These Skills Will Supercharge Your CME Medical Writing Breakthrough
These six transferrable skills can help you get started on your medical writing journey
Guest Blog: Rhona Fraser BSc BVMS
Listening to the Write Medicine podcast, it often strikes me how diverse the paths toward a career in medical writing are. Although more structured courses are emerging (e.g., the Professional Medical Writing Certificate Program at the University of Chicago), most medical writers arrive in the world of continuing medical education/continuing education for health professionals (CME/CEHP) organically.
CME/CEHP writing merges art and science, requiring familiarity with medical concepts and terminology as well as a flair for clear and engaging language. As a result, this field naturally attracts thinkers and information synthesizers like academics, clinicians, veterinarians, and researchers who are ready for a career that offers autonomy and flexibility.
If you’re looking to make the move to CME writing, start by identifying skills you can transfer from clinical practice or academia. This list of six transferrable medical writing skills can help you identify your strengths and interests.
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Six Key Skills Successful CME Writers Establish
1. Attention to Detail
Medical writers must create accurate and informative content because errors in CME/CEHP materials can have serious consequences for healthcare professionals and patients. In other words, the stakes are high, and meticulous attention to detail is required.
This attention to detail must permeate the entire writing and content-creation process. CME/CEHP writers need to follow the project's scope, accurately reference material, respect ACCME Standards, and consider ethical implications, especially the need for fair and balanced content.
Meticulous attention to detail extends to both big-picture and minutiae levels. For example, writers must carefully consider their audience when preparing content to keep learners front and center. Are you writing CME/CEHP content for physicians, nurses, or pharmacists? Or writing content to support interprofessional education? At the same time, it is equally important to use grammatically correct language and avoid unnecessary jargon. Health professionals are busy and need concise content they can easily digest.
Clinicians and veterinarians are trained to be meticulous in their observations and documentation of clinical cases. Similarly, pharmacists must be careful when dispensing medications and monitoring patients’ drug therapy, while academics devote themselves to details when designing studies. If any of this rings true to you and you enjoy triple-checking your work, your skills will translate well to the CME field.
2. Critical Thinking
Precise, unbiased content underpins all accredited CME/CEHP activities. So a large proportion of a CME/CEHP writer's work involves evaluating the relevance and accuracy of information to produce evidence-based, quality content. As a writer with academic, clinical, veterinarian, or research training, you have transferable critical thinking skills that will help you assess scientific content, determine the validity of results, identify bias, and interpret the clinical significance of data and research.
3. Problem-Solving
Problem-solving is intrinsically linked with critical thinking. Essentially, problem-solving refers to not necessarily knowing the answer but knowing how to search for the answer. The medical field, and consequently CME/CEHP, is continually evolving. So too, are the activities and skills required for health professionals to provide evidence-based patient care. Accordingly, CME/CEHP writers need to adopt a proactive problem-solving approach to navigate this changing landscape, underlining the importance of continuous development. Academics, clinicians, veterinarians, and pharmacists, tend to be trained problem-solvers, which can give you a leg up in the CME writing field.
4. Communication
Excellent verbal and written skills are mandatory in all aspects of medical writing, including CME/CEHP. Whether working for a company or freelancing, medical writers often liaise with their employer, team members, clients, or faculty members when working on a project. Establishing productive working relationships requires clear communication and setting the right expectations. Additionally, clarity is especially important for creating CME/CEHP content since overextended clinicians must incorporate learning into busy schedules — clear, concise communication reduces the cognitive load when processing new information.
As a CME/CEHP writer, you’ll need to cultivate deep listening skills alongside emotional intelligence so that you can negotiate with clients, manage conflict, and build relationships for effective outcomes. Because communication is a cornerstone of clinical and academic practice where professionals are accustomed to translating complex scientific information into plain language, these skills shouldn’t be a stretch for academics or clinicians.
5. Organization
Organization skills include effective note-taking, storing and retrieving large volumes of information, managing multiple projects and deadlines, prioritizing tasks, and working well under pressure. CME/CEHP writers need to proactively anticipate potential problems and address them early in the trajectory of a project to avoid emergent issues such as lost references or scope creep.
Clinicians and veterinarians must employ efficient time management strategies to manage multiple patients, track records, and communicate with clients. Academics participate in complex projects, requiring considerable commitment, and must be able to manage their time effectively. These skills align well with those required of medical writers, particularly in the context of creating relevant continuing medical education content.
6. Adaptability
The continually changing landscape of medicine requires adaptability, flexibility, and a continuous assessment of relevant educational needs. Projects or priorities can evolve, and the people you work with may change over time. In addition, CME/CEHP writers often manage multiple projects and switch between different assignments, involving changes in writing style, format, and general approach. Clients value CME/CEHP writers who display these skills and those who can ramp up to speed quickly in new therapeutic areas.
As a former academic, clinician, veterinarian, or researcher, you have likely embraced adaptability as part of your skill set. In CME/CEHP, you can showcase this skill and get ahead of the game.
Start Your CME Writing Career with the WriteCME Pro Course
WriteCME Pro is designed for CME writers by a CME writer who transitioned from academia and clinical care to building a sustainable CME writing business. Learn more about the core competencies medical writers need to grow their careers and other practical, hands-on skills that will help you accelerate business growth when you join the supportive community at WriteCME Pro. Discover how WriteCME Pro can help your medical writing journey. Unsure? Schedule a time to talk with Alex, our founder, about what’s next for your career.
Access the best medical writing resources online and start your career as a CME/CE medical writer today!
→ Join WriteCME Pro, a CME-specific, skills-based membership for CME writers who are ready to create CME content with confidence.
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