What is medical writing?
Medical writing is part of medical communications, the development of materials about medicine and health care. Medical writers gather, organize, interpret, and present scientific or clinical information for audiences such as health care professionals, patients, regulators, industry teams, and the public.
The work may include medical journal articles, white papers, clinical-trial protocols and reports, regulatory documents, patient education, slide presentations, and other print, digital, or visual content. The audience and purpose shape the language, level of detail, format, and review requirements for each piece.
Are medical writers in demand?
Yes. Skilled medical writers continue to be needed in settings where new medical research, treatments, devices, and services must be explained clearly to health care professionals or the public. AMWA describes opportunities across pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, medical communications agencies, health care organizations, universities, government agencies, publishers, and other settings. The opportunities available to any individual depend on specialty, experience, employer, and location. See the guide to becoming a medical writer for AMWA’s overview of the profession.
I also explore how generative AI may reshape medical writing and why human oversight still matters in a separate article.
What does a medical writer do exactly? What do their responsibilities look like?
A medical writer performs a variety of tasks to help a medical communications agency or a pharmaceutical company create educational and marketing materials to meet its needs. These tasks may include conducting research and analysis of data, creating patient brochures, medical education materials, and scientific publications, engaging with clinicians or medical experts, fact-checking, and much more. Today, medical writing is a very broad term. The job description of medical writers may range from drafting and editing scientific publications to organizing and implementing multimillion-dollar medical education and marketing campaigns.
Medical writers work closely with teams of professionals with expertise in a variety of fields such as medicine, research, marketing, and regulatory affairs – as a medical writer you may interact and work with other medical writers, content strategists, medical editors, graphic designers, project managers, and other specialists on a regular basis, from the stage of creating the first draft of a piece of medical content, which may subsequently undergo several edits, revisions, and iterations before final submission.
Medical writers often coordinate with a broader team, but they still need to manage their own assignments, follow client or employer specifications, submit work for review, and revise it by the agreed deadline. In many roles, writers manage several projects or clients at the same time. That makes project management, the ability to learn complex topics quickly, and close attention to detail important parts of the job.
How do I become a medical writer? Can I work as a freelance medical writer? What are some examples of medical communication jobs?
People arrive in medical writing from several directions. A science or health care background can be useful, especially when a role requires you to interpret research or clinical data. Writers and editors also enter from English, journalism, communications, and other fields, then build the medical knowledge their specialty requires.
Medical writers work for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research organizations, medical communications agencies, hospitals and other health care organizations, government agencies, universities, publishers, professional associations, and other employers. Depending on the company or organization, titles and responsibilities vary. Roles may include medical writer, scientific writer, regulatory writer, medical editor, fact checker, scientific director, health care journalist, or communications specialist.
Yes, medical writers can also work independently as freelancers. Freelance work can offer control over the clients and projects a writer takes on, but it also adds responsibility for finding and managing clients, setting fees, scheduling projects, and handling the business side of the work. Some freelancers specialize in one area; others support several. Compensation, workload, and work arrangements vary by specialty, employer, client, and experience.
What qualifications do you need to be a medical writer?
Requirements depend on the role. Medical writers enter from science, health care, writing, journalism, communications, and other backgrounds. An advanced degree such as a PhD, MD, or PharmD can be helpful in some specialties, but it is not a universal requirement. Whatever your degree, the work calls for the ability to understand medical information, evaluate sources and data, and write clearly for the intended audience.
Where and how can I develop medical writing skills? What are some helpful resources available for someone interested in medical communications?
Aspiring medical writers—especially those who are new to the field—may wonder where and how they can develop medical writing skills. Most of the time, these skills are developed on the job, since the acquisition of medical writing skills is rarely taught in medical school or biology/biomedical graduate programs. Whether you are a new grad or have years of experience, it is always good practice to keep up with new developments in the field and learn new skills that are required to keep your career current.
There are various ways to develop medical writing skills. For example, you can enroll in a program that teaches medical writing. Several universities offer such programs, but pursuing such courses/programs may mean spending more time and money. As mentioned above, most medical writers learn many of the requisite skills on the job, but there are certain elements from your graduate training that can help you stand out from a pool of candidates in the job market and make for a smooth start.
While most graduate programs in science may not necessarily have courses that teach medical writing, transferable skills you acquire during graduate or medical training can benefit you considerably as you embark on a medical writing career. For instance, scientific writing skills (acquired by writing grants, designing posters, and creating slide decks to present your research), analytical skills (honed by activities like performing literature searches, generating scientific ideas, gaining an understanding of statistics, interpretation of research data, analysis of tables and graphs, to name a few), the ability to collaborate and work well with a team (gained by working with lab members and research collaborators), the ability to manage multiple projects (achieved by juggling your thesis research and other side projects, for example), are all valuable qualities that you can leverage from your graduate degree to be successful in medical communications.
Professional organizations, like the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), are often great resources for medical writers in all stages of their careers – these organizations offer excellent opportunities for meeting other medical writers, networking, and professional development. Becoming a member of the local chapter of AMWA (or similar organizations in your region) could be a good option to access several professional resources for medical writers. For practical advice you can use immediately, start with these five medical writing tips for clearer, more engaging content. Reputable medical and science writing websites, blogs, and podcasts can also help you learn how experienced writers approach the work.
What are the different types of medical writing?
There are many different types of medical writing. The most common forms of medical writing include medical journalism, medical education and publications, and regulatory writing. Medical journalism is similar to general journalism in that it involves writing articles about medical topics for general readers. Medical education (including promotional medical education) involves writing educational and promotional materials that teach medical professionals about particular health conditions and specific drugs. Medical publications may include reviews and articles in academic journals as well as abstracts and posters for clinical conferences. Regulatory writing is the process of creating written materials that comply with the regulations set by government agencies like the US FDA (regulatory submission documents) – regulatory writers typically work in this niche and they may either work in-house for pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations or for medical communication agencies.
Is medical writing the same as scientific writing?
Medical writing, in the broad sense, is a subset of scientific writing. Scientific writing encompasses writing on medical topics as well as other scientific topics such as basic science, engineering, and more. Some of the types of writing that fall under the scientific writing umbrella include academic writing (publications, grants), science journalism (for newspapers, magazines and websites), medical writing, and technical writing – sometimes with overlap among the various subsets. Medical writing, which focuses on the healthcare industry, can be considered a specialty within scientific writing. The main differences between the two are their target audiences and intended outcomes: Medical writing aims to inform/educate audiences that include public health and healthcare professionals, clinicians, payers who provide drug access (eg, insurance companies), and patients. Scientific writing – in a stricter sense – focuses mostly on academic audiences, to review scientific research or to communicate scientific concepts to scientists or researchers.
Hope this article provided you some answers about medical communications. If it helped you learn more about medical writing (or if you have additional questions), please let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading!
Hi there! I’m Aaram, the founder of Sciencera. I grew up in the beautiful city of Thiruvananthapuram in the Southern part of India, famous for its pristine beaches. Now, I am a scientific writer based in Indianapolis. When I am not busy procrastinating on my writing, poring through research articles, or coming up with grand ideas to save the planet, I love playing soccer and chess. I read a bit and write sporadically when caffeinated to the right amount. I am passionate about scientific research, writing, and outreach activities.
