Medical Writing after BDS: A Career Guide

Are you someone who enjoys writing and is also interested in science? Then, medical writing after BDS is the profession for you!

Explore the guide further to know more!

Understanding Medical Writing For Healthcare Professionals

Definition and Scope

Medical writing after BDS involves creating scientific material that deals with medical and healthcare fields in a language that is easily understood by the target audience.

The scope of a medical writer includes drafting the following documents:

The demand for medical content writers has increased over the past few decades, driven by growing research in this field, which indicates a significant scope.

If you want to transition into this role, especially as a freelance medical writer, check out this podcast below.

Types of Medical Writing in the Medical Field

• Regulatory writing: New drug applications, clinical study protocols, clinical trial data, and regulatory submissions required by regulatory agencies
• Medical research writing: Articles, abstracts, manuscripts, research papers, clinical reports, informed consent forms
• Promotional writing: Marketing and promotional material, advertisements, product brochures & manuals, instructions for medical devices
• Patient education writing: Patient education leaflets, continuing medical education material, health blogs, website content
• Medical Journalism: Magazine articles, website content, medical news
• Grantsmanship: Grant proposals
• Pharmacovigilance documents: Safety information and adverse events related to pharmaceutical products

But what do medical writers do? Let’s find out.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Medical Writer

A medical writer’s role includes being able to interpret research, analyse statistics, compile all the evidence-based data available, and put forth a report/document with all the facts.

Core Roles

• They develop high-quality medical documents, including clinical trial protocols, study reports, regulatory submissions, patient information brochures, white papers, and press releases, is a major responsibility.
• Writers also present complex scientific and clinical data in a manner that is easily understood and tailored to the intended audience.
• Medical writers produce documents that adhere to strict regulatory requirements and industry standards regarding content style and ethical aspects.

Key Responsibilities

• They work with subject-matter professionals, researchers, and cross-functional teams to collect, interpret, and present scientific results with minimal errors.
• Medical writers conduct a thorough analysis of the literature and reference materials to ensure that the documents are based on evidence and up-to-date.
• Documents are proofread and amended to ensure they are understandable, accurate, consistent, and compliant with relevant regulatory or publication standards.
• Publication or regulatory review to ensure that the research data are published in a textual, tabular, and graphical format and have basic clinical research statistics.
• Medical writers adhere to deadlines, maintain strict confidentiality, and uphold high ethical standards regarding the integrity of data and authorship.

Writers should also be able to communicate effectively with relevant personnel, such as healthcare experts, researchers, and scientists, and provide accurate information.

Let’s explore how you can transition seamlessly into medical writing after completing your BDS, or make it a side hustle.

Transitioning from Dentistry to Medical Writing

Transferable Skills from Clinical Dentistry

The following are the transferable skills that can be of use:

• To be able to do research, interpret the data and results, and give information in an understandable format.
• A science background is always a boon because of a strong understanding of medical terminology and clinical concepts.
• To be able to communicate and collaborate with experts to understand the facts and to give accurate information. (Hint: highlight your experience of collaborating with specialists in clinics)

How to Become a Health Writer After BDS?

Follow these steps to transition your career into a medical writer after BDS:

• Complete your education – Pursue any bachelor’s degree in the science field
• Prepare your portfolio – Include all your past work experiences and testimonials from each client, which may be preferred.
• Network – Network with other writers, publishers, experts, and, most importantly, people hiring for the open roles
• Apply for the job – Include relevant keywords from the job description when drafting your resume.
• Pursue certification courses – Certification courses can be done to improve your skills (if required)

* At Odigio, we only recommend free courses. You can do courses from Coursera (audit the course to avail it for free)

We are here to help you get a job. Hit the button below to get in touch with us!

If you’ve made it this far, discover how a strong portfolio can be the key to helping you move forward as a medical writer after completing your BDS.

Creating a Strong Portfolio

Medical Writing Jobs in India

To get a job in this domain, there are many ways; for example, you can start a medical writing internship. Apart from this, there are numerous freelance jobs in medical writing that can be done part-time.

However, before we proceed, let’s first understand how to identify medical writing jobs and how to tailor your application.

To help you with this, Odigio Careers is here to assist you with resume editing, cover letter preparation, LinkedIn optimisation, interview preparation, networking, and job search strategies.

So wait no more and grab this opportunity to get your dream job!

Conclusion

Are you a dentist passionate about writing& want to transition your career? Medical writing after BDS can be a good option!

Contact us today & make the transition of your dreams!

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