Write Medicine

Are you tired of feeling like your freelance medical writing business is running you, instead of the other way around? Many freelance medical writers find themselves stuck in a reactive cycle, pouring all their time and energy into client projects but neglecting the strategic work that will actually move their business forward. They dream of a thriving, fulfilling business where they're in the driver's seat, but struggle to find the time or headspace to make it a reality amidst the constant deadlines and demands. You are the most important resource in your business. In this episode you’ll learn: Practical strategies for distinguishing between working ON vs. IN your business, so you can invest in the big-picture tasks that drive growth Actionable tips for cultivating discernment around what you say yes and no to, so you can focus your time and energy on the right clients and projects A roadmap for scaling your business intentionally by defining your core services and optimizing your processes for efficiency and impact If you're ready to take control of your freelance medical writing journey and build a business that truly energizes and fulfills you, hit play now and let's dive into why YOU are your most important resource. Resources Claire Bonneau, Email Newsletter Writer Write Medicine Insider Niche Discovery Checklist Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 02:18 Working in vs working on your business 02:55 3 steps to take today to work on your business 04:24 Discernment is key to your freelance medical writing business when thinking about investing in yourself 06:46 3 steps to take today to be discerning with your yes and your no 09:12 Leveraging social media for your freelance medical writing success 10:43 3 steps to take today to focus your time and effort on social media 13:25 Scaling your business intentionally 13:58 3 steps to take right now to start scaling your business with intention 16:34 Prioritizing your well-being 17:54 3 steps to take right now to start taking care of yourself Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast! Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Are you curious about the role of Medical Affairs in Independent Medical Education (IME)? Perhaps you're struggling to demonstrate the value and impact of your programs in a way that resonates with IME teams. IME is evolving. Today’s episode with IME expert Nancy Paynter discusses the pivotal role of IME within the broader scope of medical affairs and provides valuable insights to help you effectively communicate your initiative's impact to IME personnel. By tuning in, you'll discover: The concept of the "scientific journey" for clinicians  How IME is focused on digitizing data on clinical and patient decision-making What the evolution of IME within Medical Affairs means for CME/CPD. Don't miss this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the evolving role of IME and medical affairs and their strategic priorities. Takeaways 1. Independent Medical Education is becoming more closely integrated with medical affairs, aligning with broader organizational goals and cross-functional partnerships. 2. Medical affairs teams use the four-stage "scientific journey" framework to plan their engagement strategies and meet clinicians where they are in their understanding and adoption of new evidence. The stages include Awareness, Agreement, Adoption, and Advocacy. 3. CME can support the scientific journey while maintaining independence by conducting root cause analyses of practice and care gaps, employing data-driven strategies, and adapting educational materials based on real-time feedback and learner outcomes. By doing so, CME is well-positioned to serve as a strategic partner to IME in driving meaningful educational outcomes. Resources Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) Industry reports from McKinsey and Deloitte discuss the evolving role of Medical Affairs Moore's Outcomes Framework Connect with Nancy Paynter, Strategic Adviser, Life Science Industry [email protected] Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 01:56 What medical affairs is and how it’s evolving 05:58 Understanding Independent Medical Education (IME) 10:48 Transformation in IME work within medical affairs 19:20 Pharma company thinking about the scientific journey and how accredited CME can support it 23:12 Use of Moore's framework in medical education 28:10 How CME can partner with medical affairs 30:48 Accredited CME professionals communicating touch points with IME counterparts 33:09 Nancy’s final thoughts 37:39 Key takeaways from episode 118 Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast! Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Are you struggling to keep your clinical audience engaged and invested in your CME content? In today's fast-paced, information-overloaded world, medical writers face the daunting challenge of capturing and maintaining their readers' attention. This episode explores how you can leverage proven storytelling techniques to create compelling, memorable CME content that resonates with your target audience. Discover how to structure your content using powerful storytelling frameworks that build anticipation and drive home your key messages. Learn how to hook your reader with compelling openers, incorporate patient and clinician voices, and make the "so what" crystal clear. Gain insights into adapting storytelling structures to your CME content. Tune in and unlock the secrets to becoming a master CME storyteller, ready to captivate and inspire your clinical audience like never before! Resources StoryBrand Think Faster Talk Smarter by Matt Abrahams Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 02:55 Crafting compelling CME content: Exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution 05:36 Storybrand 08:30 Other storytelling frameworks 12:09 My challenge for you Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast! Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Are you curious about how artificial intelligence and chatbots are revolutionizing continuing medical education (CME) and transforming the way clinicians learn? As a CME professional, you constantly seek innovative ways to create engaging and effective educational experiences for your clinician audience. Staying up-to-date with the latest technological advancements, such as AI and chatbots, is crucial to address the specific knowledge gaps and practice needs of busy healthcare providers. This episode will provide valuable insights on using these cutting-edge tools to enhance your CME programs. 1. Discover how AI-powered chatbots can provide clinicians with personalized, real-time answers to their clinical questions, while seamlessly integrating with validated educational content. 2. Learn how to use data from chatbot interactions to identify knowledge gaps, trending topics, and urgent educational needs, enabling you to create more targeted and impactful CME programs. 3. Gain a deeper understanding of the future of AI in CME, including the potential of machine learning to predict learner gaps and deliver need-specific education, as well as the challenges and opportunities of using generative AI to create customized content. Tune in to hear Alana Brody MBA, CHCP, Executive Director, Vice President of Strategic Educational Design, and David Setiadi, Chief Technology Officer at Projects in Knowledge Powered by Kaplan, share their expertise on how AI and chatbots can help you create cutting-edge, engaging, and effective CME experiences for your clinician audience! Takeaways 1. It’s possible to use AI-powered chatbots in your CME programs to provide clinicians with a quick and reliable way to get their clinical questions answered at the point of care. Over time, you can build and maintain a cycle of trust with clinicians, ensuring they can rely on the technology for efficient and effective patient care. 2. You can use data from chatbot interactions to gain valuable insights into your learners' knowledge gaps, educational needs, and trending topics. 3. Pay attention to copyright compliance and privacy. To safeguard the rights of original publishers, you’ll need to verify that the information provided through chatbots is copyright compliant and establish protocols to ensure that all learner data is deidentified to ensure privacy. Connect with Alana [email protected] Website Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 01:54 Exploring what chatbots are and how they have entered the CME space 02:47 How chatbots compare with other point-of-care tools 04:30 Lifting the hood into the processes they use to send the learner in the right direction 06:01 The continuous process of updating all the content 06:39 How they’re using the data gathered 09:40 User engagement and interaction with chatbots 12:23 The ecosystem: how they pull learners in, analyzing qualitative data and privacy 16:36 How learners find the chatbot 20:06 How they handle volumes of qualitative data 23:08 The future of the chatbot: Traditional AI vs Generative AI 29:11 Final thoughts: Leveraging AI for personalized learning in CME 32:20 Key takeaways from episode 116 Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast! Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed and frustrated when searching for relevant studies on PubMed for your medical writing projects? As a medical writer, you know that conducting a comprehensive literature review is crucial for delivering high-quality work to your clients and audiences. However, the process can be time-consuming and challenging, especially if you don't have a clear strategy. This episode of Monday Mentor will provide you with the tools and techniques you need to streamline your literature review process and find the most relevant, high-quality studies to inform your work. Listen in to gain: Best practices for efficiently searching databases like PubMed Steps to find the most relevant and high-quality sources. Tools and resources to stay organized and produce a rigorous literature review Tune in now to discover how you can elevate your literature review skills and deliver stronger, more valuable work to your clients and audiences! Takeaways 1. Defining your research question or objectives is crucial for guiding your search strategy and ensuring a focused, efficient literature review process. Before diving into your literature search, take the time to clearly articulate your research question or objectives using frameworks like PICO, SPIDER, or PEO. 2. Using a combination of keyword searches, subject heading/index term searches (like MeSH terms), and database filters can help you capture a wide range of potentially relevant sources while narrowing down your results. Familiarize yourself with the search functionalities and controlled vocabularies of databases like PubMed, and experiment with different combinations of keywords, subject headings, and filters to optimize your search results. 3. Leveraging citation management tools, note-taking techniques, and reporting guidelines can help you stay organized, maintain transparency, and produce a rigorous literature review. Explore and implement tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley for citation management, and develop a structured note-taking system (e.g., literature matrices or apps like Notion or Roam Research) to synthesize and report your findings effectively. Resources NYU Libraries Literature Search Template Literature Review Typologies  Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 01:47 Defining the research question 03:43 Establishing search terms 06:17 Exploring various databases 10:30 Grey literature sources 13:32 Additional search techniques 15:07 Tools and resources that can help you 20:28 The power of literature reviews Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast! Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Virginia Chachati is a pharmacist turned medical writer who embarked on her freelance journey after moving to Germany in 2020. Inspired by the need to work remotely and make a living online, Virginia started a travel health blog that caught a client's attention on Upwork. Despite being underpaid for her valuable work, this experience motivated her to create a community of medical writers focused on fair compensation and support. Virginia established a presence on LinkedIn, where a medical communications agency found and recruited her. Now a full-time freelancer, Virginia enjoys the flexibility of working from home while being able to travel back to the UK for work and family visits. Join us as Virginia shares her insights on building a thriving medical writing career. 1. Learn how to identify and attract high-quality clients who value your skills and expertise 2. Discover the power of community in setting fair rates and supporting your professional growth Connect with Virginia LinkedIn Resources Free 61 tips Ebook for medical writers Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 02:10 Virginia’s journey into medical writing 04:02 Her experience with Upwork 06:31 Being picky about clients 08:29 Importance of writers knowing their worth and setting ground rules 12:56 The power of community in medical writing and solving the problem of Upwork 17:52 Setting fair value in medical writing 21:56 The future of medical writing: AI and social media 26:15 Takeaways from today’s conversation with Virginia Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast! Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Are you measuring CME outcomes effectively or just tacking them on at the end? If you're involved in developing, measuring and reporting on CME outcomes, you know it's become an expected part of the process. But many CME providers still struggle with integrating outcomes throughout program design and implementation. This leads to poor practices like tacking on outcomes at the end, writing vague questions, and creating reports that fail to tell a compelling story. To truly demonstrate the value and impact of your education, outcomes measurement needs to be woven in from the very beginning. In episode 113 of Write Medicine Wendy Cerenzia and Emily Belcher of CE Outcomes share their hard-won insights on outcomes measurements. Tune in to: 1. Learn why and how to integrate outcomes planning into the earliest stages of educational design  2. Discover tips for writing effective outcomes questions that align with learning objectives and avoid common pitfalls 3. Understand what makes a compelling outcomes report that ties the story together for stakeholders Ready to uplevel your outcomes game? Takeaways 1. Outcomes measurement must be integrated from the beginning of educational planning and design, not tacked on at the end. Take action today by reviewing your process for integrating outcomes measurement into educational design. This will help you identify opportunities to involve outcomes experts earlier.  2. Effective outcomes questions align with learning objectives, avoid vagueness and confusing options, and consider the target audience, education format, and intended data use. Work with your faculty to carefully craft outcomes questions that align with objectives and will yield meaningful data. And consider pilot testing questions. 3. A compelling outcomes report ties the story together by connecting program goals, educational design, key findings, and important learnings. When you are writing your next outcomes report, challenge yourself to weave a coherent narrative that demonstrates the "why" behind the education and interprets the data to extract relevant insights. Focus on clearly communicating the impact and value. Connect with Wendy and Emily CE Outcomes [email protected] Emily Belcher, Director of Research and Analytics: [email protected] Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 1:05 Measuring Continuing Medical Education Outcomes 2:46 Current State of Outcomes in CME and CPD 5:58 Poor Practices in Measuring Outcomes 10:13 Root Cause of Not Starting with the End in Mind 10:26 Outcomes Standardization Project 18:07 Importance of Internal Consistency in Definitions 19:19 Effectiveness of Outcomes Measurement Frameworks 22:21 Expectations from Supporters in Outcomes Reporting 26:45 Cautious Approach to Using AI in Outcomes Analysis 31:36 Elements of a Good Outcome Story 34:45 Future Directions in Outcomes Analysis and Reporting 38:24 Three Takeaways and Action Steps from Episode 113 Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast! Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Are you struggling to find the most relevant papers for your medical writing projects on PubMed? You know the importance of having a solid research foundation when working on medical writing projects like clinical practice guidelines, grant proposals, or CME materials. But searching databases like PubMed can feel like falling down a rabbit hole, leaving you frustrated and unsure if you've found the most pertinent literature. This episode of Monday Mentor will help you understand what literature reviews are and how to choose the right type of review for your project, setting you up for more efficient and effective database searches. Listen to this episode to discover: 1. The essential purposes and elements of a well-crafted literature review  2. How literature reviews inform a wide range of medical writing projects 3. The different types of literature reviews and when to use each one Tune in now to learn how to master the art of the literature review and take your medical writing to the next level! Takeaways Here are three key takeaways from this episode of Monday Mentor: 1. Literature reviews are essential for providing context, identifying gaps, and synthesizing evidence to support various medical writing projects, from clinical practice guidelines to grant proposals and CME materials. 2. Different types of literature reviews serve different purposes and follow distinct methodologies, such as narrative reviews for broad, critical analysis; systematic reviews for answering focused questions; scoping reviews for mapping research activity; and realist reviews for understanding complex interventions. 3. Selecting the appropriate type of literature review based on your research objectives is crucial for conducting an efficient and effective review that informs evidence-based decision-making in your medical writing projects. Resources Literature Review Typologies Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to searching relevant literature 01:03 What literature reviews are and the different types 02:04 Why do a literature review at all 03:18 What type of medical writing projects do literature reviews serve 06:48 Common types of literature reviews Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast! Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.