How to Become a Medical Writer: A Comprehensive Guide 

If you read this article, you probably dream of getting your foot in the door with medical writing. Or maybe you are an employer eager to add a medical writer to the crew. Regardless of your goal, you must understand that the ready-aim-fire approach will not work in this occupation. You should know what medical writers do, what value they bring, how much they make, who hires them, and how to become one.  

In this in-depth guide, the Viseven team will help you learn more about the medical writing job and feel more confident while testing the waters in a new field. But before we begin, let’s define medical writing. 

What Is Medical Writing? 

Medical writing refers to creating healthcare-related textual content that aims to improve doctor-patient communication and provide insights on industry topics. Medical writing presupposes compliance with regulatory guidelines and industry requirements regarding structure, content, style, and format. 

Some types of medical writing include: 

• Grant proposals 
• Abstract for medical journals 
• Advisory board summaries 

• Ads for medical devices and drugs
• Clinical study reports
• Healthcare education materials 
• Marketing materials 
• Newspaper articles 
• Healthcare books 

Necessary Skills and Expertise 

Medical writers create technical, educational, promotional, and informative healthcare-related content. Since healthcare is heavily regulated, a medical writer must be familiar with industry standards, regulations, and medical concepts. While having a healthcare degree is preferable, it is not mandatory. 

It is also worth noting that more than a basic understanding of healthcare is needed to excel in this profession. Medical writers must be outstanding communicators, capable of breaking down complex ideas for the public and healthcare professionals in a digestible way. They must create a compelling story to which the audience can relate, especially when crafting ads and marketing materials. 

Equally important for a medical writer are analytical and research skills. These experts must be able to analyze and synthesize large volumes of evidence-based information to create a coherent, compliant content piece. Since each piece will undergo the approval procedure (for example, the Medical Legal Regulatory (MLR) process), they should be able to work with facts and interpret research findings and statistics without falling prey to biased thinking.

Source: Technical Writer HQ

Benefits of Having a Medical Writer in Your Team 

Whether you are an employer or a would-be medical writer, you need to know what these experts bring to the table. Here are some of the key perks: 

Compliance made easy 

Medical writers are experienced in writing healthcare content, so they know how to ensure compliance with the industry requirements. For example, in pharma marketing, each content module or assembly must undergo a rigorous MLR process. For the businesses that do not employ a modular approach to content creation, it may take up to 2 months to approve a single content asset.  

If competent writers are assigned to create the content, the MLR teams will be more likely to approve it on the first attempt. This means savings in costs, time, and improving the quality of writing. 

High-quality content 

Medical writers understand the healthcare industry, their audience, and the job to be done better than other writers or marketers. They know how to connect with different types of readers, such as providers, regulatory authorities, patients, and caregivers.  

They also have the skills to write easy-to-read, engaging, and ethical healthcare materials. All their claims are well-researched and supported by data. 

Standardization 

One aspect often overlooked is content consistency. Medical writers ensure standardization across materials. This allows pharmaceutical companies to maintain their brand voice and facilitates information sharing. Since content quality and messaging remain consistent, reviewing and comparing different materials is more effortless.  

Who Hires These Specialists? 

Many aspiring medical writers falsely believe they should market their services only to pharmaceutical and medical device companies. This biased assumption greatly impacts their career progress. While pharmaceutical companies need medical writing services, they do not usually hire these specialists directly. 

Pharma companies often turn to medical education companies and medical communication agencies for medical writing. These vendors offer complete services, from project briefing to website development, making them time-efficient and convenient for life sciences businesses. 

It is not uncommon for MarTech companies operating in pharma to hire medical writers. For example, Viseven’s Digital Content Factory (DCF) provides interactive content development for life sciences brands, including those in the Top 50. Our team has been delivering medical writing and marketing services for over 15 years. 

Connect with these companies on LinkedIn or find their websites to check medical writing job openings. Depending on your goals and preferences, you may apply for in-house positions or seek freelance opportunities. 

How Much Do Medical Writers Earn? 

Medical writers’ salaries heavily depend on their skills, experience, and location. Salaries can vary significantly in the United States, even from state to state. According to Glassdoor, a medical writer makes an average of $86,556 per year. Meanwhile, Salary.com gives a somewhat lower figure of $70,784. This website allows you to determine the salary based on years of experience, location, reporting structure, and performance level. 

How to Become a Medical Writer 

Here are some time-tested pieces of advice to become a medical writer: 

Find a good mentor 

Finding a mentor is one of the most effective strategies for beginning your career path. However, you must be ready to soak up new knowledge and not be afraid to ask questions. 

You may encounter two types of writers when searching for a mentor. The first group consists of writers with a medical degree and extensive experience in healthcare, but their writing skills may be average. Life sciences brands often employ these writers if they have medical editors on their teams.  

Another type of mentor is a medical writer with adequate medical knowledge and exceptional writing skills. Their work typically requires minimal editing and is approved from the first draft, saving companies time and money.  

The choice of mentor depends on your preferences and available resources. Yet, it is preferable to find a mentor who can teach you both medical science and the art of writing, thereby making you a more competitive expert in the market. 

Build a diverse portfolio 

Your work speaks for itself, and a well-crafted portfolio is a must when you start your path as a medical writer. You might say, “But wait, how can I build my portfolio if I do not have anything published?”.  

One mistake that novices make is to wait for publications in authoritative medical journals to begin composing your portfolio. Your prospective employers would like to see examples of your work to check whether you are a good fit for them.  

They also tend to prefer writers who can produce content for diverse audiences. Therefore, it is always a good idea to include, for example, patient handouts along with healthcare magazine articles. This would prevent you from pigeonholing yourself to one niche only and make you appear more valuable in the employers’ eyes. 

Network, network, and network 

Whether you plan to become a freelancer or an in-house employee, it is crucial to connect with the community to break into the field. Building a network of contacts, both locally and internationally, is increasingly important.  

One option to consider is joining the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), an international association of specialists in biomedical communications. This will give you access to industry expert-led courses, scientific workshops, and mentoring opportunities. Most importantly, you can form valuable professional relationships, learning from other writers’ mistakes and success stories. 

Also, let’s not forget about virtual communication. Adding contacts on LinkedIn will help expand your network. You might also want to add employees and corporate pages of companies you want to work for. 

Become more tech-savvy 

Technical literacy will help you produce content quickly and with minimal to no revision requests from your employer or client. As a medical writer, you must be proficient in software such as Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat.  

The latter program is essential when creating marketing materials. To get content approved by MLR, you need to reference all your claims by mentioning the exact author, page, and paragraph number and highlight the sentences you are referring to. As most documents come in a PDF format, Adobe Acrobat is helpful for this task.  

Learning new tech skills also helps professionals stay abreast of industry trends. For example, medical writers at Viseven can leverage our advanced content experience platform, eWizard, to plan, brief, modularize, analyze, and distribute content. The knowledge of the AI-driven solution helps them speed up their content creation process, accelerate MLR approval, and tailor messages to their audiences. 

Spend money to earn money 

Medical writing is a highly dynamic field, so it is crucial to stay updated on the latest innovations, guidelines, and healthcare regulations. As stated by Cynthia Kryder in the book ‘The Accidental Medical Writer,’ you have to spend money to make money. 

There is no specific degree in medical writing, but you can always find plenty of self-education opportunities. Many organizations provide training sessions for newly hired medical writers. In these courses, new employees learn about various types of regulatory documents, in-house templates, style guides, the drug development process, and more. These organizations may pair new employees with senior medical writers who act as mentors. 

Alternatively, consider enrolling in short courses offered by professional entities. These sessions typically last up to three days and focus on specific topics (drug safety, medical writing for newspapers, ethical standards, and more). Upon completion, you will receive heaps of condensed, valuable information shared by experienced industry professionals. 

It is also vital to read high-quality content produced by other medical writers. You do not have to consume every content piece under the sun, but you should familiarize yourself with different writing styles to find your own voice.  

Identify the types of content you would like to create and read as much as possible. For example, if you want to write for healthcare journals and newspapers, explore the most prominent ones on the market. 

Gain medical science knowledge 

More than basic healthcare knowledge is required when starting a career in medical writing. It is vital to have professional literature at your fingertips. Essential resources include a nursing procedure book, physician desk reference, and medical dictionary. The Control of Communicable Diseases Manual can help you understand disease biology.  

There is also a wealth of evidence-based information available on the Internet. One of the most reputable databases is PubMed, which contains millions of healthcare manuscripts dating back to the 1950s.  

Meanwhile, do not use online encyclopedias and blogs, which people without a healthcare degree write and edit. You should be able to differentiate fact-based materials and personal opinions to provide high-quality medical content. 

Final Words 

Medical writing brings together the art of writing and the science of medicine. Life sciences brands rely on medical writers to engage, educate, and establish long-term relationships with their audience.  

Viseven is a future-inspired MarTech company that collaborates with medical writers specializing in various therapeutic areas, from endocrinology to rare diseases. Our experts work with marketing specialists and medical advisors to produce high-quality, compliant, and impactful content. Our team includes medical doctors who grasp the legal aspects of promoting different types of drugs and ensure that your content complies with regulations and cultural nuances. 

If you are interested in our medical writing and content creation services do not hesitate to drop us a line. 

---