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MedComms Careers: Choose Your Path
- Grace Pountney
- May 17, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 31
Written & Edited by: Grace Pountney (Editor-in-Chief)
Think MedComms is the right industry for you but unsure which MedComms career path to take?
Look no further. In this post, we outline MedComms career options, and the skills needed for each. Read until the end to find out what to do if you still can't decide which one is right for you!
Traditional Career Paths in MedComms
Check out this amazing FirstMedCommsJob Masterclass video with the MedComms Mentor, Eleanor Steele, who takes you through the career options in MedComms and the different types of companies you can join.
There are several career paths you can take in medical communications. You'll need great written and verbal communication, time management, and teamwork skills for all these careers, but you'll need to capitalise on other key skills, depending on which path you choose you take.
1. Client Services
Customer-facing project management.
Key Skills:
Pragmatism
Interpersonal skills
Leadership
Typical Career Path:
Associate Account Manager/Executive
Account Manager/Executive
Senior Account Manager
Account Director
Role Description:
To work in client services, you'll need to be a people-person and hence have great interpersonal skills, being friendly, open, and approachable. Leadership and pragmatism are also essential for managing projects, clients, and internal teams, making decisions, and planning.
Meet an Account Executive
Martha Crowther, Senior Account Executive at Mednet Group, writes on her LinkedIn page that her responsibilities include: Assisting the management of several projects in parallel within my product account. My key project experience includes the securing of expert advisors and managing production of materials for conference symposiums and advisory board meetings, as well as asset production management for conference booths, educational webpages and resources, and related materials such as talking head videos and animations. My day-to-day responsibilities include: client and expert advisor liaison, copy production and proofing, medical writer and designer briefing, management of asset review and amend cycles, status report updates, report production.
2. Medical Writing
Writing scientific/medical material.
Skills:
Versatility
Determination
Creativity
Typical Career Path:
Associate Medical Writer
Medical Writer
Senior/Principal Medical Writer
Scientific Director
Role Description:
As a medical writer you may need to write different types of materials for different audiences so versatility and creativity are crucial. You'll also receive feedback (from clients, editors, or other colleagues) so you need to be determined to take this onboard and use it as a learning opportunity, rather than taking this to heart.
Meet a Medical Writer:
Hannah Abdly is an Associate Medical Writer at Helios Medical Communications and Victoria Dagwell is a Medical Writer at Ashfield Health MedComms.
3. Editorial
Editing written scientific/medical material.
Skills:
Attention to Detail
Ruthlessness
Logic
Typical Career Path*:
Associate Medical Editor/Editorial Assistant
Medical Editor
Senior Medical Editor
Editorial Lead
*The editorial career path can vary. Many companies incorporate editing into their medical writing roles, whilst others have separate medical editors. You may start out as a writer and transfer to an editorial-focused role later on.
Role Description:
As an editor, attention to detail is crucial; you'll need to identify spelling, grammar, and punctuation (SPAG) errors, presentation issues, and mistakes in scientific accuracy. You'll also need to be prepared to remove unnecessary content to ensure work is clear and concise, so ruthlessness is vital. You may need to edit multiple pieces of work, so you'll need to do this logically to ensure your work is thorough but efficient.
Meet a Medical Editor:
Paul Wilmott is a Medical Editor at 7.4, an AMICULUM® medical communications agency.
Emily Woodhouse is a Medical Editor/Writer at Edanz Group and also works as a freelance medical editor.
Alternative MedComms Career Paths
Although these positions are harder to come by, as the industry grows more are being created and becoming available, particularly in start-up companies.
1. Medical Copywriting
Medical copywriting encompasses medical writing and creative copywriting. You may write scientific or medical content for marketing materials, websites, and/or promotional videos. Copy is often written in layman's terms, which means it can be understood by an audience who are not specialist in a particular subject (referred to as a lay audience).
Virginia Chachati, Senior Medical Copywriter at ORCHA,
writes on her LinkedIn page that her duties include:
'Writing original medical content to enhance the ORCHA product suite, including bespoke descriptions for hundreds of digital health products. Focus on international plain English for global audience reach and easy translation into multiple languages. User experience and user interface microcopy and design, brand tone of voice and key messaging development. New product development. Course website copywriting.'
2. Medical Content Writing
Medical content writing is similar to medical copywriting, and the two job titles may be used interchangeably.
"As a Medical Content Writer at Little Journey, I write patient and parent information articles and storylines for animations, that appear on the Little Journey app. Since we support children undergoing procedures, I have to tailor storylines and articles to specific age groups, and ensure the parent information articles are written in layman's terms. I also write and edit marketing materials."
~ Grace Pountney, Medical Content Writer at Little Journey
MedComms Mysteries
Each issue, we answer your MedComms questions!
What should I do if I still can't decide which route is right for me?
Short answer: Keep going!
Keep doing your research and subscribe to get our articles straight to your inbox.
Look out for our following posts which will spotlight different roles.
A number of agencies offer full-time roles on graduate schemes with various roles and opportunities to experience different parts of the business. We'll be sharing these shortly!
Consider starting as a medical writer as it is easier to transfer to editorial or client services later along the line than from editorial or client services to medical writing.
Got a question? Submit it using the link below:
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