A day in the life of a Medical Writer in publications

What does a day working in publications actually look like? Marina Dragovic, Lead Medical Writer, shares what she enjoys about the role, from getting into the detail of the science to collaborating with authors, clients and colleagues to bring publications to life.

One of the things I enjoy most about working as a medical writer on a publications account is getting to really know the science.

Everyone says it, but no two days are ever the same! There isn’t necessarily a “typical” day, but mine will usually involve a mix of writing, reviewing, discussing data and working with authors and clients to move different publications forward.

I might start the day working on a manuscript, getting into the detail of a clinical study, understanding what the data are telling us and thinking about the clearest way to communicate the story. After lunch, I could be preparing for a manuscript kick-off meeting, where we’ll discuss the proposed content with the authors, or working through their comments on a draft and making sure different perspectives are reflected accurately.

And publications aren’t just manuscripts. I might be developing a congress abstract or poster, carrying out a literature search, or contributing to publication planning discussions about which data should be communicated, to which audience and when.

As a Lead Medical Writer, another part of the job I enjoy is taking a step back from the individual deliverable and thinking about the bigger picture. How does this publication fit with the wider evidence? What is the most important scientific message? Are there gaps we should be thinking about for future publications?

There’s a lot of collaboration involved within my own internal team and externally with the multidisciplinary teams our clients bring together. On any given day, I can be speaking with clinicians, clients, fellow writers, account colleagues, editors or our creative teams. Although I spend plenty of time writing, being a medical writer on a publications account is definitely not a job where you sit alone writing all day!

One of the most satisfying parts is seeing something you’ve worked on progress from an initial idea or dataset, through rounds of discussion and development, to an abstract being accepted or a manuscript finally appearing online with the words in print!

Overall, publications mean getting into the detail of science, writing and problem-solving, but there is also plenty of collaboration and working together on the bigger scientific story.

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