Abstract:

Medical writing is a unique and rewarding profession. Individuals with a science background who have a flair for writing can opt for medical writing as a career. Interpreting complex data and presenting it in a simple and readable format is one of the major roles of a medical writer. Medical writers need to have key skills, i.e. excellent English communication (writing and speaking), literature search, interpretation and presentation of data. In addition to skills, medical writers would also require domain knowledge, i.e. medical/therapeutic area knowledge, drug development process, statistics, and technical guidelines. Medical writers can freelance independently after gaining several years of experience or be employed in pharmaceutical companies, academic institutes, and hospitals among others. There are several writing associations such as the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) and the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) that can help medical writers. The demand for medical writers has increased exponentially in India. Medical writing can be a rewarding and fulfilling career for life sciences graduates.

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