Medical Writing Up Close and Professional: Establishing Our Identity.

Medical writing is not easily defined, not widely known, not well understood, and thus not always appreciated. Each of these issues is a challenge we need to overcome if we are to advance the profession. Here, I suggest some reasons for our low profile. I propose a definition of medical writing that identifies some key skills and suggest that these skills are not necessarily learned in school but require additional training. I describe some common misconceptions acquired about writing in school and assert that they need to be dispelled before medical writing can be fully appreciated. That is, if we are to develop the profession, we need to educate employers and clients about the nature and potential of medical writing. In fact, changing the way people think about medical writing is essential, not only to defining the profession but to having one. People need to know that we are not just professionals who like to write but that our knowledge, skills, and experience make us expert writers and allow us to communicate more effectively than can writers without advanced training. They need to know that scientific-technical-medical writing is distinct from literary or creative writing and from journalistic or popular writing. Finally, I identify areas we can develop to make medical writing more professional—more visible, more distinct, more credible, and more valued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]