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Topic: Continuing Medical Education
| Author | Message |
| scheherazade | Posted – 7/4/2007 10:43:13 PM | show profile Are there many opportunities for freelancers to contribute to continuing medical education content for doctors and other healthcare practitioners? I hear a lot about CME but I have no idea who actually prepares this content (aside from pharmaceutical propaganda). Are there any reputable publishers or organizations that focus on continuing medical education? |
| WordyBird | Posted – 7/5/2007 10:32:17 AM | show profile Jude, are you a medical writer? An MD or PhD? To develop content, you have to be able to teach it. Most of the medical education companies I've communicated with work with developers who aren't employees, but they do the editorial end of it--proofreading, copyediting, editing, turning medical gobbledygook into pretty PowerPoint presentations--in house. It seems to be a hot area--so hot that getting into it full-time might guarantee you long hours, but pretty good pay as many of them do profit-sharing. I considered going that route but at my age (40), 11-hour days sandwiched between 90-minute commutes would wear me out in six months. |
| roxannekkb | Posted – 7/5/2007 3:22:38 PM | show profile | email poster There are many opportunities for freelancers to write, edit, copyedit, etc, CMEs. I'm not quite sure what the other poster is talking about, because that doesn't sound anything like the CME writing that I've done. Perhaps he is talking about employees for CME companies, or those who actually do the production? I've written more CMEs that I can count, and most of them are print/Internet documents. I've also done power points, and those can also be done virtually--no need for 11 hour days unless its a rush project, and few CMEs ever are. You do need to be a medical writer to produce these, and while you don't have to be an MD or PharmD, it really helps to have a background in healthcare or science--I'm a nurse. You can email me if you'd like more info. There are dozens of companies that produce these, and all have different requirements for their writers/editors. All of the documents are going to be reviewed by physicians, pharms, or whoever the document is intended for, to scrutinize for accuracy. ------ www.nabeepchen.com |
| roxannekkb | Posted – 7/5/2007 3:35:41 PM | show profile | email poster >>Jude, are you a medical writer? An MD or PhD? To develop content, you have to be able to teach it<< You most certainly do not have to teach it. The people who teach it in oral presentations are MDs or PharmDs, etc, but they are not the ones who generally write it up. Believe me, a medical writer does not have to teach what they write. Also, most of the CMEs are self-study, where a healthcare professional buys a copy in print or off the web. Medscape, for example, publishes CME programs on the Internet. You read the CME, fill out the post test, send it in and get your credits. ------ www.nabeepchen.com |
| WordyBird | Posted – 7/5/2007 4:42:09 PM | show profile No, no, Roxanne, I mean you have to know it well enough to be able to explain it to others, not as a teacher or professor. The companies I have spoken to have editorial staff in house who do the editing, proofreading, and production. The content is developed by people with backgrounds in the health or medical sciences. The health pros are usually NOT employees. This may differ from the companies you know, as there seem to be a ton of them. Does that clarify? (BTW, I am female.) |
| scheherazade | Posted – 7/5/2007 11:48:13 PM | show profile Okay, this helps. I'm not an MD, but I do have a background in research science and I've been looking into medical writing in general (joining the Association of Science Writers, etc). I know that a lot of content that is authored by experts is actually written by medical writers (and edited, etc), although the only medical writers I've met are focused more on ghosting research articles. roxanne - I'll email you with a few more questions, thanks! |
| observer | Posted – 7/6/2007 1:28:25 PM | show profile I'm confused by the question. I work for a non product medical research organization - Drs who are researchers in specific specialties are our audience. We have Drs. write our content (in our books, a magazine & website) who are volunteers. We make them include their Financial Disclosure stating that they have no financial ties to any product or drug mentioned in the content and that they contributed content as a volunteer. If the content is educational in nature (i.e. case studies, or courses on our website) the person reviewing the content can receive CME credit for completing it - often after sucessfully completing questions. The type of content and it's format needs to be specific and is outlined by our advisory board (which I think is identified from a larger source like the AMA.) Content which is CME bearing for us is a big deal and we are very particular about what we can give CME credit to. We are reviewed every 6 years by an CME advisory board. (Sorry, I'm a little removed from this process so I'm a little foggy on this step.) hope this helps |
