An Alternative Career: Medical Writing

[Kromosoft]

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[Mobius1985]

Hi Everyone,

I think more pre-med students should take journalism classes so they can supplement their income as a physician as a medical writer.

I agree with you, at least for those of us who aren't grammatically challenged, homophone indiscriminate, or spell-checker deficient. I expect that many who do become physicians would also benefit from such classes when it comes to writing case reports, publishing articles, authoring general-topic summary articles, or writing the next Robin Cook-like novel.

 

[fireflygirl]

My brother is serioulsy considering this. He's been accepted to medical schools and wants to go but is wondering if he's going to use his degree to practice traditionally. He's a fantastic writer and something like this is just up his alley.

I on the other hand plan to keep myself involved in some form of writing related to medicine (medical or narrative) because I also enjoy it and I think it's a really great way to integrate the arts and sciences.

 

[Cegar]

I don't think anyone should take any class involved with journalism because journalists are bad people and terrible writers.

Have you read a newspaper article lately? They're god-awful.

I would much rather slog through the jagged, third-person robospeak of a chemist than muddle through some formulaic mass-media slop.

Thankfully medical writing is more like the former.

But I swear to Ganesha, I would rather stab ten children than take a journalism class.

Yeah, journalism isn't all New York Times and CNN. But connotations are connotations. Scientific journalism is different because it has science in it and the vocabulary is colorful enough to be interesting.

Journalism 101 = death.

 

[searun]

I would rather be a sports writer and cover college football and basketball. Many of the best writers in journalism cover sports. Sports are more interesting anyway.

 

[Myuu]

I don't think anyone should take any class involved with journalism because journalists are bad people and terrible writers.

I'm not quite sure how we arrived at the conclusion that "journalists are bad people"...

 

[Maxprime]

I would rather be a sports writer and cover college football and basketball. Many of the best writers in journalism cover sports. Sports are more interesting anyway.

Did you come up with this shortly after your hopes of becoming an astronaut were dashed?

Why not work at developing a career as a medical writer?

It's probably because people on here want to be doctors - hence the work towards getting into an allopathic medical school. While I'm sure medical writing is a fascinating field for those pursuing it, it belongs with all the other careers that people on here are not actively pursuing.

 

[searun]

Did you come up with this shortly after your hopes of becoming an astronaut were dashed?

No, I actually was a paid writer for the second largest newspaper in my home state. I like writing and when I started college I expected to become a professor of English Literature. Somehow I got sidetracked and now I find myself in medical school. Oh well.

 

[Kromosoft]

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[Kromosoft]

I don't think anyone should take any class involved with journalism because journalists are bad people and terrible writers.

Have you read a newspaper article lately? They're god-awful.

I would much rather slog through the jagged, third-person robospeak of a chemist than muddle through some formulaic mass-media slop.

Thankfully medical writing is more like the former.

But I swear to Ganesha, I would rather stab ten children than take a journalism class.

Yeah, journalism isn't all New York Times and CNN. But connotations are connotations. Scientific journalism is different because it has science in it and the vocabulary is colorful enough to be interesting.

Journalism 101 = death.

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[Kromosoft]

Did you come up with this shortly after your hopes of becoming an astronaut were dashed?



It's probably because people on here want to be doctors - hence the work towards getting into an allopathic medical school. While I'm sure medical writing is a fascinating field for those pursuing it, it belongs with all the other careers that people on here are not actively pursuing.

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[mordounhas]

http://www.slate.com/id/2186446/

Interesting article that is somewhat relevant to the topic at hand.

 

[michigator04]

If I couldn't become a doctor, I wouldn't want to work in such a similar field and be constantly reminded that I didn't make it.

 

[ViolinCello]

A good friend of mind is a medical writer. You can work for a variety of places: drug companies, device manufacturers, universities, journals...you name it you can do it. And for women who want to have many kids and stay home with them, it is a great profession b/c you can set your own hours and work from home. She has 4 kids, and works from home contracting out for 2 large pharma companies(with a part-time nanny of course).

It's very different than going into a clinical profession though, since those words are as close to patient contact as you get.

 

[Kromosoft]

Deleted.

 

[mvenus929]

The average annual salary for medical writers exceeded $74,000 per year. Medical writers with advanced degrees averaged between $83,000 (for women) and $94,000 (for men).

Why is there such an extreme difference between men and women?

 

[mfrizzo3]

Why is there such an extreme difference between men and women?

Women have babies

 

[BlitzSleep]

I like how there's been a lot more "fall back plan" threads lately with it being about 2 weeks 'till final exams lol.

Medical writers with advanced degrees averaged between $83,000 (for women) and $94,000 (for men).

What year do you live in? Last time I checked an employer can get their *** sued if they are caught "discriminating" against women. With that being said, where did you come up with these numbers anyways? What part of the states? Cost of living makes a big difference you know. When posting "facts," sources will prove to be helpful.

 

[Chuckwalla]

Translating thick, boring scientific articles for a living sounds like blast.

 

[DrJosephKim]

Medical writing can be an excellent career. Because of my line of work, I know many writers who really enjoy the flexibility and challenge of their work.