Slides from a presentation given at the 2015 Careers After Biological Sciences event at the University of Leicester, UK. Dr Safeer Mughal, Scientific Writer at Parexel International, offered insights into working in the Medical Communications field.

1. An Insight Into Medical Communications

3.  Communicate science to healthcare
professionals
 Disease area and product education
 Provide strategic insight
 Provide specialists: scientific, studio, design…
 Deliver quality... on time… on budget

4.  Helps pharmaceutical/biotechnology
companies to communicate about their
drugs/products to healthcare professionals
 Writes high-quality, scientific copy
 In many different therapy areas
 In many different types of format

5.  General doctors
 Specialist physicians
 Nurses/specialist nurses
 Multidisciplinary teams
 Patients
 Internal colleagues

6. Communication Strategy
and Planning
e-Learning, Digital and
Interactive Media
Expert Identification
and Engagement
Publications Planning and
ScientificContent
Symposia,
Advisory Boards, Scientific
Forums
Competitive
Intelligence
Branding and
Creative Services
Meetings, Events
and Exhibitions

7.  Building internal relationships
 Getting to know clients and authors
 Corporate environment
 Timesheets!
 Variety
 At the cutting edge…

8.  Diabetes
 Epilepsy
 Rheumatoid arthritis
 Schizophrenia
 Bipolar disorder
 Asthma
 Colorectal cancer
 Infectious diseases
 Frankfurt airport x ?
 Macclesfield
 NewYork
 Orlando
 Calgary
 Singapore

9. BSc in a healthcare
or medical science
field
Postgraduate study
(ideally PhD)
Post-doc(s)
Associate medical
writer
Medical writer
Senior medical
writer
Team
leader/Principal
writer
Scientific director
Freelance
medical writing
Own agency

10.  Medical/scientific writing
 Clinical communications
 Regulatory writing

11.  Job ads on the European MedicalWriters Association
website
 Contacting the MedComms agencies themselves
 Specialised recruitment agencies
 Send your CV to relevant companies
 Give advice and help you prepare for interviews
 FREE!
 Social network
 LinkedIn,Twitter

12.  Cover letter incl. a brief personal statement
 More info
 Written test
 Phone interview
 Face-to-face interview
 (HR interview)

13.  Passion for science
 Strong writing skills
 Attention to detail
 Good communication
 Organised, yet adaptable
 Calm under pressure
 Teamworker
 Deadline orientated
 Problem solving & critical thinking

14.  Make sure you know:
 About the Pharma and MedComms industries
 About clinical trials
 About what a medical writer actually does
 About regulations and guidelines
▪ CONSORT, GPP2

15.  Contact MedComms agencies and freelance
medical writers
 Some may offer paid or unpaid work experience
 Write regularly
 Practise presentation skills
 Attend relevant courses/events in medical
writing or pharmaceutical communications

16.  http://www.medcommsnetworking.co.uk
 http://www.emwa.org