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I'm sort of a medical writer. My employer creates and distributes multimedia
patient education presentations for dental practices. The presentations are
delivered on DVD and via server. I write the patient education scripts and
newsletter articles, and I also document the software and hardware, creating
installation and user guide.
Like you, I have an MA in English and a Tech Writing Certificate, but unlike
you, I have no science background. I'm just very interested in medicine and
health, and spent many years not realizing that there could be careers in
that field that didn't involve actually touching sick people. I had already
been working at a software company as a tech writer, then got laid off.
To make my move to healthcare writing, I started out by volunteering to
health-related charitable organizations (since I wanted to write patient
education materials) until I had a portfolio to show. I also spent a lot of
time finding and talking with people who work in the communications
departments of healthcare systems. From the time I was laid off from the
software company till the time I came to CAESY took me one calendar year
exactly to the day.
You might want to check out the American Medical Writers Association. They
may have a chapter nearby. http://www.amwa.org/ They're range of medical
writing is very broad, and they also offer their own certification process.
Patrice Dodd
Writer
CAESY Education Systems, Inc.
tel: 360-883-5287
fax: 360-883-5253
patriced -at- caesy -dot- com
www.CAESY.com
Subject: Any medical writers here?
From: craig -dot- cardimon -at- att -dot- net
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 17:14:24 +0000
X-Message-Number: 19
Someone on this list suggested I contact the medical writers herein, so
that's
what I'm doing.
I'd like some advice on getting started in medical writing. Educationally
speaking, I have a BS in entomology and a Technical Writing Certificate
(never "used"). I also have an MA in English.
<snip>
Craig
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