MEDICAL COMMUNICATIONS
MEDICAL COMMUNICATIONS |
| I really enjoy med-com writing. My audiences include clinicians, patients, families, and prominent thought leaders and researchers--allowing me to write in a variety of voices and styles. It's never boring. Also, med-com gives me the opportunity to fully use my education and training in pharmacology and psychology. |
I've worked with many advisory boards
and enjoy the energy of these exchanges. As a writer, my role has been to write
the meeting agenda, prepare the necessary visuals and handouts, attend the
meetings, take notes, and write meeting summaries.  |
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CONFERENCE AND MEETING COVERAGE
I have attended conferences and written summaries for clients in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Topics included heart disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and other areas, with summaries published as journal supplements, medical reports, and news summaries. My summaries of scientific sessions at American Heart Association (AHA) meetings, for example, were published as CME journal supplements for Circulation. Other examples include coverage at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meetings for a European client (breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lymphoma), and at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers for a Canadian client (pain management). I’ve also prepared meeting summaries without actual attendance, using tapes and slides supplied by the client; an example is the 2007 World Glaucoma Congress in Singapore symposium, published as a CME journal supplement on neuroprotection.
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There are so many formats available for continuing education of doctors, nurses and pharmacists. I have experience with most of them, including web-based materials, slide kits, symposia, videos, monographs, and articles. I work with the speakers or authors to help them establish content, learning objectives, needs assessments, post-tests, and other materials required by the accrediting organizations; prepare copy for visuals and participants' handbooks, and monitor the materials for accuracy and fair balance. I've prepared CME or CE programs dealing with cardiovascular diseases, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, glaucoma, human papillomavirus, orthopedics, childhood vaccinations, Alzheimer's disease, and others. |
| I have prepared multi-component packages for hospital and managed care formulary committees. One such kit consisted of a disease primer, product monograph, pharmacoeconomics analysis, glossary, patient resource kit, and a practitioner Q&A section. |
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| Well thought-out and targeted
proposals are essential to obtaining funding for programs. I have written copy,
researched market data and competition, and edited material for grant
proposals. |
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| I like to write how-to guides! One pharmaceutical client wanted a user-friendly handbook to guide product managers and agencies in preparing for the medical/legal/regulatory review process. I wrote all of the text for this book. In the process, I learned a lot of useful information about what the FDA has to say about marketing materials. |
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JOURNAL MANUSCRIPTS AND SUPPLEMENTS
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In addition to publishing articles under my own name as a graduate student, I have written clinical data reports and edited copy written by medical authors for submission to peer-reviewed journals, and summarized symposia and presentations for publication as sponsored journal supplements. Articles I wrote, edited, or contributed to have appeared in the American Journal of Therapeutics, Circulation, Clinical Pulmonary Medicine, Endocrinology, Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice, International Glaucoma Review, Journal of Managed Care Medicine, Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, Journal of Pediatric Health Care, Neurology, and Seminars in Pediatric Infectious Disease. |
Institutional review boards (IRBs) approve, monitor, and review biomedical and behavioral research involving humans to protect the rights and welfare of the subjects. I’ve written the minutes of IRB meetings for many government agencies, including the Department of Defense, National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
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I’ve prepared newsletters for both professional and patient audiences. One CME series of 8 issues, Insight HPV, provided updates for physicians on human papilloma virus. I've written patient newsletters on kidney disease, hyperphosphatemia, heart attack, and stroke to help patients stay informed and motivated while serving as subjects in clinical studies. |
I have written a number of materials that explain various research studies and diseases to help potential patients decide whether to volunteer as a subject in a clinical trial and stay informed and motivated throughout the study. These materials include recruitment posters, brochures, patient guides and newsletters dealing with ulcerative colitis, overactive bladder, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, end-stage renal disease, and more.
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| I have written and prepared a number
of posters for presentation at scientific meetings. These are usually 4x8's and
have included reports of clinical data and pharmacokinetics, as well as disease
reviews. |
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| I’ve prepared monographs for
Drug Information (a publication of the American Society of
Health-Systems Pharmacists) and also wrote product monographs for
pharmaceutical clients. |
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| In addition to the typical modules and
narratives for training sales staff, a client would sometimes want a different
twist. One such program was an innovative
seven-week game to teach reps about coagulation. I managed all of the
editorial content for this project, including puzzles, word games, props, audio
scripts for a fictitious "Mission Impossible" plot, and of course, the training
module. The reps' response was very enthusiastic. (Nice prizes helped
too!) |
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| One summer I had the pleasure of
writing a script for Ossie Davis who opened a CME symposium
on aging at the National Medical Association's annual meeting in
Nashville. I’ve also worked on continuing
education videos. One such video deals with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and features a review of the disease and advice
on management. I was responsible for developing the editorial content for this
one-hour tape which provides continuing education for nurses and case
managers. |
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Speakers and clients expect and deserve well-planned slides that clearly convey key messages. I've developed a number of slide kits in cardiology, endocrinology, neurology, vaccine-preventable diseases, and other areas. I strive for clear, concise content, good strong visuals, and an accurate, comprehensive, and balanced narrative. I've prepared slide kits on various cardiovascular diseases, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), vaccine-preventable disease, and more. |
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Educational symposia seem to be the bread-and-butter of a med-com writer and I've done my share. I work closely with the speakers, developing detailed content outlines, ensuring compliance with CME-accrediting organizations, lending support to the speakers before and during the presentation, attending the session, and writing a summary report. I've prepared symposia materials on Alzheimer's disease, various cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, vaccine-preventable disease, and more. |
| I’ve provided editorial services for a number of web-based programs, including a CME program called Rethink Asthma Control, designed to update physicians on new guidelines for treating asthma. |
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| Portfolio: Medical communications Home | Biography | Portfolio | Clients | Contact me
Mary C. Love,
M.A. |
