With the increasing attention around the application of generative AI, hiring a competent medical writer will be more challenging in the future. Still, one of the major problems when hiring freelancers for any project has been finding the right fit. Finding a suitable medical writer for your projects can take several trials and errors. In this post, I share six tips anyone looking to hire a medical writer can look for in 2024.
1. Sufficient domain knowledge
While one can still write well about any subject, when looking for the best writer for your projects, pay close attention to the background of your candidates. In-depth knowledge of medical and life sciences is a clear mandate for competent medical writers. Medical writers with proper domain knowledge can easily break down complex scientific concepts and reflect on facts about the current studies in technical areas like regulatory writing and journal articles/manuscript writing.
However, this does not undermine the value and competencies of medical writers from other fields, such as journalism and arts. That is why you should factor in other factors below.
2. Training and Certifications
Despite their college backgrounds, freelance medical writers can perfect their craft through training, mentorships, and certifications. When hiring the right talent, assess the medical writer’s ability beyond their college education. Here, you need to check which relevant courses the writer has undertaken to perfect his/her medical writing abilities.
Medical writing certifications such as the Medical Writer Certified (MCW) indicate mastery or competency as measured against a defensible set of standards, usually by application or examination by a reputable organization.
Some medical writers have also acquired formal training in medical writing courses such as Udemy’s Professional Medical Writing and Editing for Healthcare Professionals and Coursera’s Writing in the Sciences (by Stanford University).
These certificates prove that the medical writer has undergone an educational process and is committed to continuous learning and upskilling to keep up with current industry standards.
3. Diverse technical skills
Medical writing can involve a wide range of tasks. In addition to writing, medical documents require data entry, statistical analyses and visualizations, poster presentations, and sometimes videos. Finding a versatile medical writer with all these skills can be daunting. However, these types of medical writers are becoming crucial in the coming days because their comprehensive services are cost-effective and offer the prospect of sharing instructions with one person.
For instance, during clinical trials, statistical results should be communicated clearly to allow clinicians to critically assess the quality and reliability of the study design and conclusions that directly impact clinical practice. Therefore, look for medical writers like Brian Mulilo, who are knowledgeable and competent in additional competencies such as statistical concepts like P-Values, t-tests, and confidence intervals, as well as data analysis tools like Python, R, and Microsoft Excel.
4. Specialized Medical Writers
Writers employ two major approaches, either as a generalist or specialized in a given field, with both categories applicable in medical writing.
However, consider freelancers who have niched down their services, focusing more on medical writing. Also, there are still life sciences writers with further specialization in sub-niches of medical writing, such as Continuing Medical Education (CE/CME) programs, patient education materials, regulatory writing, medical marketing, and journal manuscripts.
These specialized medical writers bring depth of knowledge and adequate understanding of the subject matter. They can, therefore, deliver more targeted and high-quality service for your specific needs with proper articulation of industry-specific information.
5. Portfolio samples
Like in conventional hiring processes, you will need someone with demonstrable experience and expertise to guarantee quality work. This approach also applies to medical writing. When looking for the right fit, always look at the portfolio of these writers, which can be their websites, like Premierlance, where they have listed previous articles or even a LinkedIn profile with links to their previous works. A portfolio with samples is a good way to inform you who you can schedule an interview with and hire them.
6. Education Level and previous non-medical writing employment
Most freelancers begin their writing career during or after their college degree. However, some projects will require you to look for someone with a certain level of education, such as with a master’s or a doctorate in the respective fields.
I have combined the writer’s education level with previous non-medical writing employment because they provide additional technical and conceptual experience in medical writing. For instance, a medical writer who had previously worked as a nurse or pharmacist can be an excellent fit for your projects compared to someone who is just breaking into medical writing immediately after their first medical degree.
Conclusion
Those are the six major aspects to look for when hiring a medical writer in 2024, including domain knowledge, training and certifications, diverse skillsets, specialized writers, portfolio samples, level of education, and previous non-medical writing employment.
While the list is not exhaustive, these factors can help you succeed in hiring a medical writer without wasting so many resources in hiring or rehiring freelancers. However, there are other promising talents without all these traits, but they can still be suitable for your projects.
Hence, due diligence and assessment are required during the hiring process.
If you need a medical writer for your medical writing needs, feel free to contact me by clicking here.
