How to Confidently Create CME Medical Writing Portfolio Samples
Guest Blog: Rhona Fraser BSc BVMS
If you're trying to make the transition into medical writing, the first question you probably have is how to create writing samples. Whether you're a self-employed content creator or part of an organization, a portfolio page for a CME writer is crucial. To establish trust with prospective clients in your writing career, you need to demonstrate the ability to write clearly and convey an understanding of fair and balanced content — two non-negotiables for any type of writing, including CME content. Here are three options you have for creating a CME writer portfolio.
A NA is a vital component of the educational grant proposal. To showcase your writing skills on your online portfolio, create examples of an NA that CME/CE companies could submit to obtain funding.
On your online writing portfolio, your NA should display your proficiency in designing content with a strategic end goal. What do learners need to derive from the type of writing presented in the CME/CEHP activity featured on your portfolio page? A lean, agile NA clearly defines the gaps between current and best practices, along with a systematic plan to close these gaps through education.
Get access to the best medical writing resources online and start your career as a CME/CE medical writer today!
Choose a topic
Choose a familiar healthcare topic for your writing samples - this strategic decision can make your freelance writer portfolio stand out. For example, if you have a Ph.D. in immunology, it makes sense to create a writing sample from within this field. Explore CME/CE topics on educational providers’ websites like Medscape or CMEology and assimilate a similar topic into your NA on your portfolio site.
2. Perform a literature review
Conduct a comprehensive medical literature review. If you are still getting familiar with your topic, UpToDate is an excellent resource to acquire that big-picture perspective and create a framework for your NA. Similarly, explore Google News or Medscape to familiarize yourself with appropriate keyword strings that you can use to search PubMed and national data sources such as the CDC or relevant medical societies.
3. Familiarize yourself with current clinical guidelines
Review the examples of relevant clinical practice guidelines for your topic, as well as epidemiology data, mortality and morbidity, and other patient outcomes.
Pro tip: Find an interview with a subject matter expert discussing practitioner-level gaps associated with the topic you want to explore. For instance, in oncology, OncLive is a good source for these interviews.
4. Understand your audience
Every good medical writer needs to have a thorough understanding of their audience, and your work samples are a great way to demonstrate that you can put yourself in the shoes of your readers. Identify the educational needs of your audience. When you are assigned an NA in a real-world setting, education providers have often already determined the educational needs and clinical practice gaps. However, if you are creating this NA from scratch, you will need to do this work yourself - and potential clients will want to see that you're capable of assessing educational needs. This is another reason to be familiar with adult learning principles.
Identifying educational needs requires varying types of information, at minimum, the following components:
Defining the audience that benefits from additional education around a particular topic;
Determining the current clinical practice — what learners already know and do; and
Identifying the best clinical practice — what learners should know and do.
Pro tip. Check out the websites CME/CE providers, such as Medscape. CME/CE activities will always state the desired outcomes, which you can reverse engineer to define the educational gaps.
5. Identify clinical practice gaps
Armed with this knowledge, you can define the clinical practice gaps — the differences between current and optimal practice. Deficits in knowledge, skills, or attitudes often drive these differences in practice and offer a compelling rationale for education.
6. Design learning objectives
You’ll use the clinical practice gaps you identified to craft learning objectives (LOs). LOs are precise and measurable goal statements that describe how the creative writing you do for a CME/CE program will improve the knowledge, skills, or attitudes of health professionals and how this improvement could enhance patient outcomes. Keep your NA lean by including no more than 3-4 LOs. Bloom’s taxonomy gives writers a fantastic list of action verbs suitable for writing learning objectives.
7. Put it all together and start building your portfolio!
After defining the clinical practice gap and crafting the LOs, you can move on to writing your NA and adding another piece to your growing portfolio examples. Again, your data must be specific and substantiate the educational needs, describing how this imagined education activity or program would address the needs.
Data should be quality, evidence-based, and relevant to your target audience. The content you create must be fair and balanced. As with any CME/CE activities and programs, NAs must present information in a way that emphasizes the clinical data and recommendations for treatment and does not privilege one therapy or clinical intervention over another. NAs should be free of commercial bias.
Option 2: Seek Professional Support as You Diversify Your Portfolio
Needs assessments are just one example of content you can add to your portfolio. Keep in mind that you can put together medical writing portfolio examples that aren't in the field of CME as you move into CME. Proven experience as a study author, grant writer, or writing clinical trial documents demonstrates that you have the acumen to transition into CME. As you're preparing to make the move, don't do it alone. Get support from your peers who have transitioned to being CME content writers.
In addition to including needs assessments in your portfolio, you can also showcase other types of CME content you have created, such as slide decks, monographs, or interactive educational activities. Highlight any experience you have with different therapeutic areas or medical specialties to demonstrate your versatility as a CME writer.
If you don't have direct experience in CME, consider taking courses or workshops on CME writing to build your skills and knowledge in the field. This can also provide you with additional examples to add to your portfolio.
Don't underestimate the power of networking and making connections in the CME industry. Reach out to CME providers, medical education companies, or pharmaceutical companies to inquire about freelance or contract opportunities. Building relationships with CME professionals can open doors and provide valuable guidance as you transition into this specialized field of medical writing.
As you write pieces for a CME-specific portfolio, feedback is one of the most effective learning mechanisms. Feedback allows learners to reflect on their progress, adjust, and improve, and essentially prevents us from falling down the rabbit hole and getting off track.
An experienced CME/CE writer can help you fast-track the learning experience in this field. Find experienced writers to give you feedback in the American Medical Writers Association discussion forum, on LinkedIn, or join WriteCME Pro, a professional development membership for CME writers.
Option 3: Create a Portfolio Website or Blog
If you're interested in freelance medical writing, you may also choose to craft blog articles in areas that interest you. Display these blogs on your website for optimal exposure and ease of access for prospective clients who might be window shopping for writers. If your website is still a work in progress, post the blogs on LinkedIn or on Medium in the interim.
Consider providing pro bono work for nonprofit organizations as another option. This will not only help you build a portfolio, but it can also provide valuable experience and networking opportunities. Building a strong online presence can help attract potential clients and set you apart from other freelance medical writers.
Whatever route you choose, you’ll find that having a quality sample or two is invaluable in helping you get started as a CME writer.
Begin Building Your CME Portfolio
Transitioning from clinician to CME medical writer is no easy feat, but it’s easier when you start with a strong portfolio. Whether you’re creating example materials like a needs assessment for your ideal clients, receiving professional support, or writing on your blog, there’s no one right way to build a writing portfolio. However, you have to show off that high-level knowledge somehow. If you think you’re ready to make the transition to CME writer and need a little support, take this quiz to help you get started on your journey.
→ Join WriteCME Pro, a CME-specific, skills-based membership for CME writers who are ready to create CME content with confidence.
→ Listen to the Write Medicine podcast or watch our YouTube channel for weekly best practices in creating content that connects with and educates health professionals.
→ Subscribe to the Write Medicine newsletter for tips, tools, and tactics to help you create CME/CE content with confidence