A new writer who joined EMWA in December 2018 found no organised Portuguese group through which to learn from established professionals outside conferences. She and another writer created Medical Writers of Portugal (MWP), assigning tasks and using a logo and social-media images to explain medical writing, share motivational messages and describe the group’s intentions. Posts on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook attracted about 50 followers, and the first meeting in Lisbon brought together around 25 people from pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations, medical communications and freelance work, alongside newcomers. A subsequent survey asked participants what they wanted from the group, and its results were shared in a designed document.
By March 2020, a second meeting was being organised, with hopes that an official group would become an association or part of EMWA’s ambassador programme. The group already enabled members to share experience, help with daily work and learn from one another. By June 2023, the Associação Portuguesa de Medical Writers (APMW) was being established after an informal meeting developed into plans for a formal organisation. Its in-person and online events were held in Portuguese to help people enter the profession, meet other writers in Portugal and learn.
Language skills and scientific graduates
Portugal ranked in the world’s top ten in the 2023 EF English Proficiency Index, with very high proficiency. English has long been taught as the preferred foreign language in Portuguese schools, increasingly from preschool, while books, music and screen entertainment have been available in their original English. The remote writer’s 2024 account attributed professionals’ proficiency to this sustained exposure. She also identified shared Latin roots as making Spanish, French and Italian easy for Portuguese speakers to learn, with many professionals investing in multilingual skills. She considered cultural compatibility with other European and Western countries helpful for integration into international teams.
Figures reported in 2024 showed a 73% rise in Portugal’s PhD holders over a decade, to more than 43,000 across fields. Life-science and related PhD graduates could become medical writers for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research organisations and other employers.
Location and employment costs
Mainland Portugal and Madeira share the UK’s local time throughout the year, while the Azores are one hour behind. The location can allow overlapping business hours with European, American and Asian teams and short journeys to other European business hubs for occasional meetings.
In 2024, relatively low living costs compared with other European countries were presented as a potential hiring advantage: employers could make substantial savings while offering competitive salaries and retaining access to skilled writers.