Freelance Medical Writing

Medical writing is one of the fastest and the most lucrative of the numerous scientific professionals. Science has never been a lucrative profession and people have entered into it purely for the passion they have for the science. However as businesses have grown, science has progressed, pharmaceutical industries have taken over, laboratories have mushroomed, research has increased, and business people have started to treat biological sciences as trade; need for science communication have increased and demand for medical writers have amplified. Apart from the pharmaceutical industry, a wide range of organizations require medical writers including universities, researchers and bioscience goods manufacturers.

Anyone with a passion for science and the skills to put them into words are able to enter the world of medical writing. The key to effective medical writing is to pen the information from a variety of information to various audiences. For example, if a drug has completed its last set of trials and is being produced for marketing; then a range of literature needs to be published for a variety of people including doctors, pharmacists, nurses, patients and bodies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responsible for protecting the public health.

Often but not always, PhD. graduates have high analytical skills that they can put to paper. However, minimum qualification should be a degree in a life science subject and possibly backed by a higher degree such as an MSc. The best way to get into this industry is to join a Clinical Research organization (CRO) that will train you in regulatory medical writing after which you can become a prominent member and work independently and even lead your own team of writers. Then there is a possibility of becoming an independent medical writer where you can utilize your contacts within the pharmaceutical companies to obtain contracts.

Some of the many works created by medical writers include;

Findings of clinical research
Documentation and findings of research for regulatory bodies
Drug marketing literature and brochures
Statement of Process (SOPs)
Analysis of statistical data
Scientific research publications
Abstracts for submission to journals/conferences
Advertisement and marketing for products
Web content writing
Educational materials
Posters for presentation
Brochures
Protocols
Case reports
Reviews
Editing and proof reading prewritten materials
Press releases
Newsletters
Magazine articles
Policy statement etc