TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Jeff Hanvey wondered: <<what all do medical writers do? I've written a few
policy and procedures manuals and things of that nature, so how similar are
the roles?>>
What they do depends entirely on the job; it would be no more accurate to
provide a single, simplistic image of medical writers than it would be to
say that technical communicators all write computer documentation in Word.
We don't. The job can range from editing policies and procedures for filling
in or processing medical insurance forms (less common) to writing complex,
scientifically demanding medical monographs, with a host of stops in
between. These stops include writing abstracts of complex monographs so busy
doctors can get the gist without reading the whole thing, helping doctors
write publishable papers for medical journals, creating patient-care
guidelines, and so on.
One very important difference from more familiar forms of techwhirling is
that the things you write about will generally have a direct impact on human
lives and health. That's not to say that poor computer documentation doesn't
raise blood pressure and increase the risk of cardiovascular accidents, but
if you don't understand a subject and write the wrong instructions (e.g.,
for taking medicine), you're likely to harm someone directly and
immediately. So if you don't understand phrases like "cardiovascular
accidents", you need to take a crash course in medspeak, and be unusually
cautious in confirming that what you write is correct until you've learned
the jargon. More than in any other field of writing, if you don't understand
the topic, you'd better be darn sure you ask all the dumb questions
necessary to understand it. That's a lot of pressure, so be sure that you're
willing to be more diligent than you've ever been before if you're planning
a career in this field.
--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
"User's advocate" online monthly at
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"Arthur C. Clarke had suggested that any sufficiently advanced technology
would be indistinguishable from magic--referring to a possible encounter
with an alien civilization--but if a science journalist had one
responsibility above all else, it was to keep Clarke's Law from applying to
human technology in human eyes."--Greg Egan, "Distress"
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