If you’re a nurse leaving the NHS, you’re not alone. A record number of nurses is reportedly leaving the profession. After the stress of the pandemic and ongoing unsustainable working conditions, who can blame you?

But what’s next? It’s difficult to know where to turn in your career. You can’t simply switch off from being a nurse. Non-nursing career options for nurses seem vague and daunting.

Would you believe that there’s a career that values your medical knowledge and offers flexible working and good pay. You could still help patients, not through face to face care, but through writing.

You’ve probably never heard of medical writing, until now.

Medical writing involves writing up complex scientific and medical information in different formats, for different audiences. The industry is medical communications (or med comms for short) and it’s one of the fastest growing in the UK right now.

Med comms provides education for healthcare professionals – nurses, doctors, pharmacists – about the latest treatments. The list of medical conditions we write about is long and varied. I’ve written about many fascinating therapeutic advances such as retinal implants, stem cells, CAR-T cell therapy, and other treatments at the very cutting edge of modern healthcare. I’ve listened to international experts talk about their challenges in treating patients. I’ve produced infographics, meeting reports, slide presentations, peer-reviewed manuscripts, and many more resources.

My work as a medical writer has also allowed me help family members and friends learn more about treatments they have been prescribed, and about managing their own healthcare conditions.

We should address the elephant in the room – medical writers work for clients in the pharmaceutical industry. Pharma doesn’t have the best reputation. But the fact is that companies are able to fund medical education in a way that the NHS simply can’t. There’s a huge drive in pharma at the moment to involve the patient voice in every aspect of drug development, from clinical trial design to the communication of data. Your practical experience with pharmaceutical treatments, and insight into issues that really matter to patients, will be invaluable as a medical writer. As a nurse, you could make a real difference to the way pharma companies interact with healthcare professionals, and with patients.

There’s a huge opportunity for nurses to explore careers in medical writing. But where can you find out more to see if it’s a good option for you?

• First, check out the free resources on http://medcommsnetworking.com/ and https://firstmedcommsjob.com/
• Get an insight into the latest salaries and benefits on offer here: https://www.pararecruit.com/salary-surveys
• Have a nose at what’s going on in the industry: https://www.pmlive.com/
• When you’re ready to take the plunge, the resources at www.greenpensolutions.com will increase your chances of landing your first job. Consider my online mini course and Interview Prep Workbook to help you get through the recruitment process successfully (navigate to the Resources section of www.greenpensolutions.com/freebie). You’ll need some training, including perhaps brushing up on your grammar, learning about industry guidelines, and refreshing your memory on the drug development process.

Feel free to contact me on sarah@greenpensolutions.com with any questions.