You’re considering a career shift into the field of health and medical writing and you want to know if you have what it takes. You know what a health writer does and you’ve decided it could be an interesting career for you.

So, you read job ads that say things like: “Attention to detail, strong written and communication skills, etc.” If you’ve already developed these skills, you’re feeling reassured. But, if you haven’t – does that mean you can’t be a medical writer? Definitely not! Just like in any field, you’ll need to learn some new skills – and it is possible to start from scratch.

Essential skills for a health and medical writer

1. Language skills and medical terminology

A refresher on grammar, punctuation and sentence structure can benefit anyone, but this step is crucial for non-native English speakers. You may have wonderful ideas and clear thinking, but if your writing is littered with mistakes, you will lose your reader’s interest.

Health and medical writing require a strong vocabulary and knowledge of medical terminology which allows you to understand medical jargon and translate it to your readers.

Resources for learning

• For grammar and sentence structure, explore books like  The simple math of writing well: Writing for the 21st century by Jennie A. Harrop, and  courses like Grammar and Punctuation on Coursera, and Cleaning your Copy: grammar style and more by Poynter news university.
• For  medical terminology, you can read this post and check out this course titled
  Clinical Terminology for International and U.S. Students on Coursera.

2. Research skills

Research forms the main bulk of medical writing. If you’re good at research, it will make your process a lot easier. If not, you can improve your skills by exploring these resources.

Resources for learning

• Read this post on how to conduct research and check out these courses: Advanced literature searching in the health sciences on edX and Introduction to research for essay writing on Coursera.

3. Reading and note-taking skills

This may seem like a no-brainer, but the truth is, many people were not taught how to read academic texts correctly or efficiently. Learning how to read and take notes from academic and scientific literature is necessary for writers.

Resources for learning

• You can read articles like How to read a research paper, a handout by the University of Waterloo, How to seriously read a research paper, an article in science magazine and this guide article on note-taking by Georgia Tech library.
• An additional resource that I enjoyed was the book, Research Matters: A Guide to Research Writing by Amy Rupiper Taggart and Rebecca M. Howard.

4. Writing skills

If you’ve already established good language skills, it’s time to train your writing muscle. Medical writing is a vast field that has so many branches. Each field will need more specialized training.

Resources for learning

• You can read general writing tips from books like “On writing well” by William Zinsser or “The elements of style” by Strunk and White.
• To learn consumer health writing, you can read this guide and check out the Introduction to Health Writing course.
• To learn persuasive copywriting, you can explore the Principles of Health & Medical Copywriting course.
• To learn academic writing, you will find the course, Writing in the sciences on Coursera helpful.
• To learn patient education, check out our How to Write Patient Education Materials course.
• Professional organisations for medical writing like AMWA (American medical writers association) and EMWA (European medical writers association) offer many courses and workshops on writing and other related skills. For more information, you can visit their websites.

5. Critical appraisal of research

As a medical writer, it’s not enough to use sources from a reputable journal without critically appraising the research. You need to learn what to look for to assess the science of a research paper and make sure it is trustworthy to use as a source for your writing.

Resources for learning

• You can explore these courses: Critical appraisal techniques for healthcare literature on Futurelearn and Finding and appraising the evidence by Health Knowledge UK. Check out this checklist by NUHS (National University of Health Sciences).

6. Statistics

Don’t worry; you don’t need to be an expert, but basic knowledge of medical statistics will help you understand the statistical jargon in research papers and translate it accurately in your writing.

Resources for learning

• You can learn more about medical statistics from books like “Medical Statistics Made Easy” by Gordon Taylor and Michael Harris and beginner courses like Understanding medical research: Your facebook friend is wrong and Understanding clinical research: Behind the statistics on Coursera.

7. Project management

Chances are, you will be working on more than one project at a time, so you need to streamline your process. Project management involves a lot of planning, prioritizing and risk assessment.

But don’t be intimidated, we all do some form of project management when we plan out housework or any project. That said, it is helpful to learn the basics of project management and how you can apply them to your writing projects.

Resources for learning

• You can take an introductory course like Introduction to project management on edX.

8. Communication skills

As a writer, you will communicate with your employer or clients, understand their expectations, seek clarification and deliver accordingly. Your employers will want to know that you have excellent writing skills, and they may ask you to do a writing test before hiring you.

You may also work with other team members to collaborate on projects. Finally, you need to learn how to communicate your thoughts to your target audience.

Resources for learning

• Explore these courses: Foundational skills for communicating about health and Communication strategies for a virtual age on Coursera.

9. Computer knowledge and touch-typing skills

You will probably spend long hours typing at your computer. Learning to touch-type and learning the tips and tricks of Microsoft Office (or its equivalent) can save you so much time. I’m still learning today, and whenever I learn a new way to do things I regret not having learned earlier.

When you work on long projects, you will use a lot of references so knowledge of how to use a reference manager like Endnote or Mendeley would also be a useful asset.

Additional skills for medical writers

After you’ve acquired the essential skills to take off, it would be a great idea to learn more about any of these additional skills to expand your services or increase your chances of employment.

Business skills

If you plan on running your own business, you’ll need an extra set of skills. As a freelance business owner, you will wear many hats: writer, editor, accountant, and marketer.

Resources for learning

• You can learn more about freelance writing from this guide and the course, How to Become a Freelance Health Writer.

Editing

Many freelance writers edit their own work. Self-editing is common, but medical editing has several levels and doing it professionally requires some more knowledge and skills. By learning professional editing, you can help other writers bring their creations to life.

Resources for learning

• Check out our Principles of Health & Medical Editing Course
• Read our guide on getting started in medical editing
• You can learn more about resources for editing in this blog post.

Data visualization

Data visualization means presenting data in a visual form e.g., graphs, diagrams and figures. Images can condense a large amount of information in a small area making your message easier to understand. Infographics can be used independently or used as a supplement to your writing.

Resources for learning

• You can learn to create graphs, diagrams and infographics using software like, Adobe Illustrator, PowerPoint, Tableau and Canva. To learn more about data visualization, you can read this article, and to learn more about infographics, explore the course Design and make infographics on Coursera.

Instructional design

Instructional design involves the process of creating educational courses, video tutorials, instructional manuals or handouts.

This would be helpful if you enjoy making educational material for your own business, or are interested in making educational courses or materials for other companies focusing on health education.

Resources for learning

• To learn more, check out this article from Association for talent development and this free course from Open learning. There are several other courses to explore like Instructional design models on edX and Instructional Design Foundations and Applications on Coursera.

Content strategy

Whether you’re running your own blog or plan on lending your services to other healthcare companies, learning how to develop a content strategy is a beneficial skill for a health writer.

Unlike one-time guest posts, long-term businesses need a strategy to ensure that they continuously deliver content that benefits both the business and its customers.

Resources for learning

• Check out this list of magazines that accept freelance submissions
• You can learn more from the guide  How to Develop a Content Strategy: A Start to Finish Guide, and explore the course Learn What Content Strategy is and How to Do It on Hubspot. For more advanced learning, take a look at this specialization on Coursera.

For a newcomer to the field, it’s essential to know which boxes you tick and the skills you need to work on to ensure you can deliver high-quality content.

Think of job requirements as to-do lists rather than assessment lists; if you don’t have something on the list, work on acquiring it! Explore new skills to add to your toolbox; a medical writer is a life-long learner.