Careers in MCB:

Medical Writing

Paul Ferguson
Senior Account Manager
My Background
Paul Ferguson, Senior Account Manager
• BS in Biology, Southeast Missouri State University
• MS in Biology, UIUC
• Certificate in Business Administration from UIUC
• Course coordinator, MCB, UIUC
• Prescott Medical Communications Group
What is Medical Writing?
“Medical writing is the activity of writing scientific
documentation by someone who is a specialized
writer (a medical writer) and is generally not one of
the scientists or doctors whose research it was.”

Source: www.wikipedia.org
Examples of Medical Writing
• Journal articles
– Original research
– Review articles
– Editorials, case reports, etc.
• Abstracts
– Publication in journals
– Submission to medical meetings
• Posters
– Presentation at medical meetings
Examples of Medical Writing
• Slide presentations
– Original research
– Symposia
– Roundtables
– Advisory boards
• Medical education materials
– Monographs
– Training materials
– Prescribing information
Examples of Medical Writing
• Regulatory documents
– Clinical Trial Reports (CTR)
– New Drug Applications (NDA)
– Investigational New Drug Application (IND)
• Marketing materials
– Advertisements
– Public relations materials
– Internet documents
– Patient education
Required Skills for Medical Writing

• Attention to detail

• Excellent writing skills

• Interpersonal skills

• Organizational skills

• Scientific skills
 Education by Degree

Science

English

Journalism

Pharmacy

Medicine

Communication

Other

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Gray and Hamilton. AMWAJ, 2004. Medical Writers (%)

 Level of Education

2%

30%
Associate's Degree or
33% Below
Bachelor's

Master's

Advanced

35%
Gray and Hamilton. AMWAJ, 2004.
 Primary Employers of Medical Writers
Pharmaceutical

Agency

University

Clinical Research

Publishing

Health Care

Research or Education

Professional Society

Other

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Gray and Hamilton. AMWAJ, 2004.
Writers %
Freelance
• 1/3 of Medical writers
• Work at home
• Set your own schedule
• Income based upon ability to get work
• Discipline
• Experience
• Ability to market yourself
 Salary
• Commensurate with experience and
education
• $38,000-100,000+
• Mean income of full-time employees
approximately $74,000
• Pharmaceutical and communication
companies pay best
• “Interesting 6-figure job” as seen on
CNNMoney.com
Gray and Hamilton. AMWAJ, 2004.
Tips for Writing Career
• Build skills
– Composition, grammar
– Read medical literature
• Training
– Medical writing certification
– Statistics
• Networking
– American Medical Writers Association (AMWA)
Resources
• American Medical Writer’s Association (AMWA)
• American Medical Association Manual of Style
• International Committee of Medical Journal
Editors (ICMJE)