Skip to main content

Getting Started in Medical Writing

  • Chapter
What Every Medical Writer Needs to Know
  • 1106 Accesses

Abstract

Written with the somewhat inexperienced writer in mind, Chap. 2 begins by examining the reasons to put words on the screen and how to begin. Some examples of noteworthy early efforts are described, such as the paper that first described Huntington chorea and the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle before there was a Sherlock Holmes. Early success involves selecting the right writing model, such as a case report, review article, or letter to the editor. The chapter also discusses topic choice, when to write, tools a writer needs, and the professional associations available to medical writers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Daguara CJ. Why do writers write? 30 % of writers write to educate, influence, and help others. http://authorspromoter.com/why-writers-write/.

  2. Batshaw ML, et al. Academic promotion at a medical school: experience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. N Engl J Med. 1988;318:74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Beasley BW. A time to be promoted: the prospective study of promotion in academia. J Gen Intern Med. 2006;21:123.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Huntington G. On chorea. Med Surg Repr Phila. 1872;26:317.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Doyle AC. The mystery of Sasassa Valley. Chambers’ Edinburgh J. Sept 6, 1879.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Maugham WS. Lisa of Lambeth. London: T. Fisher Unwin; 1897.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Kübler-Ross E. On death and dying. New York: Macmillan; 1969.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Verghese A. My own country: a doctor’s story. New York: Vintage; 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Gawande A. Complications: a surgeon’s notes on an imperfect science. New York: Holt; 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Taylor RB, editor. Family medicine: principles and practice. 1st ed. New York: Springer; 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Taylor RB. Hypertension detection and follow-up (letter). JAMA. 1980;244:1317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Cooper CJ, et al. Stenting and medical therapy for atherosclerotic renal-artery stenosis. N Engl J Med. 2014;370:13.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Ware M, et al. The STM report: an overview of scientific and scholarly journal publishing. http://www.stm-assoc.org/2012_12_11_STM_Report_2012.pdf/.

  14. Responding to articles. http://www.bmj.com/about-bmj/resources-readers/responding-articles/.

  15. Taylor RB. Pharmaceutical advertisements, citations, and trust. Fam Med. 2010;42:744.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. 15-Minute visits take a toll on doctor-patient relationship. Kaiser Health News. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2014/april/21/15-minute-doctor-visits.aspx?

  17. Zylke JW. Research letters in JAMA: small but mighty. JAMA. 2013;310:589.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Dercum FX. Three cases of a hitherto unclassified affection resembling in its grosser aspects obesity, but associated with special nervous symptoms-adiposis dolorosa. Am J Med Sci. 1892;104:521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Zaki AM, et al. Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. N Engl J Med. 2012;367:1814.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Rothberg MB. The $50,000 physical. JAMA. 2014;311:2174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Evans DV. What patients give us: one story of the doctor-patient relationship. Fam Med. 2014;46:387.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Kevinmd. http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/.

  23. Doctor Grumpy in the House. http://drgrumpyinthehouse.blogspot.com/.

  24. Husten L. The best doctor blog on the internet. Forbes Pharma Health Care. 2013. http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryhusten/2013/01/25/the-best-doctor-blog-on-the-internet/.

  25. Other things Amanzi. http://other-things-amanzi.blogspot.com/2010/02/crushing.html?showComment=1265899587002&m=1#c6977265348242201336/.

  26. Best Health Blog Awards 2013. http://www.besthealthmag.ca/special-features/bh-blog-award/.

  27. How to start your medical blog: an introduction to the medblogosphere. RX Md Marketing Solutions. http://rxmdmarketingsolutions.com/how-to-start-your-medical-blog-an-introduction-to-the-medblogosphere/.

  28. Vonnegut K. How to write with style. http://peterstekel.com/PDF-HTML/KurtVonnegut advice to writers.htm.

  29. Huckleberry ER. The adventures of Dr. Huckleberry. Lake Oswego, OR: Spectrum; 1970.

    Google Scholar 

  30. MacDonald RA. A country doctor’s casebook: tales from the north woods. St. Paul, MN: Boraelis Books; 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Tomalin C. Charles Dickens: a life. New York: Viking; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  32. McCrum R. The best times to write. http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/oct/27/best-times-to-write/.

  33. Wightman KL. The best time of day to write. http://klwightman.com/2013/05/06/best-time-of-day-to-write/.

  34. Vanderkam L. What sleep habits of famous writers reveal about their productivity. http://www.fastcompany.com/3026741/work-smart/what-the-sleep-habits-of-famous-writers-reveal-about-their-productivity/.

  35. Johnson CB. 13 Quirky workplaces of famous authors. Writers Digest. http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/13-quirky-workplaces-of-famous-writers/.

  36. Where writers write. Pinerst. http://www.pinterest.com/sookio/where-writers-write/.

  37. Medical writer salary: United States. http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Medical_Writer/Salary/.

  38. Freelancer: medical writing jobs and contests: https://www.freelancer.com/jobs/Medical-Writing/1/.

  39. Medical writing jobs. oDesk Corporation. https://www.odesk.com/o/jobs/browse/skill/medical-writing/.

  40. American Medical Writers Association. http://www.amwa.org/about_us/.

  41. European Medical Writers Association. http://www.emwa.org/EMWA/About_Us/About_EMWA/EMWA/About_Us/About_EMWA.aspx?hkey=27ce6e80-c695-4062-8c9a-a37513e83c21.

  42. Australasian Medical Writers Association. http://www.wfsj.org/associations/page.php?id=262.

  43. On chorea with photo. This image is in the public domain. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:On_Chorea_with_photo.jpg.

  44. Abraham Verghese © BarbiReed. Photo credit: Barbi Reed his file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AbrahamVerghese(c)BarbiReed.jpg.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Taylor, R.B. (2015). Getting Started in Medical Writing. In: What Every Medical Writer Needs to Know. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20264-8_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20264-8_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20263-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20264-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics