Learning a little bit of something each day is a bit like dollar-cost averaging in the field of investing: keep doing them consistently over time, and you will end up becoming very rich in both marketable skills and savings. It’s also always been my belief that the best investment you can possibly make—better than any mutual fund or stock market re…

This week’s episode covers freelance medical writer success trait number 9, which is having a strong LinkedIn presence. I interviewed Dr. Kalpana Shankar a few months ago on this topic, and I think our conversation really covers most of what I would have to say (and includes several value bombs from Dr. Shankar), so I am reposting that here, along …

In this episode, I talk about the many things we have to remember to pull off a successful video conference call with a client, including what to wear, how to set up the video, and other minutiae involved in a professional client call. This is trait number 8 of the 10 traits of successful freelance medical writers. Focused on what the client and re…

This week I am talking about being cheerful, forgiving, and flexible--freelance medical writer success trait number 7. How far do you have to go in this regard? Is the customer or client always right? When should you cut ties with a client? Here are the top 10 traits of successful medical writers as I see them: Focused on what the client and reader…

So this week I have a touch of Covid (thankfully, the seemingly milder Omicron variety). And YES I got 2 vaccinations and a booster! Anyway, I don’t want you having to listen to my croaky voice, except for in the intro sections! I did a 3-part series on productivity a while back and thought I would repost the series as a single episode here as it p…

Freelance Medical Writer Success Trait Number 5: Being well versed in the AMA Manual of Style and rules of writing and editing In this week’s episode, I talk about the success trait number 5, and that is being well versed in the AMA Manual of Style and the rules of writing and editing. Qualities like having a science background, being detail orient…

Because it’s almost a brand new year, in this week’s podcast episode, I’m talking about goals, specifically, the 5 steps of setting them and then actually pulling them off, which of course, is the hard part! Next week, I’ll resume the ongoing series about the top ten traits of successful freelance medical writers. We’re on trait number 5, "Well ver…

In this week’s episode, I talk about number 4 of the top ten traits of successful freelance medical writers: being responsive. For the overview of the top ten traits, please listen here If you’re in healthcare or science and interested in transitioning into freelance medical writing, check out 6weekcourse.com. Does your company need medical writing…

In this week’s episode, I talk about number 2 and 3 of the top ten traits of successful freelance medical writers: following directions and following formatting. I combined these because they are somewhat related. For the overview of the top ten traits, please listen here Free AMA Style reference sheet Free AMA Style cheat sheet If you’re in health…

In this week’s episode, I talk about the first of the top ten traits of successful freelance medical writers, and that is being focused on what the client wants and needs so as to meet their expectations. For the overview of the top ten traits of which this is one, please listen to last week's episode here If you’re in healthcare or science and int…

In this week’s episode, I talk about the top ten traits of successful freelance medical writers. Qualities like having a science background, being detail oriented and having the ability to sit quietly at a computer are a given and not included. I provide an overview in this week’s podcast and then I’ll be going into detail into each one over the ne…

In this episode, I speak to medical writer Kalpana Shankar, PhD, and we talk about all things LinkedIn Marketing. Talking Points What’s so special about LinkedIn? - Specifically for the professional community and where your potential clients hang out. - Can create online professional brand and reputation and no one else can mess with it. - Can show…

A must listen for any medical writer! In this podcast, I talk to three of our very experienced medical writers who regularly work on review articles. We talk about several aspects of writing review articles, including organizing references, synthesizing information, managing annotations and citations and all the other tasks involved. Nascentmc.com …

In this episode, I speak to Jamelah Martin, who has a master’s degree in biomedical sciences and public health. She started looking into medical writing at the suggestion of a friend. Right now, she is working on connecting with other writers, developing her samples, and working on a blog and a podcast, and, oh yes, being a mom to her 4 kids. She h…

In this episode, I speak to Jennifer Herrin who is originally from the US but has lived and worked in the UK for the last 10 years. She has a background in nursing, which she parlayed into a degree in technical writing. She then got a staff job as a medical editor, followed by a job in nursing while continuing to write. She now enjoys freelancing w…

In this episode, I delve into the nitty gritty of medical manuscript writing. If you are an experienced medical writer, you probably know most of this, but I hope it serves to reinforce your knowledge. -Get up to speed in the subject area. -Work from a detailed outline that has been approved by the “author(s).” -Establish the format up front—downlo…

In this episode, I cover tips for interacting with clients as a new freelance medical writer or any kind of freelancer for that matter. Get the skills and feedback to make sure there is a reasonable chance that you will do a good job. Really try to make new projects your best work. Expect to get a lower hourly rate for this first project. If you ar…

In this episode, Dr. Sharon Morjig and I discuss the power of volunteering as a way not only to do some good in the world but to add impact to getting started in medical writing and jump starting a career in medical writing. Visit Sharon’s website at smmedicalwriting.com. I also mention the following websites that may help you get started with volu…

Dr. Kalpana Shankar sought flexibility in her schedule to raise her children, and after researching her options and considering her innate talents, she turned to freelance medical writing to achieve that. We talk about the types of work she does and how she has found some clients by revamping her LinkedIn profile. For more information and to hire D…

In my conversation with Dr. Cheryl McCutchan, we talk about her pathway from her PhD studies in botany and biochemistry, to becoming a scientific illustrator for academia and education, to now delving into a career in medical writing (which also includes the use of her visual medical communications skills). Check out the 6-Week Course, everything y…

In this week’s podcast episode, I chat with Dr. Sheila Patterson, who has a PhD in molecular biology. After entering into the field of medical writing, she discovered that she prefers factchecking to medical writing (although she still does some of the latter). We talked about what types of skills factcheckers need. These include the ability to und…

In this week’s podcast episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Crystal Austin, who has a PhD in Microbiology but is also transitioning into medical writing. When she heard about medical writing from a coworker in her lab, at first she thought it was too good to be true that you could do something working from home with a science degree. Then,…

Janna Afanasjeva, PharmD, BCPS realized early on that patient care was not for her and through a drug information residency she ended up on her current path of medical writing. Her website is https://www.aptewrite.com/. She signed up for Dr. Hitt Nichols’ editing course and has just finished up the 6-Week Course (Everything you need to know to star…

Dr. Louisa Marcombes a mid-career veterinarian from the UK and living in France transitions into medical writing. She describes her reasons for making the transition and what her plans are for the future. Check out my 6-Week Course, everything you need to know to start your freelance medical writing business, at 6weekcourse.com. The new version is …

In this episode, I talk to medical writer Morgan Leafe, MD, who has recently transitioned from clinical practice as a pediatrician. She talks about some of her first projects in medical writing, as well as her interest in medical informatics, which may be of interest to some of us medical writers as a parallel “non-clinical” career. We also talk ab…

In this week's episode, I talk to 4 people who are living and working as medical writers in Africa--two in Gambia who live just blocks from each other (random!), one in Mozambique, and one in Kenya. It's a huge continent, but we have both coasts covered. I ask them about what it is like, and what they would want you to know here in the US. --- Chec…

Download Dr. Emma Hitt Nichols’ article on MWSS here. Check out LearnAMAStyle.com for information on the course Become a Freelance Medical Editor. Check out 6weekcourse.com Everything You Need to Know to Start Your Freelance Medical Writing Business here. Music: Frozen Summer by Hypp fractal

Download the AMA Manual of Style checklist here. Checkout LearnAMAStyle.com for information on the course Become a Freelance Medical Editor. Music: Frozen Summer by Hypp fractal

In this episode, I’m talking with Anne Janzer, who has written a book Writing To Be Understood. Anne’s book dissects what it is that makes nonfiction compelling. She talks about using stories and analogies and several other strategies that translate also to writing about medical topics. Anne Janzer is an award-winning author on a mission to help pe…

What the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style has to say about reference style and rules for capitalization. Warning: make sure you have had your coffee. It’s a lot of info crammed into a few minutes! Also a good idea to have your AMA manual loaded into your browser. Visit http://6weekcourse.com/ama-manual-of-style-tips/ for these tip…

Lori Alexander is the American Medical Writer's Association (AMWA) Past President and their current Education Director. She discusses, among other things, AMWA's plans to expand their educational offerings, especially with respect to online educational activities. She talks about some of AMWA’s current offerings, such as online webinars, interactiv…

In this episode, I interview Dr. Will Pass who recently transitioned from being a veterinarian to being a full time medical writer. He talks about how being a vet helped him prepare to be a medical writer and some of the benefits of working as a freelance medical writer. Check out the PowerPoint course for scientists and medical writers and use PPT…

American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style P value pointers and overview of the AMA Manual of Style contents. In this episode, I briefly describe what P values are; it’s a deep topic better left to statistical experts, but still, as medical writers, it’s important that we have a basic understanding. We also need to know how to format P valu…

Today I'm talking about PowerPoint. Some clients request this skill, either creating PowerPoint slide decks from scratch or reorganizing and reworking a previously created slide deck to make it more visually appealing. Creating engaging scientific and medical PowerPoint presentations is a skill in addition to writing that can benefit medical writer…

In this episode I talk to HBA president & CEO Laurie Cooke. we talk about gender parity issues in the health care industry as well as what we can all do to improve the working environment for all participants. Laurie also describes the mission of the HBA and how medical writers specifically can benefit from the organization. Please visit https://ww…

In this episode, I interview freelance medical writing Jessica Martin, PhD martinmedicalwriting.com. Dr Jessica Martin earned her PhD from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her research background is in human infectious diseases and cancer-causing viruses, including HIV-1 and related retroviruses. During her time in an academic…

This week, Dr. Emma Hitt Nichols discusses searching strategies, in particular 4 different approaches to get the results you want from the AMA Manual of Style. She also discusses formatting tables and figures according to the manual. To see the written blog versions of these recordings, please go to nascentmc.com/blog. Please subscribe, rate and re…

Dr. Emma Hitt Nichols talks about the format of the new Medical Writers Speak podcast.

Understanding the healthcare value dossier. How to accelerate revenues and expand markets. Virtual or corporate onsite training for MSLs, MA professionals and Medical Writers. Nascent Medical LLC to offer a Six-week Course on Health Economics and the Health Outcome Liaisons on April 20th. The course will be led by Jennifer Williams PhD, JD, MBA, RN…

Emma talks about the ins and outs of covering an ad board with Ginny Vachon, PhD

Feeling overwhelmed with your ever expanding workload? Get your life back by learning how to delegate effectively! In the third of a 3-part series on productivity, Emma talks about delegating, the key to being uberproductive and having enough free time!

In the second of a 3-part series, Dr. Emma Nichols talks about MEDICAL-WRITER-specific productivity hacks. In the first episode, she described productivity hacks that EVERYONE can use, and in third episode, she will talk about the art of delegating.

In the first of a 3-part series, Dr. Emma Nichols talks about general productivity hacks for writers. These are 5 things that we can all do to increase our productivity. In the next two episodes, she will talk about medical writing specific hacks and then in the third episode, the art of delegating.

Today, I am talking to Blair Thielemier PharmD who founded the Pharmapreneur Academy, which is a course hosted on her website, BT Pharmacy Consulting (http://www.btpharmacyconsulting.com/). This will be a very interesting podcast for any clinician (not just pharmacists) wanting to learn more about Medication Therapy Management (MTM). MTM is medical…

In this interview, I talk to Kristine Scruggs, M.D. Dr. Scruggs is a medical doctor practicing in North Carolina and who wants to transition into medical writing. She is also completing a book, a medical thriller, called “What They Don't Know". We talk about the process of writing a book, what it takes, and some of the pros and cons of traditional …

Michelle is based in Sydney Australia, and is the founder of Health Writer Hub. She is also the President of the Australasian Medical Writers Association (AMWA). Over the past decade, Michelle has worked with medical journals, medical publishing companies, cancer research foundations, associations, hospitals, medical specialists, health professiona…

Wendy Meyeroff, is president of WM Medical Communications, and has been providing health communications for national and international clients--both print and then online--for over 25 years. She’s located in Baltimore, MD, and will talk to us about writing for a consumer audience. Her website is http://www.wmmedcomm.com/ She tells some very interes…

Today I talk to Brian Bass about building your medical writing business with subcontractors. Both Brian and I work with subcontractors in our business, and it was fascinating to talk with him, because while we have a similar business model, we approach things in quite a different way. He uses only highly experienced writers but doesn’t spend as muc…

This is the third and final episode in the series where I interview my business partner, Chrystie Leonard, about buying and selling a business, specific to medical writing. These three episodes cover 1) What to look for when buying a business; 2) How to grow a business; and 3) How to get your business ready for sale. In this third episode, Chrystie…

In this episode, Emma Hitt Nichols talks to her business partner Chrystie Leonard, co-owner of Nascent Medical. This is the second part of a three-part series. In this part, we talk about strategic planning, how to grow a business, and the key metrics that are needed to evaluate the growth of a business. In the first part, aired a week ago, we talk…