Our Guide to Becoming a Medical Writer with a Focused Niche: Exploring CME Medical Writing
How choosing a niche can benefit your medical writing career
If you're a current or aspiring freelance medical writer, you've probably faced a few career challenges. Namely, should you nourish a niche or be a generalist? While there are advantages to both paths, we're here to talk about finding a niche today through the CME writing lens.
While every medical writer has to find their path, we're partial to CME writing here at Write Medicine. So, let's explore what CME writing is - and is not - and how you can find your own niche, whether it's in CME or a different area entirely.
What is CME Medical Writing?
Continuing medical education (CME) and continuing education for health professionals (CE) writing is a type of medical writing that focuses on continuing education materials. CME is formal education for licensed physicians that helps them stay competent and learn about new evidence-based care practices to improve the care they deliver to patients. CME is primarily delivered through accredited activities that offer American Medical Association credits and contributes to re-licensure and recertification as a physician. Pharmacists, nurses, dentists, and other health professionals must also acquire CE credits.
Lifelong Learning
CME/CE is one of several ongoing education types considered lifelong learning. Education researchers define lifelong learning as a "continuous process" that is self-initiated and supported by information-seeking skills. Lifelong learning is prompted by a sustained motivation to learn, which can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Our ability to self-assess and identify our learning needs supports this motivation.
With that in mind, let's discuss the differences between the types of continuing education and professional development available to healthcare professionals.
CME vs. CE vs. CPD
CME is primarily for physicians, and as we discussed above, it allows them to stay competent and learn about new best practices to ensure high-quality patient outcomes.
CE, or continuing education, is education for all health professionals (HCPs), including physicians, nurses, physician associates, pharmacists, and others. CE is necessary for health professionals to maintain their licensure and also gives them a way to learn more informally about new topics, even if formal credit isn't offered.
Both CME and CE are ways to enhance the professional knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals, improve healthcare delivery, and improve patient outcomes.
CPD, or continuing professional development, refers to overall lifelong learning that combines education, knowledge, skill learning, and practice development across clinical leadership, business, and other competencies that health professionals benefit from, particularly in everyday practice.
CPD isn't an afterthought to CME or CE, either; the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education and the Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions have described CPD as a key intervention to support healthcare professionals in initiating system improvement efforts to address gaps in quality of care.
At its core, CPD empowers HCPs with all the knowledge needed for professional practice, including business and operational knowledge and skills.
What Becoming a CME Medical Writer Does and Doesn't Entail
Here's what not to expect if you enter the world of CME medical writing. CME isn't promotional, and it doesn't aim to sell. CME content is designed to educate physicians so that they can deliver high-quality care to patients. Content must be relevant, accurate, and free from commercial bias to avoid influencing clinical decisions and the care HCPs deliver to patients.
Any CME writing has to be fair, balanced, and evidence-based. For this reason, CME is a highly regulated field with many compliance requirements. So, it may be difficult to balance the writing skills you need for CME writing with those for other projects, say in marketing or promotional. Let's discuss how picking a niche can help.
Ready to take your medical writing career to the next level? Grab our niche discovery checklist to start exploring your medical writing niche today.
Why Choose a Type of Medical Writing to Focus On?
Many people who become medical writers start as generalists, taking on projects that range from medical research synthesis for whitepapers to editing, putting together presentations for medical conferences, regulatory medical writing, monographs, and more.
With the demand for medical writers high, you can enjoy gaining experience in different fields this way and learning what you do and don't like. However, this approach can lead to mental fatigue and frustration in maintaining consistent revenue. That's where nourishing a niche can come in.
When you nourish a niche and focus on one area of expertise, you can crack the client mindset code, streamline client acquisition, build your authority, generate higher revenue, and optimize your marketing efforts.
Let's break it down.
The Benefits of Choosing a Medical Communication Niche
Cracking the Client Mindset Code
When you specialize in CME, you can consistently discuss your client's needs in a way that demonstrates your expertise in the industry.
Streamline Client Acquisition
When you deeply understand the CME landscape, you become the go-to writer for clients seeking specialized CME expertise. You'll establish relationships with clients who know, like, and trust you. This leads to repeat business and the ability to command more for your services.
Build Your Authority
When you develop a niche, you deepen your knowledge and skills. Your familiarity with CME medical terminology, deliverables, and audience will make it easier to establish credibility with prospects. Your reputation will begin to lead you to better clients.
Generate Higher Revenue
Specialized skills and niche concentration increase your business's ability to generate more revenue. As a specialist, you can command higher rates. You also indirectly generate more revenue by spending less time on research and prework for any project. It will also be easier to stay up-to-date in your specific niche.
Optimize Marketing
Nourishing a niche helps you market your services. When you know your niche, you're better equipped to identify and talk to your prospects using language that resonates with them and demonstrates a deep understanding of their pain points.
Concerns and Challenges of Specializing
Are you worried that specializing will limit your opportunities? It's easy to assume that choosing a niche will narrow your pool of projects to choose from and professional growth.
It's true that when you're focusing on a niche, you're saying no to other medical writing opportunities. It's also possible that picking a niche may lead to content repetition, so you might get bored. You may hit a ceiling with your rates if you're in an established niche.
Of course, niches are subject to market demand and may become obsolete.
However, here's our take: if you say yes to every project, following what interests you in the moment, you risk feeling scattered, unanchored, and exhausted. You'll probably undercharge your services, and your bank account will suffer.
However, if you're intentional about your niche, you can find projects that align with your interests and values. And remember niches aren't set in stone. You can expand and revise at regular intervals (eg, annually).
How to Find Your Medical Writing Niche
Here are signs it's time to choose a niche:
You've gained enough general experience, and you're ready to specialize.
You consistently get positive feedback on certain types of projects.
Certain topics, therapeutic areas, disease states, or policy areas always spark your interest.
You feel burnt out on variety.
You have a unique background you can leverage.
You struggle to market a generalist profile effectively, but you could stand out in a niche.
You have ideas for innovative services but need a focused target audience.
You want a better work-life balance.
You feel bored, restless, or ready for a new challenge.
The medical writing field is a little saturated. Specializing gives you an edge.
You want higher pay. Experts in certain niches can charge premium rates.
Start by assessing your existing skills, projects, and revenue streams. Choose a niche purposefully based on your abilities and interests rather than defaulting to one. If you want some ideas on how to identify your niche, grab the niche discovery checklist and explore the next step in your medical writing career.
Become a Medical Writer with Help From WriteCME Pro
Choosing a niche is key to building a thriving freelance career that offers you financial stability, freedom with your time, and a profound sense of well-being. If you’re an aspiring freelance medical writer, WriteCME Pro is here to help you on your journey.
Enjoy one-on-one mentorship, peer support, and personalized guidance on the technical and practical aspects of CME writing from someone who’s made the transition from full-time employment to freelancing. Learn more about how WriteCME Pro can help your freelance medical writing journey today.
→ 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.
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