Top skills you need to be a successful medical writer
Medical communications is an extremely diverse industry and one that’s projected to be worth $3.75 billion by 2026. The opportunities for career progression are plentiful no matter the route you take, whether that’s writing clinical trial training tools, educational material for healthcare professionals (HCP), promotional content for physicians or compiling regulatory submissions. And if that wasn’t varied enough you can also define the scope of your role by choosing to work for a pharma giant, a small agency, or something in between. Naturally, you’ll be passionate about making a difference in improving patient care but what skills do you need to make it as a successful medical writer?
Written communication
It goes without saying that to create medically complex content your written communication needs to be a cut above the rest. But for your content to be immersive, engaging and medically accurate – which are all particularly essential in a medical communications writing job - you’ll need to hone your writing skills. This means attending conferences and reading medical publications on PubMed or other high-level articles that are related to your field. Not only will this improve your written communication and help you become a successful medical writer, but it will also ensure you’re kept abreast of the latest developments.
Resourcefulness
There’s an increasing need for regulatory paperwork and a greater focus on hyper-specialised content, both of which are driving the growth of the medical communication industry. But it’s not just quantity – it’s quality. Life sciences companies aren’t necessarily looking for medical writers who have all the information, but rather those who are resourceful and have the willingness to find the right answer through independent research. Knowing how to research is one of the four things you need to know to get ahead in medical communications.Relationship-building
70% of leaders agree that relationship skills are critical for success but it’s even more essential for those working in medical communications. For medical writers – and editors - to be successful and help to improve healthcare they need to collaborate with an array of people, including HCPs, key opinion leaders (KOLs), client medical teams and other medical writers. Developing effective partnerships with these professionals will ensure that content is both high-quality and meets the needs and objectives of the client. But as technology continues to change the modern workforce, medical writers must embrace the evolution of communication. Learning how to make meaningful connections using technology will become a skill in its own and the adaptability this demonstrates won’t go unnoticed by hiring managers.Data literacy
The alternative qualifications you’ll need to become a medical writer mean that there are several career routes you can take, but one skill you'll want on your CV is data literacy. Medical writing isn't simply writing an opinion piece or marketing material. You need to know what you're writing is valid and there will be times when you're required to interpret data and translate the statistical findings in your work. Again, you're not required to know every statistical concept but rather to be comfortable enough with the numbers.Attention to detail
Depending on which career path you take within medical writing – and there are three main avenues – your day-to-day duties will change. But regardless of the direction you choose, you must be meticulous at every stage, right from the concept to execution of content. In order to translate the complexity within medical material, your writing needs to be clear and free of error, so a high attention to detail is essential.Forge a career with greater purpose at IQVIA
We’re pushing the boundaries to transform healthcare but to do so we need talented professionals to work in close partnership with our clients. The IQVIA IMA Communications team are looking for more medical writers and medical editors to collaborate with on a wide range of exciting activities. Start your job search by browsing our medical communications jobs.Found a role that’s right for you? Take a look at our 8 top tips for a successful video interview and prepare to make a lasting impression.
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Did you know IQVIA has
Countless development opportunities
for personal and professional growth
Did you know IQVIA has
4,600 data scientists
including statisticians and analytics developers
Did you know IQVIA has
56+ petabytes of unique data
including 1.2B+ non-identified patient records
Did you know IQVIA has
1,900+ epidemiologists
and real world insight experts
Did you know IQVIA has
86,000+ employees
from clinicians to data scientists each transforming healthcare in 100+ countries
Did you know IQVIA cares about
Health and Wellbeing
for all its employees
Did you know IQVIA has
Excellent work-life balance
and is committed to this kind of culture
Related jobs
Salary:
Location:
Petaling Jaya
Job Type
Regular
Employment status
Full Time
Job Category
Medical Writing
Location
Petaling Jaya
Description
Responsibilities:Conducting thorough research and staying abreast with the latest developments on medical front in the allocated therapeutic area, ensuring that the curated content is current and rele
Reference
R1416947
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Author
Polly KwongAuthor
Polly KwongSince joining IQVIA I have had unrivalled support and development from my manager to enable me to aspire to move into secondary care. I feel like my career is strongly supported by my manager in order to maximise my potential.
Just following on from the amazing news I got yesterday I wanted to say a really special thank you for all the help and support you have provided throughout the entire recruitment process.
IQVIA has been behind my development to become a MSL. The contracts that I have worked on have allowed me to push clinical projects with a recent opportunity to manage a pilot scheme integrating e-detailing into an established field based team. The result was an increase in sales.
Once again I cannot thank you enough for not only approaching me with this opportunity but also for all the support you’ve given me along the way!
A quick note to say thank you for your time this morning discussing my future career options. As you know I was feeling very conflicted about the right decision. Discussing the role with you gave me chance to clarify what is important to me.
Once again I cannot thank you enough for not only approaching me with this opportunity but also for all the support you’ve given me along the way!
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