Six Steps to Writing Health Content That Moves People

This article is based on content presented by Debbie Dakins and  Colleen Cronin, at the AMWA Medical Writing & Communication Conference. It was originally published in the AMWA Journal.

You’ve heard the phrase “Put words into action”? Well that, my friends, is what I’m going to attempt to do here. In this recap of the 2016 AMWA conference presentation “Six Steps to Writing Content That Moves People,” I will try to apply what I learned from Debbie Dakins and Colleen Cronin’s tips to help writers create informational materials for the general public that can inspire and motivate people to make changes to improve their health and wellbeing.

What Are Soft Skills and Why Are They Important?

This article was originally published in the AMWA Journal.

You can write. That’s why they want you. You have experience writing the types of materials they need: regulatory documents, continuing medical education activities, promotional education materials, journal articles. That’s why they want you. You specialize in the central nervous system or metabolic disorders or cancer, and you know all the regulations and guidelines and American Medical Association style rules. That’s why they want you. This experience and training, and these skills, are the technical proficiencies you possess.

The Medical Writer’s Role in Promoting Shared Decision Making

This article is based on content presented by Kathi Whitman, MA, at the AMWA Medical Writing & Communication Conference. It was originally published in the AMWA Journal.

3 Questions to Ask Yourself When Writing for Lay Audiences

As medical writers, the heart of our work is to convey information to a specific audience. Writing for patients, we are trusted with interpreting highly technical information to educate, protect, enable, and empower our readers. The result of poor understanding can be directly harmful to health. However, successfully informing patients leads to better health outcomes, including more preventative care and fewer hospitalizations.

In this post I offer 3 questions that will help you use plain language effectively and successfully when writing for lay audiences.

Best Practices in Writing Test Items

This article is based on content presented by Lori L. Alexander, MTPW, ELS, MWC, at the AMWA Medical Writing & Communication Conference. It was originally published in the AMWA Journal.

Continuing medical education credits are often awarded based on answers to test questions, so it is essential that the questions be designed well.

Research shows, however, that “almost half of all test items have flaws,” said veteran continuing medical education writer and editor Lori Alexander. This problem is driving the need to develop better test items and is creating job opportunities for medical writers and editors. In this open session, she explained how to write test items using guidelines and best practices from the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Internal Medicine.

The Importance of Quality Control in Medical Writing

It’s hard being right all the time.

In fact, we aren’t. Even the best medical writer makes the occasional mistake. It’s challenging to ensure that your project’s content, style, and format are high quality.

That’s where our good friends the quality control (QC) specialists come in. QC specialists look at a document with “fresh eyes” that can spot mistakes an author may overlook. They may also have specific expertise in editing styles, data formatting, data presentation, or document design.

That’s why QC reviews are critical to medical writers.