Journal of Medical Regulation (JMR)

Are you familiar with the Journal of Medical Regulation (JMR) ?

The Journal of Medical Regulation (JMR) is a quarterly peer-reviewed publication that addresses a wide range of issues of interest to state medical boards and organizations and individuals interested in medical licensing and regulation. Published continuously since 1913, the JMR is distributed by the Federation of State Medical Boards. The JMR is celebrating its Centennial during 2013.

Learn more about this journal here: http://jmr.fsmb.org/

Regulatory Medical Writing Conference

Interested in learning more about Regulatory Medical Writing? There's an upcoming Regulatory Medical Writing Conference that you may want to attend. Here's what it's about:

The only event that deals constructively with core issues of document review and compiling information for document authoring.

* Uncover innovative strategies to streamline the document review process
* Learn how the medical writing department is being consolidated and reorganized to address new challenges in the regional and global submissions processes
* Bridge the gap of divergent information systems and uncover gaps in the development process early enough to correct them
* Reduce the number of drafts necessary to form your final submissions document
* Maximize your time to respond to regulatory inquiries by evaluating the document life cycle

Who should attend?

Professionals from Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Medical Device companies with responsibilities in the following areas:

* Regulatory Medical Writing
* Submissions Management
* Scientific Communications
* Technical Writing
* Regulatory Affairs
* Scientific Information
* Clinical Research
* Regulatory Operations
* Data Management
* Document Management
* Electronic Submissions
* Clinical Operations
* Project Management
* Regulatory Publishing

The conference will run Sept 22-23 in Philadelphia. Learn more and register here.

How to make $50 each day by writing (or blogging)

Many doctors look for ways to make supplemental income. That's why some doctors spend so much time moonlighting in emergency rooms. Now, suppose you could make $50 every day by doing some short writing. That would be roughly $1,500 each month if you worked 30 days. This equates to $18,000 each year. How much time would it take to earn $50 each day? Are you a fast writer or do you frequently experience writer's block?

Most of us are probably too busy to write every day, but what if you set aside a chunk of time each week to do some dedicated writing or blogging? Would that be feasible? Would you enjoy writing?

Some of you may wonder: "Where did $50 come from? How did I come up with that figure?"

• If you're an entry-level medical writer/blogger, then you can expect to make up to $25 for writing short articles and blog posts for large major publishers. (some publishers will pay as low as $10 per post, but you're likely to find some that will pay as high as $25). If you write 2 blog posts, you've made $50.
• If you're a seasoned medical writer, then you can make up to $50 or more per short article.

Interested? Click here to read articles related to blogging and maybe you'll get inspired.

Physician careers in pharmaceutical medicine

I had a pleasant chat today with a physician who has been working in the pharmaceutical industry for several years. It was interesting to hear how he transitioned from the clinical world of academia to the pharmaceutical world.

You'll find all sorts of physicians who have built a career in pharmaceutical medicine. Some are in their thirties and skipped residency. Others transitioned into pharma while they were in their fifties. How do these people do it? You don't need an MBA to work in a pharmaceutical company. You also don't need to have a long list of publications. These things may help, but they are certainly not essential.

How many physicians do you know who currently work for a pharmaceutical company? What do they do? Are they involved in marketing? Clinical research? Health outcomes? Drug safety monitoring? Medical education? Public health? Pharmacoeconomics? Drug development? Regulatory affairs? Quality control? Medical affairs? Professional education and development? Medical writing? Managed markets? Managed care?

As a physician, there are so many possible career paths within the pharmaceutical industry. If you wish to learn more about some of these possible physician careers in pharmaceutical medicine, I encourage you to subscribe to my blog posts and visit this site frequently. The best way to learn is to hear some first-hand experiences from people who currently work in these areas.

Medical Writing or Medical Blogging?

I often get asked, "are you a medical writer?"

Not technically. Well, maybe. I'm not sure. Yes.

I blog about medical stuff (mainly on MedicineandTechnology.com), so does that make me a medical writer? I'm definitely a medical blogger. What exactly is medical writing?

The world of medical writing is actually quite vast. Examples of writing projects include:

• Regulatory writing
• Protocols
• Proposals/grant requests
  
• Drug safety reports
• Marketing campaigns
• Ads and commercials
  
• Medical education
• Review articles
• Ghost writing (did I actually say that?)
• Abstracts
• Powerpoint presentations
• Manuscripts
• Medical transcription
• And yes, blogging
• Oh, this isn't a comprehensive list. There are many more items.
  

So, am I a medical writer?