Medical writing is the activity of producing scientific documentation by a specialized writer. The medical writer typically is not one of the scientists or doctors who performed the research.

A medical writer, working with doctors, scientists, and other subject matter experts, creates documents that effectively and clearly describe research results, product use, and other medical information. The medical writer also makes sure the documents comply with regulatory, journal, or other guidelines in terms of content, format and structure.

In order to be a good medical writer you must be able to work very efficiently with data, science, and of course be a good writer. Medical writing skills is mainly the ability to convert large amounts of data into a form that can be easily understood. An especially enticing aspect of the medical writing position is the freedom to be able to work at home and of course the fact that a competent medical writer can make $100,000 to $200,000 dollars a year!

The controversy surrounding medical writing is the lack of transparency. When a team of professionals work together to write a medical paper there have been instances in the past where random authors have been given authorship of the medical paper even though they have nothing to do with its creation. That is at the heart of the dishonesty surrounding medical writing.

We’ll be discussing the controversy surrounding medical writing more in the future, but the best rule of thumb is that if you, as a medical writer, are ever approached to do some writing that is unethical you should just walk away. Advertising agencies in the medical field would benefit from more medical writers. Adding professionals that are focused on data review and communication rather than marketing will lead to more honesty in medical ads.

If you are a medical writer or considering a career in the field of medical writing, consider using the professional tools available from CMI Interactive. There science professionals can find a toolbox full of resources to help sharpen their skills in the industry.