Mandy Armitage, MD left clinical medicine in 2012 in pursuit of a medical writing career. Since then she has started a freelance writing business, served as Medical Director for health tech companies such as HealthLoop, Doximity, and GoodRx, and become an expert on nonclinical career transitions. For years she has guided other clinicians interested in taking a similar path, which prompted her to write From Clinical Practice to Medical Writing: A Career Transition Guide. She's also the Co-Founder of Nonclinical Physicians Network, a community for physicians interested in career transition.
Here Dr. Armitage answers frequently asked questions about the world of medical writing and what it looks like for physicians.
What Is Medical Writing?
This is obviously a great place to start, especially because many physicians aren't familiar with it. They're also usually surprised to learn that medical writing is quite broad: there are several different types that encompass many styles and audiences.
According to the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), medical writing is the production and development of print or digital documents that deal specifically with medicine or healthcare.
Like I said, broad. Think of medical writing as an umbrella term that covers these types:
- Continuing medical education (CME)
- Health communication
- Regulatory writing
- Grant writing
- Publications
- Promotional
You can also consider it by audience:
- Patients and consumers — health news, patient information, promotional
- Clinical and scientific readers — regulatory, publications, continuing education
Most medical writers don't have clinical backgrounds. In fact, only about 10% of medical writers are physicians. Many have advanced degrees, such as PhDs and PharmDs, or a master's degree. Others have backgrounds in journalism or communications.
How Is Medical Writing Different from Medical Communications?
Medical communications is an industry within medical writing. Med comms agencies typically partner with pharma, device, and biotech companies to help with their communications. This includes publications, promotional, or educational materials for both consumer and clinical audiences.
What Does the Day-to-Day Work Look Like?
This depends heavily on what type of writing you do, and whether you're freelance or employed.
An employed medical writer (for example, in medical communications) typically has a set schedule, a manager, and specific assignments. Employed writers have less decision-making control. They might spend a lot of time in meetings getting consensus from other people. Some travel may be required.
A freelance medical writer has more flexibility in terms of working hours and choice of projects. There's more autonomy, but also the need to find and keep clients. So their day-to-day often requires hustling for business and tedious tasks like invoicing. It requires a lot of discipline and organization.
What Do You Enjoy Most About Medical Writing?
As a current freelancer, I very much enjoy the flexibility in hours and location. There's a lot to be said for not commuting and being able to work from home in my PJs. Plus, it's easier to do life
— appointments, school pickup, home maintenance.
But I also have flexibility in terms of what kind of work I take on. My workload can be as diverse or as homogenous as I want.
On the flip side, I do miss the camaraderie of working on a team. Some of my closest friends are people I met through work in employed positions. Being self-employed can feel very lonely and isolating sometimes, and, in some ways, it's not as mentally stimulating.
How Can Physicians Break into Medical Writing?
There's no right
way to do it, and it can depend on what type of writing you want to do. But I typically recommend the following steps:
- Strengthen your skills. Take a writing course (or more) to sharpen your writing skills and also learn about the type of medical writing you're interested in.
- Start writing. You can't get better if you don't start. Plus, you'll need a portfolio to share when you're ready to start looking for work.
- Build your online presence and resume (not CV).
- Network and start looking for jobs.
How Does Compensation Compare to Clinical Physician Roles?
You will probably not be surprised to learn that compensation for medical writing is not on par with that of clinical roles, especially specialties and subspecialties.
According to the 2024 AMWA compensation report, freelance medical writers charge roughly $130 per hour, and employed medical writers report an average salary of $150–215,000. Keep in mind these figures include all medical writers, not just physician medical writers.
Physicians are sometimes disappointed by these numbers. But, of course, there's a trade-off: consider how much you're willing to give up financially in return for a better work-life balance, flexibility, and autonomy (and no call!). Plus, the financial aspect of a nonclinical career transition is incredibly personal. What works for you might not work for someone else.
What Does the Long-Term Career Trajectory Look Like?
Whatever you want it to be! I know people who have grown successful freelance businesses and keep doing what they love for decades. I also know people who started as employed medical writers and worked their way up to director-level positions within med comms and pharma.
Personally, I've not had a linear path, as I tend to follow opportunities and my interests. I started as a freelance writer doing promotional and CME work. From there I went into med comms, then health tech startups, which led to management and leadership positions. Separately, I was asked to give a lecture on medical writing 10 years ago, and I've been speaking and teaching ever since.
All that to say, there are many different possibilities in medical writing. If you fancy yourself a writer, start writing (if you haven't already), and see where it takes you. I always encourage physicians who are considering medical writing — or any nonclinical role — to do plenty of research first in order to proceed with realistic expectations.
Interested in learning more about medical writing and other nonclinical career paths? Join Dr. Armitage and other experts at the Nonclinical Careers Conference — a must-attend event for physicians exploring opportunities beyond the clinic.
