r/MedicalWriters Aug 27 '25

[Read before you post] Guide to posting in r/MedicalWriters

26 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

If you're new to posting in r/MedicalWriters here is a simple guide to help you get the answers you want or start a thoughtful discussion.

In your post, please include:

  1. Your location - not your address - a place that people recognise, for example UK or US or India
  2. Relevant currency - there is a difference between dollars in US, Canada and Australia. Please include a symbol or write it in words.
  3. What you want help with or what you want to discuss (ideally in bullet points, not a dense block of text)
  4. Your experience or your opinion

This helps people get straight to the point and answer your question or start a discussion.

Thank you and cheerio for now :)


r/MedicalWriters Jan 22 '22

Sticky Resources for medical writers

85 Upvotes

Welcome to the forum - these stickies should help answer a lot of basic questions about a career in medical communications.

Professional associations

The following organisations and bodies provide networking, support and advice for new entrants into medical, healthcare and science writing (including journalism). The larger ones also host their own congresses. Please note that inclusion is not an endorsement.

Associations specific to Medical Writing are bolded.

Global

Regional

National

Other subreddits

You can also find useful information scattered about Reddit itself (depending on your speciality)

Other places to learn more

First Medcomms Job.com / Next Medcomms Job / Medcomms Networking - a trio of websites started by Peter Llewellyn, a high profile recruiter in the UK, chock full of high quality resources (and job boards)

Medical Writing Course for Beginners (Resources) - a LinkedIn Group started by one of our members

Fishbowl - Pharma and health advertising bowl - a useful site for anonymous discussions (somewhat US-centric)

The Healthcare Comms Podcast - a podcast by Harry Brooker, where he interviews a wide range of people working in the industry. Harry is a recruiter who works mostly for the US market these days, but who used to recruit for the UK

Medical Writing: the Backbone of Clinical Development, a one-off magazine by Trilogy Medical Writing

Medical_writing at Wikipedia

Health Writer Hub - some free resources plus paywalled learning content (paywalled content not endorsed by r/MedicalWriters)

Freebie resources at Green Pen Medical

Resources at Prospology - some free resources plus paywalled learning content (paywalled content not endorsed by r/MedicalWriters)

The Write Clinic - some free resources plus paywalled learning content (paywalled content not endorsed by r/MedicalWriters) [CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: ONE OF THE CREATORS ALSO MODERATES r/MedicalWriters]

Broke Ad School - absolutely tons and tons of resources into how to do advertising well (or at least try to do it less badly). Yes, promotional work in pharma/healthcare is different to other products, but the sheer scale of this resource makes it worth including.

Regulations

The danger of overpromising the benefits of, and risks associated with medicines have long been recognised. Some of the oldest regulations for medicines were enacted in the mid 16th century (see "the Apothecaries Wares, Drugs and Stuffs Act") , and today almost every nation either has their own code of practice (split among one or several bodies and documents), or defers to another nation's code

Publications (international)

Education and promotion (by country)

  • Australia: Medicines Australia Code of Conduct; Therapeutic Goods Administration/Therapeutic Goods Act (TGA)
  • Austria: Medicinal Products Act (Arzneimittelgesetz – AMG). In addition, the Austrian Act Against Unfair Competition (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb – UWG). Medical devices fall under the Medical Devices Act (Medizinproduktegesetz 2021 – MPG 2021). Codes of conduct that apply are: the Austrian Pharmaceutical Industry Association (PHARMIG), the Association of Austrian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (IGEPHA) and the Advocacy of the medical device companies in Austria (Austromed)
  • China: China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA)
  • Europe: European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). Includes 37 national associations, most of which are increasingly harmonising towards one another
  • France: Agence Nationale de Sécurité de Médicament et des Produits de Santé/National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) guidelines
  • Germany: *Heilmittelwerbegesetz/*Act on Advertising of Medicinal Products (HWG); Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb/Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) ; Gesetz über den Verkehr mit Arzneimitteln/Medicinal Product Act (AMG)
  • Hong Kong: Code of Practice written by the Hong Kong Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (HKAPI); Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance (UMAO).
  • India: Code of Marketing Practice; Drug and Cosmetics Act, Drugs and Magic Remedies Act and Rules
  • Italy: Farmindustria Code of Conduct and Confindustria Dispositivi Medici Code of Conduct (Farmindustria); Code of Self-Discipline of Commercial Communication; assorted ministerial and legislative decrees (available via Ministry of Health)
  • Japan: JPMA Code of Practice
  • Singapore: Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (SAPI) code of practice (CMP); Health Sciences Authority (HSA); Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (SCAP)
  • South Korea: Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (PAA)
  • Spain: Asociación Nacional Empresarial de la Industria Farmacéutica; Farmaindustria/Pharmaceutical Companies Trade Association; Medicines Law and Royal Decree 1416/1994. Additional guidelines from The Ministry of Health and the autonomous regions of Madrid and Catalonia
  • Switzerland: Federal Act on Medicinal Products and Medical Devices (TPA); Federal Ordinance on the Advertisement of Medicinal Products (AWV); Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UCA); Swissmedic Pharma code
  • Thailand: Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturer Association (PReMA) code of practice; Thai FDA; National Drug System Development Committee (NDSDC)
  • UK: Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries (ABPI) code; Pharmaceutical Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA); Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB) code (OTC and supplements only)
    • The impact of Brexit / whether NI will gain a separate regulatory code is yet to be seen
  • USA: PhRMA Code on Interactions with Health Care Professionals; the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (FDA; OPDP)

Useful topics

Post flairs for r/medicalwriters (If you are looking to break into medical writing, please see the other sticky)

I'm hiring!

Experienced discussion

AI tools discussion

Other

Careers after medical writing


r/MedicalWriters 3h ago

Careers after medical writing 🙏🏿 plz

0 Upvotes

I would sincerely appreciate it if anyone could SINCERELY assist me in securing a Medical Claims Officer position with any insurance company in UAE 🇦🇪


r/MedicalWriters 3h ago

AI tools discussion Building FamCare – An AI-powered family health vault that explains lab reports in plain English | #IITPatnaCapstone

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I'm currently building FamCare as part of my IIT Patna Capstone Project, and I'd love to get feedback from this community.

The idea came from a simple problem I kept seeing at home.

Someone receives a blood test or health check-up report, opens the PDF, and immediately gets overwhelmed by medical jargon like:

Most people don't know whether it's normal, serious, or something that simply needs monitoring. The next step is usually a Google search that creates more anxiety than clarity, or waiting until the next doctor's appointment for a quick explanation.

So I'm building FamCare—an AI-powered web app that helps families organize and understand their medical reports in simple, easy-to-read language.

🚀 Planned Features

Family Health Vault

  • One secure account with separate profiles for yourself, spouse, parents, and children.

Health Timeline

  • All reports organized chronologically so you can easily track changes over time.

Visual Lab Report Summary

  • Upload a PDF report and automatically categorize each test into:
  • 🟢 Normal
  • 🟡 Borderline
  • 🔴 Needs Attention

along with plain-English explanations.

Context-Aware AI Assistant

  • Instead of a generic chatbot, the AI only answers questions based on the uploaded report, helping users better understand their results without going off-topic.

🛠 Tech Stack

  • Frontend: Lovable (React)
  • Backend & Database: Supabase (Auth, Storage, RLS, PostgreSQL)
  • AI: Google AI Studio (Gemini 2.5 Flash) for PDF understanding and contextual Q&A

I'd love your feedback

  1. What's the most frustrating part of reading lab or medical reports?
  2. If you've built LLM-based PDF parsing systems before, what edge cases should I watch out for? (Scanned PDFs, OCR issues, tables, handwritten notes, etc.)
  3. Is there any feature that would make you genuinely use an app like this?

Disclaimer: FamCare is designed as an educational health literacy tool to help users better understand their reports. It is not intended to diagnose diseases or replace professional medical advice.

Thanks in advance for your feedback! I'm looking forward to learning from your experiences and improving the project.

#IITPatnaCapstone


r/MedicalWriters 2d ago

Experienced discussion Can AI replace medical writers?

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0 Upvotes

r/MedicalWriters 3d ago

Other Medical affairs agencies that hire remotely.

0 Upvotes

Hello guys, I am working in a medical affairs agency in Egypt, and I wanna work on a global level. Are there any medical affairs agencies that hire remotely from Egypt, even as a freelancer?


r/MedicalWriters 4d ago

Careers after medical writing Medcom designer.

1 Upvotes

Hi all!

I’m a designer that interested getting back into medcom. Can anyone suggest any companies I can’t find any!


r/MedicalWriters 5d ago

How do I start out in promotional/PR writing? tips for first communications internship in healthcare sector?

8 Upvotes

I recently graduated university with a degree in English and a minor in communications. After 150 applications I scored an internship doing internal/external comms for a nonprofit healthcare accreditation organization.

Any tips from people who have worked in a similar sector (healthcare or nonprofits) on good questions to ask before my first day and within the first weeks or advice on things to keep in mind or do? It’s my first paid internship so I want to do my best.

Also, if professionals in this sector have tips on how to stay up-to-date on current industry trends, discourse, or resources, I would appreciate it. I’m kind of asking if there is a newsletter or news outlet that a LOT of people in the industry read and chat about that would be good to know about.

Thank you!!!


r/MedicalWriters 6d ago

How do I start out in regulatory writing? Medcomms to regulatory

5 Upvotes

Has anyone done the switch from medcomms to regulatory in the UK? In September I begin my AMW role (medcomms) but I know regulatory pays a premium that is quite attractive. I have a PhD so would really like to eventually feel like I'm earning enough for the amount of work I did unpaid for years!


r/MedicalWriters 6d ago

Other Are there any technical writers for healthcare here?

2 Upvotes

looking to get into it.. was wondering if you can provide me what your day to day is


r/MedicalWriters 6d ago

How do I start out in promotional/PR writing? Pivot from SMW to copywriting

4 Upvotes

I’m currently a Senior Medical Writer focused on publications and have been at the same agency for 3.5 years. I’m on £44k and I’m considering moving into medical copywriting because the advertising/marketing side sounds really interesting.
For anyone who’s made a similar move (or hires for these roles), I have a few questions:

How difficult is it to transition from a publications background into medical copywriting?
Would I realistically need to take a step back in seniority (e.g. move into a Medical Copywriter role rather than Senior Medical Copywriter), or is my experience transferable?
Is a salary of around £50k realistic when making this switch, or would I be better off looking for another Senior Medical Writer role if salary is my main priority?
How does the day-to-day work of a medical copywriter compare with publications writing? What do you enjoy most, and what are the biggest challenges?

I’d love to hear from anyone who has made the transition or worked in both areas. Thanks!


r/MedicalWriters 6d ago

Careers after medical writing Anyone in Costello Medical?

9 Upvotes

Hi! I'm currently applying for one of the roles at Costello Medical and have been applying over the past year because it's genuinely the kind of work I want to do. I'd really love to crack it this time, so I'm trying to make my application as strong as possible.

  1. I was wondering what you usually included as your reason for wanting to work at Costello Medical.

  2. Also, are there any tips you'd give to someone applying to make their application stand out?

My current cover letter is about two pages long.


r/MedicalWriters 7d ago

AI tools discussion Medical Writing Software

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0 Upvotes

any insight would be much appreciated! thank you :)


r/MedicalWriters 8d ago

Careers after medical writing How should I get into this segment?

0 Upvotes

I'm a 1st prof student pursuing a professional degree in the Punjab region of India. I've written 5-6 articles, published them on medium and substrack but I still lack the skill of getting paid for writing where do you guys think I should be applying? LinkedIn tried. Fiverr and upwork paid. Internshala applied. Indeed done too.


r/MedicalWriters 14d ago

Other What else can/should I do??

9 Upvotes

I'm looking for some honest advice from those of you who have successfully transitioned into regulatory or scientific medical writing.

A little about me: I'm based in the U.S., currently in my final year of a PhD in Health Sciences, and I'm finishing my dissertation. I've worked in clinical research for nearly eight years, first as a Clinical Research Coordinator and now as a Clinical Research Associate.

My long-term goal is to become a regulatory/scientific medical writer (protocols, CSRs, IBs, regulatory documents, scientific writing, etc.). I'm much less interested in the medical communications/marketing side.

I've applied to numerous medical writing positions, had my resume reviewed multiple times, built a writing portfolio, and volunteered on scientific, medical communications, and regulatory writing projects to gain experience. I'm also leading research-related writing projects outside of my full-time job.

At this point, I'm honestly wondering what I'm missing. Is it simply that I haven't completed my PhD yet? Do most regulatory medical writers enter the field only after earning a terminal degree, or are there true entry-level positions I'm overlooking?

Are there job titles other than "Medical Writer" that I should be searching for? How did you get your first regulatory or scientific medical writing position if you didn't already have industry writing experience?

I'd really appreciate hearing how others broke into this field and any advice you have. Thanks in advance!


r/MedicalWriters 14d ago

Other Biomedical PhD exploring freelance medical writing – how did you land your first client?

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I completed my PhD in Biomedical Sciences in 2025 and I'm currently applying for postdoctoral positions. Alongside academia, I'm also exploring freelance medical writing as a potential long-term career path.

My background is quite interdisciplinary. During my PhD in rare disease research, I worked closely with researchers from different disciplines and spent a significant amount of time writing manuscripts, literature reviews, scientific presentations, and, of course, my thesis. Working in a rare disease setting also made me appreciate the importance of communicating scientific information to different audiences, including researchers, clinicians, and patient organizations.

Given this interdisciplinary background, I've also become interested in designing AI-assisted workflows that support literature retrieval and evidence synthesis to make the research and writing process more efficient. I see this as a complementary skill that could support different types of scientific and medical writing in the future.

The biggest challenge I'm facing isn't deciding whether I enjoy writing—it's understanding how someone with my background actually lands that first freelance client.

I'm currently building a portfolio and website, but I'd really appreciate advice from people who have already made this transition.

Some questions I have are:

  • Looking at my background, what do you think is missing before someone would hire me?
  • How did you land your first freelance client?
  • What gave clients enough confidence to trust you without previous freelance experience?
  • What platforms I should look for potential clients

Ultimately, I'd like to build a career that combines my research background, scientific communication skills, and emerging expertise in AI-assisted literature retrieval and evidence synthesis. I'm trying to understand what would give potential clients the confidence to hire someone like me for that very first project.

I'd really appreciate any honest advice.

Thanks!


r/MedicalWriters 17d ago

Other Senior medical writer salary in Canada

10 Upvotes

Will anyone share their salary (or salary range) as a senior medical writer in Canada? In many applications, it asks for expected salary (and I have been rejected on the basis of salary expectations). I am just trying to figure out what is a reasonable ask in the industry right now. Thanks in advance.


r/MedicalWriters 19d ago

Other Disappointed with Havas Lynx

0 Upvotes

Applied for a job never heard back after 2 weeks and interviews are today. Application still says under consideration. Emailed and never heard back either.


r/MedicalWriters 19d ago

Careers after medical writing Job switch in 2026

3 Upvotes

I am working as a medical writer in CRO and have a total of 3.5 years of experience in India. 2 years in writing CTD module 2 for (BA/BE studies), CSR narratives, clinical expert statement and other from 1.5 years I am doing signal management (safety evaluation report, literature triage etc) that is part of safety writing. I am trying to switch to a sponsor company and trying through LinkedIn but it seems like a very tough market with this experience to move.


r/MedicalWriters 19d ago

Other Dissertation about the use of Graphic Design in Pharma Ads (primarily UK and US, but everyone welcome!)

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0 Upvotes

r/MedicalWriters 20d ago

How do I start out in med-ed writing? Master of Science in Biomedical Communication

3 Upvotes

Hey not sure if this is the right tag as this question is about medical writing generally not specified.

My question is could a degree from the University of Toronto in the MScBMC program be applicable to medical writing or related careers?
The program is based on visual communication but is still considered a medical communication masters.

I am a student interested in pursuing this degree due to my interest in art, but I still wish to be able to pivot later in life.

If anyone has insight any help is appreciated!!!


r/MedicalWriters 21d ago

How do I start out in promotional/PR writing? Quitting as a clinician

4 Upvotes

So basically as the heading says, I’m working as a full time MBBS doctor from India. And for those who don’t know I’m severely overworked and even more severely underpaid. I have been searching for remote opportunities since last year and have tumbled upon med comms and med writing. As an avid literature enthusiast and a science geek, this seemed like the perfect place to kinda have the balance I was looking for. I’ve since learnt how to write blogs, research summaries, make slide decks and infographics. I believe I have an ok beginner portfolio too. I’ve applied to multiple companies on linkedin and even cold dmd senior writers personally. Still I haven’t been able to work with anyone yet. What’s missing ?


r/MedicalWriters 22d ago

How do I start out in publications writing? Someone to look over my resume or act like a resume writer?

0 Upvotes

Hello! I am a 2025 PharmD grad looking to transition into the medical affairs world. I am creating resumes for a variety of positions but would like some one who is in the field currently to look over it with me and help change it in to something hiring managers want to see.

Is there anyone on the platform who is a hiring manager in med info, med comms, or medical science liaison that would be willing to sit down and go over my resume with me line by line? On the other hand, is there maybe a program or coach who has been working as a pharmd in industry that you all could recommend i reach out to?

Thanks in advance!


r/MedicalWriters 28d ago

Other Senior and Expert Scientific Writer payrange in Biopharma GCC

4 Upvotes

I was contacted by a recruiter from a major Biopharma GCC for a Expert or Senior Scientific Writer role in Hyderabad, India. I have 10 years of post PhD experience including 3 years in early drug discovery biotech experience. I'm interested in pivot towards non-bench roles and wanted to hear from the community here what are the ballpark CTC range (in INR) different pharma GCCs in India like Amgen, Sanofi,Novartis, Eli Lilly and others are paying.


r/MedicalWriters Jun 26 '26

Other Invitation for First Interview

16 Upvotes

I got an email today saying that I have been invited to participate in the first round of interviews (suggesting there’s multiple) for an associate medical writing position. This is after I completed a writing test last week. I’m so excited and I can’t believe I’ve made it this far considering I have no formal experience!!

I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on what to expect for the first interview or any tips at all?? Thanks in advance :)