HBA

• Leadership Institute
• Leadership Conference
• Mentoring
• Volunteer Opportunities
• Skills-For-Success

Skills For Success

March/April 2001

Outsourcing For Success:

How to Hire and Work with Medical Writers

Caroline Helwick
Caroline Helwick Medical Communications, Inc.

How to Find a Good Medical Journalist

How do you find a good medical writer? The best way is through recommendations from your colleagues who have been satisfied with their work. If this fails, another good source is the American Medical Writer’s Association (www.amwa.org) job market sheet, a “classifieds” for writers where you can advertise your position. Also, medical journalists are themselves part of a vast network and most are willing to pass your offer along to another writer who might be available or qualified for your project. The medical societies and associations also keep a press roster of journalists who have attended their meetings and may be willing to share some names. Finally, the Editorial Freelancers Association, Inc. (EFA) has an excellent freelance database. (The EFA can be reached at 212-929-5400).

When hiring a medical journalist, it’s important to remember that, skill-wise, this is a heterogeneous group. One may specialize in writing news copy that sizzles for a consumer wire service. Another might write mostly for physician audiences. Yet another might prefer the more weighty challenge of writing regulatory submission documents. The backgrounds and years of experience of these three writers may appear to be the same, but they would have trouble switching places. Interview prospective freelance writers and be sure to hire a professional with the experience required for your project.

How do you determine if a prospective hire can handle your project? Good question. Some have graduate degrees in science, some are actually physicians, but does this mean they can write? You can request samples of their work, but then, it may have been heavily edited. Years in the medical writing field is definitely is a good sign. Getting a “feel” for a writer’s experience through conversation can sometimes be adequate.

Caution, however: you may sometimes err. As in any profession, there are medical writers out there who should not be wielding a pen (er, keyboard). So do not go about your search too casually. I was once asked to rewrite another journalist’s report from a research session at the American Heart Association. He had written something like, “The patient’s sister also had cardiac problems and had recently had a cabbage.” I realized the speaker had referred to a “CABG” (coronary artery bypass graft) but the word “cabbage” was heard by this hopelessly naïve writer, who lacked the most basic knowledge of cardiac jargon. The best way to avoid situations such as this is to put the time in to finding a seasoned medical writer with experience in the type of project (subject matter and format/style) that you need done. Use the sources previously noted and interview prospective freelancers just as you would prospective full-time employees.

In general, experienced medical writers can adapt to the demands of most projects. I accepted my first assignment (to cover a meeting) after hounding an editor for months. Her question still rings in my ear: “How are you with tropical diseases?” I answered, “It’s not my best area, but I can do it.” A half-truth at best. I didn’t know a Cryptosporidia from a schistosome. But I managed to tear through half a tropical medicine textbook before the conference. I got the job done and the publication was very well received. After that first success, the work began to find me.

The point is that medical writers are good learners. Experienced journalists develop a foundation by paying attention to medical topics over the years. They have an intuitive sense of what’s new and noteworthy and have picked up enough epidemiology to be able to discern good clinical studies from faulty ones.

Delegating Responsibility

How much responsibility can you give a good medical journalist? As much as the project demands, as long as you provide proper support. A writer can work independently and deliver the finished product solo (with your guidance), or, for complex assignments, the writer can work as part of a production team. Certain projects require the writer to be in contact with many different people—from physicians who need to be interviewed to entire committees of physicians; from editors to graphic designers; from product managers to the legal department. One writer I know called himself “a student, a teacher, a translator, a storyteller, an interviewer, a researcher, a negotiator, a problem-solver.” Whatever the project scope, your job is to clearly outline your needs and to give adequate instructions, resources, and support when necessary. Here are some tips:

1. When describing your project, provide the following information:

• scope of the project, including description of the topic
• audience: physicians, subspecialists, consumer?
• research: will you provide or will the writer be responsible?
• referencing: will the writer be responsible?
• length of the written product
• time line: when you will deliver any materials necessary for the project and your deadline for the finished piece
• payment for the project

2. Once the project is accepted, provide a written contract.

3. Provide the writer with adequate information, including background information for the topic, and a clearly defined “briefing” containing the client’s aims (where appropriate).

4. Where interviews are necessary, provide the writer with complete contact information and inform the writer why Dr. Jones was selected for the interview. Even better, alert the interviewees that a journalist will be calling. If honoraria are involved, don’t leave this task to the journalist.

5. When re-writes are necessary, be specific in your directions.

6. If extensive editing is necessary, confirm significant changes with the writer for accuracy.

7. Pay promptly. This helps to foster a good current and future working relationship with the medical writer and builds your company’s reputation in the freelance community.

What’s the “Going Rate?”

Regarding payment, this business is project-ependent and there is really no “going rate.” Ihave edited medical texts for $20 an hour (when I was desperate); and on a few lucky occasions I’ve made $500 an hour on projects that paid well and came easily for me. It’s fair to say, however, that with regard to products originating from industry, the medical writer senses a lucrative opportunity and expects good remuneration.

Most medical communications companies (who are funded by unrestricted educational grants from industry) are paying $.65 to $1.00 a word today. Many projects are offered for set amounts, for example, a 15-minute video script might pay somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000, depending on complexity. This amount is often set by putting a project out for bid, so to speak, which is also a good idea from the hirer’s point of view.

In summary, the keys to success when working with a medical writer are accurate assessment of the project needs and writer’s skills (match the right project with the right journalist), good communication regarding content, goals and objectives for the project (an outline is often useful), and a clear agreement as to fee and timing. After that, it’s up to the writer.

Caroline Helwick heads Caroline Helwick Medical Communications, Inc., in New Orleans, LA, (504-895-3826; chmedcom@aol.com). She has more than 20 years of experience as a freelance medical journalist.