Medical writing is a career that appeals to many people with a wide variety of backgrounds in science or medicine. But there are widespread misconceptions as to what medical writers employed by medical communications agencies actually do.
What is a Medical Communications Agency?
Medical communications agencies exist essentially to serve the pharmaceutical industry. Their main remit is to assist in the development and implementation of projects that communicate information about their product and the relevant disease area. This may include the organisation of meetings, production of brochures and leaflets, educational resources for health care professionals or patients, development of websites, and much more.
Is Pharmaceutical Company Promotion Ethical?
The pharmaceutical industry is self-regulated and bound by the code of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, or ABPI. The code, developed in at attempt to address the negative image of the industry, is technically voluntary, but flouting the rules results in severe penalties. This means that pharmaceutical companies are restricted in how they go about promoting their product, and must ensure that any claims they make are supported by strong scientific data.
What Do Medical Writers Do?
As would be expected, medical writers will spend much of their working day writing. They may work on one brand all the time, or many different brands over the course of the week, or even day, depending on the agency. They may also be responsible for proof reading and editing.
To comply with legal and ethical requirements, a significant part of a medical writer’s workload will involve marking every statement in a document with the source from which it has been taken, thus ensuring that every statement or claim is supported in the scientific literature.
What Kind of Things Do Medical Writers Write?
Some of the types of projects that an agency-employed medical writer may work on include manuscripts and review articles, educational slides sets, slide presentations for congress symposia, abstract books, posters, promotional materials, information for company sales reps, website copy and many more.
They will also to write materials for many different audiences, including specialist clinicians, GPs, nurses, pharmacists sales reps, patients, and the general public.
The actual content will most often lie within six main areas: disease background, clinical efficacy, clinical safety, cost-effectiveness, treatment guidelines, and technical product information.
Becoming a Medical Writer
Most medical writers have a strong scientific or medical background. Most, if not all, will have a degree in a scientific discipline such as human biology, neurology, physiology or pharmacology, and many also have a PhD in a related field. Some will be physicians exploring a new career away from medicine, or research scientists seeking to leave the laboratory while still utilising their expertise.
Most importantly, potential medical writers will be enthusiastic about the field of health and medicine, have a keen attention to detail, be able to work to tight deadlines in order than work is completed on time and on budget. In addition, they should be able to understand the point of view of both the client and the customer (i.e. the reader). What does the client want out of a piece of communication, and what does the customer want to get out of it?
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