Freelance Medical Writer

This article would find relevance for a recent life-science graduate or a working professional already employed in this industry. A working professional referred here could be any individual employed within the entire spectrum of life science industry, ranging from a scientist to a clinical programmer.

Overview:

Medical Writing is an art of using one’s skill in writing, in the field of life sciences. The scope for Medical Writing could be in multiple segments like Regulatory, Promotional or Educational fields. A few of the many options that a Medical Writer can choose from are:

• Writing of highly scientific documents which explain in detail different aspects of the latest discovery of drug or technology that has to be submitted to the FDA or any international approval organizations.
• To take up the role of a Medical Journalist and educate health care professionals and/or the general public on various topics across the entire gamut of the healthcare industry.
• Medical Marketing where the sole purpose is to promote a drug or medical device to the target audience.

Importance of a Medical Writer:

Scientific advancements have led to a significant increase in the number of research centers and clinical research organizations along with the advent of new health care ideas and concepts all around the world and this, in turn, has increased the demand for medical writers. This is because the writing and documentation of the data in a comprehendible and accurate manner, is as important as carrying out the research, if not more. A multi-headed research can be construed to be faulty if not presented in the appropriate manner. Thus, information presented by these writers is of prime importance and the entire written document should be so worded as to be easily understood by people from all aspects of life.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Collect information from credible sources to help build information for the organization.
• Write/ Edit articles based on facts with accuracy.
• Have excellent writing skills and be comfortable with handling medical/academic terminology used in medical writing.
• Update oneself with the latest developments in the field.

For further reading, we recommend one of our earlier posts:

http://mmsuniversity.com/career-roadmap-medical-writers/

Medical writing job is a tough task demander as a lot of hard work goes into this profession while at the same time lucratively compensated and thus enables these professionals to have a high degree of job satisfaction. They generally take pride and experience rightful joy over the fact that they play a vital role in ensuring that the life saving drugs go through the relevant legal approval process in their long journey from their invention/discovery step right up to the eventual market launch.

A detailed article on the same can be read via the following link:

http://mmsuniversity.com/why-medical-writers-have-high-job-satisfaction/

Medical Writing can be considered a most advantageous career option for both Freelancers and Full-Time Professionals.

Being a Freelance Medical Writer in this competitive field would initially be accompanied by significant effort and most beg

inners would do well to understand the following points:

• One would have to ‘SELL ONE’s IDEAS’ in a way that they stand out from the rest and would make for compulsive reading material.
• One could be either a Specialist in a particular field (Subject Matter Expert) or a writer in general with graduation in any life science subjects. In addition, a certification in Medical Writing from a reputed institute could also lead to the requisite skills.
• While scouting for opportunities, it should be noted that the strength or the command over medical terminologies and concepts should be clearly visible in the previously executed work projects being showcased.
• Finally, one has to make oneself aware of the various types of companies that are in need of Medical writers, be Proactive and approach them in quest of an opportunity to offer one’s services.

How would one be recognized?

• Referral (word of mouth) is the one most important tool for a freelancer. One has to reach out to one’s network of people, keep them informed of one’s skills and availability as a freelance medical writer.
• Repeat assignments from the companies with whom one has worked in the past.
• Having a strong updated profile on online portals where freelance opportunities are advertised.
• Pharmaceutical companies are the major sources of opportunities for a freelance medical writer and hence one should make efforts to ensure that these companies are aware of one’s work experience.

Advantages of being a Freelancer

• Freelancing offers the possibility of greater independence – the romance of being your own boss which include setting one’s own timings and choosing where and how one works
• Freelancer spends more time writing, often gets credit for the work and gets more interesting projects
• One very significant aspect of being a freelancer is the nonexistence of office politics and administrative restrictions
• Unlike employees, freelancers can choose or reject the project offered
• More importantly, there is no cap on earnings like that of an employee

CONCLUSION

Life science graduates could always consider medical writing as a viable career option. Considering the number of universities that are available for medical writers to get the required training, it should not be a difficult task for a person who has knowledge on medical concepts to acquire the necessary skills that are needed to master the art of medical writing.

MMS University (www.mmsuniversity.com) is among the top ranked online universities in the world that provides the perfect launch pad for prospective Medical Writers, SAS Clinical Programmers, Pharmacovigilance professionals and other life sciences industry aspirants who are interested in learning from practicing experts. MMS University offers exhaustive ‘Assessment based Certification’ courses in Medical Writing, SAS Clinical Programming, Trial Disclosures and Pharmacovigilance which are designed to provide enhanced credibility to prospective Clinical Research professionals in their search for employment opportunities, career growth options and freelance work.

To know more, visit us at ‘www.mmsuniversity.com’ today.

Drug Development and Clinical Programming both have wide career opportunities and interested readers can find more information by reading the following articles:

http://mmsuniversity.com/become-a-certified-clinical-programmer-take-charge-of-your-career-today/

http://mmsuniversity.com/career-clinical-data-management-part-1/