So You Want To Be A Medical Writer

Outcomes You will learn the basic skills needed by medical writers. Because the many fields of medicine are rapidly evolving, you will develop skills to maintain current knowledge in your area. Assessment Each week you will be given a short essay question to demonstrate that you are developing the necessary writing skills. Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Medical terminology-- You will learn the root words, their Latin or Greek origins, and prefixes and suffixes that describe what is happening. Learn about basic laboratory tests, why they are performed, and how to note the results. Basic Anatomy and Physiology Learn about basic anatomy and physiology so that you can locate the spot in the body where events are happening. Statistics Know your statistics or at least be familiar with the standard evaluations and their uses: mean and standard deviation, p value, Student t test. This segment will ask you to define each of these methods and explain when it would be used. Computer Skills Computer skills are essential. Your computer is your friend, your colleague, and your tool. Know how to use it. Be familiar with essential programs like Word, WordPerfect, PowerPoint, Excel, and Visio for most documents you will work on as well as QuarkExpress, PageMaker, or FrameMaker for larger documents. Hone Your Writing Skills Join a writers'' group to get you habituated to writing on a regular basis, and so you can hone writing and editing skills. Find a local group to join. For more specific collegiality, consider joining the American Medical Writers Association. The website is www.amwa.org. Local chapters are listed there so you can find a chapter near you. Get acquainted with people who are active in the field. Building Your Resources 1. Basic Reference Books--Build your library of resource books to help you with your writing. We will look at the reference books a Professional Medical Writer uses including a basic grammar book, the AMA Manual of Style, Council of Biology Editors Style Manual, Chicago Manual of Style, Dorlands Medical Dictionary, or Stedmans Medical Dictionary, and Webster''s Collegiate Dictionary. No collection is complete unless a Medical Writer has a copy of the Merck Manual (physician-level encyclopedia of illnesses) and the Physicians Desk Reference (PDR), which lists and describes all pharmaceutical agents available. 2. E-mail and Web Browsing-- E-mail and a web browser are essential to every medical writer. Get comfortable with it. You need to have access to medical research papers like those available on Medline, PubMed, and Grateful Med. Much of medical writing business is carried out by e-mail. However, costs for a basic e-mail service are going up. Several techniques and strategies can be used to minimize your expenses. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SAMPLE LESSON WEEK 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Medical terminology First of all, a medical writer must know medical terminology. You must be able to speak the language. The technical terminology is composed of root words of Latin or Greek origin designating the parts of the body and its systems, and prefixes and suffixes that describe conditions or processes. By becoming familiar with these terms, you will gain an understanding about conditions being discussed. At the end of this course a brief list of basic resource books will be recommended. As you find your niche in the medical writing field, you may need other reference books. Important reference books include: Dorlands Medical Dictionary, Stedmans Medical Dictionary, The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style. Answer the following questions. 1. Computed tomography (CT or CAT). How is the image produced? 2. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). How is the image produced? 3. Positron emission tomography (PET). How is the image produced? 4. Define the suffixes: osis, iasis, itis, algia, ostomy, ectomy, lysis. 5. Define the prefixes: dys, a, ab, infra, intra, sub, trans, myo. Define each of the following terms: 1. mg/dL 2. mol/L 3. g/dL 4. cu mm 5. /L 6. False-positive and false-negative test results What is the International System of Unites (SI units)? Contact Hours: 24