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Guest post from Dr Nigel Eastmond, a medical writer.

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I come to you today from the Dark Side of the Force. My Star Destroyer is parked outside and it runs on a potent mix of misery and death, but at least it’s paid for. Excuse me while I remove my Stormtrooper helmet and introduce myself as a medical writer for the global pharmaceutical industry. (You can gasp with indignation or fear here.)

Once you have got over the shock, here is something to try: if you, like many others interested in the #scicareers debate, are working in an academic institution, then there is a better than even chance that there is a copy of New Scientist sitting nearby. If you flick to the back, there is also a good chance you will see an advert for a a medical writer job, and if you read it, you will probably come away with no idea what the job is all about. Let me help you here a little while I struggle with this jammed blaster. There has been much written about the role of medical writers in the drugs business, and I can tell you that writing is only part of what we do every day. Alongside killing Ewoks, we are creatives, we are strategists, presenters, brainstormers and analysts. Contrary to recent press reports (read the comments too, please!)–and also see conversations at the Scholarly Kitsch and Retraction Watch–we work in open and transparent partnership with physicians involved in the publication of clinical trials. Other elements of our work include designing communication programmes to describe diseases and their treatment to healthcare professionals and payors, running scientific events and reporting on physician advisory panels. The work is hugely varied and taps into your education, integrity, rigour, creativity and capacity for hard work. Our clients are chiefly drug companies and we therefore find ourselves exposed to and working with the latest data from some of the highest quality research conducted in the world today.

However attractive this might sound, the industry does not have enough medical writers to cover all the available work. Unbelievably, we struggle to recruit and retain quality medical writers. The reasons for this vary from case to case, but many academics feel that they don’t want to move away from academia, others worry that their education and experience profile does not match the job requirements, and others may apply for a position and find they their writing is not up to scratch or that they can’t hack the pace of agency life. A smaller number prefer to join the Rebel Journalist Alliance and throw wookiee droppings at us. In an effort to tackle these issues, Peter Llewellyn of Network Pharma Ltd. has been running a series of careers events that aim to inform prospective candidates about medical communications (or ‘MedComms’ as we call it), and provide tips on improving employability.

I was honoured to be asked to speak at one of these events on 23 May 2011 at Keble College, Oxford. There, we met with a mix of post-docs and private sector workers who were interested in finding out more about becoming a medical writer. Some of these delegates were facing the end of grant programmes, departmental closures and redundancy. The keenness with which they listened to the presentations spoke volumes to the seriousness of the position many of them found themselves in.

When we–the medical writers presenting at the event–made ourselves available for questions, one of the most striking observations was the huge variety of academic backgrounds and experience in the room. We had biologists, chemists, pharmacists and medics, some of whom had done a decent amount of writing, and some who had done nothing more than the usual thesis and clutch of papers. Irrespective of background, almost all of the delegates wanted to know if they had the right background and the right experience to get started. Many were hung up on the stated requirement in the New Scientist job adverts asking for 1 year’s experience, and one delegate asked how we could survive given that ‘pharma is shrinking’.

Straightaway, we were able to dispel a few myths. First, it is true to say that the medical communications industry tends to employ people with biological science degrees, ranging from zoology to pharmacology. However, while more than half of us have a PhD, this is not a prerequisite, and while pharmacology is an ideal degree to have, you can make it as a medical writer with a background in medicinal chemistry, anatomy or physiology. It’s true to say that you might struggle to get established with a physical sciences degree, but I know at least one nuclear physicist and one protein chemist who have forged very successful careers in medical communications. Heck, I even know of an English Literature graduate who is doing perfectly well, thank you.

Regarding experience, it’s easier to get than you think–you just have to think laterally. Most society magazines, like the British Society for Immunology’s member magazine, Immunology News, will take submissions. For my own part, I was their IT columnist for a couple of years while I was working in academia. I also wrote articles for a rock-climbing magazine, and took a correspondence course in proofreading. All these activities enabled me to differentiate myself from other applicants with similar employment and educational histories. If you are super-interested, then you can watch a video about all this.

Finally, yes, Pfizer left Sandwich. But that was a UK research site, and the pharma industry worldwide is re-structuring. They’re not just moving to emerging markets either–Pfizer itself has just announced a $21 million upgrade of a plant in Michigan. Medical writers operate globally, and the drugs industry has proven itself to be pretty much recession-proof and continues to do well.

Answering these questions at Keble was a delight, as we could see the palpable relief on the faces of the delegates as they realized that their hopes of a career in medical communications had not been dashed for want of being a ‘perfect’ applicant; nor should they be, as everyone working in medical communications has a unique story to tell. All you need to do is look at your CV and think, “How much of this can I talk about in a way that is relevant to the role of a medical writer, and what can I add to differentiate myself from the crowd?”

If you want to find out more about a career in MedComms, and get tips for making a successful application to an agency or drug company, then please come along to one of Peter’s careers events. He is running them all the time, and he has a list of upcoming workshops. There are also careers guides to download.

In the meantime, I’m off down to maintenance with TK421 because our R2 unit has a bad motivator. See you round the galaxy.

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Nigel Eastmond is a freelance medical writer and editorial consultant to the global pharmaceutical industry. He has a PhD (Aberdeen) in pharmacology and worked for 4 years as a university-based immunologist before starting a career in medical communications. Nigel has been a medical writer and editorial consultant for 11 years.