|
March 20, 2009 | Vol. 2 No. 9 Published by Biotech Ink, LLC | |
|
Training and Educational Opportunities for Medical Writers |
Many of you are considering a career path change that will take you into medical writing, whether as a staff writer or freelancer, and whether writing manuscripts, regulatory documents, marketing materials, or continuing medical education pieces. Here's a resource that may help you amplify or develop your medical writing and editing skills. See Vol 2 No 8 of the Biotech Ink Insider for additional resources and links.
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP) Biomedical Writing Program: Excerpt from their web site: "USP is the only institution that educates medical writers in an accredited university program. We offer the non-thesis Master of Science in Biomedical Writing (36 credits), and Certificates in Medical Writing (12 credits each). Since the program's inception in 1997, USP has helped launch the careers of medical writers with strong backgrounds in science, healthcare, English, and journalism.
Online Program: The program meets the needs of working professionals living anywhere in the world; you need internet and telephone access and a computer. You can complete the Master of Science or Certificate of Biomedical Writing either part time or full time. All courses are available completely online. If you are local you are welcome to come onsite to chat with faculty, come to our Third Thursday free dinner seminars, and use the library for online access or quiet study. All formal synchronous classes are held online in the evenings or simultaneously onsite and online on the weekends; you choose class times with other students and faculty at the beginning of the semester.
Medical Communications eLearning Certificate Program: DIA also offers elearning courses and certificates, including this one for medical communications. Note that there's a medical writing course offered within this certificate program."
|
|
Navigating the Job Waters: Do I Need a Recruiter?
by Jessica Leveille |
|
In these tough economic times, jobs are limited and the candidate pool is growing. So, setting yourself apart from other job seekers is more important now than in recent memory. How do you ensure that your resume won't get lost in the human resources (HR) "black hole," and that it will go to the right hiring manager? And should you work with a recruiter or go it alone?
Recruiters perform an important service: they help their clients to quickly fill job openings. Their service is most critical when companies are going through reorganizations or layoffs. In the face of layoffs, the work still needs to get done. And companies are still seeking candidates-both staff and contract workers, often with the help of recruiters.
The good news for job seekers is that there is a way around losing your resume in the HR abyss. There is a way to ensure that your resume ends up in the right hands. Find and work with a good recruiter.
A few pointers on finding and working with the right recruiter:
- For you, the job seeker, there is a huge advantage in working with recruiters. Recruiters tend to work directly with hiring manager and directors. This helps to speed up the interview and hiring process, and often eliminates the need to work with HR.
- What does it cost you, a job candidate, to work with a recruiter? Not a dime. If you work with a recruiter who tries to charge you for their services, find another recruiter. Keep in mind that the hiring companies pay the fees; the candidates pay nothing.
- How do you get started with a recruiter? You can call the recruiter, or the recruiter can contact you first. Either way works well, so don't be shy about calling and introducing yourself.
- Try to work with a recruiting or consulting company whose expertise fits your skill set. For example, at Orbis Clinical, we focus on pharmacovigilance and regulatory affairs positions.
- You, the job candidate, should partner with one or two recruiting agencies. Don't try to work with too many recruiters. If you work with too many, this can result in your resume's being submitted for the same position by more than one recruiter. The candidate is usually unaware of this, until they find out their resume was submitted more than once. And when that happens, the candidate usually won't be considered for the position
- If a recruiter contacts you for the first time, it should be to introduce themselves, their company, and their mission statement. When a recruiter you've never met immediately launches into describing a position you'd be perfect for, you should be very leery. They don't know anything about you, what's important to you, or what fits your quality of life. So how do they know the job is a perfect fit for you? They don't.
- And last but not least, the most important advice is this: keep control of your resume. If it gets submitted more than once for the same job opening, it's unlikely you'll be considered for the job. Make sure your recruiter knows you want to approve your resume's submission before it goes out to any hiring manager.
One more tip, although this one isn't about recruiters. If you do post your resume online, such as Monster, Biospace, Medzilla, or other job boards, list your resume as confidential. Remove your contact information. The only person who should have control over your resume is you.
There are great recruiters out there. Be sure to ask the right questions, find a recruiter who specializes in your area of expertise, and it will be a mutually beneficial relationship for both of you.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
About the Author
 Jessica Leveille is Manager of Biomedical Delivery Services with Orbis Clinical. You can reach her at:
|
|
Open Medical Writing Staff and Contract Jobs |
The jobs listed in the Biotech Ink Insider come to us mostly by word-of-mouth and direct contact with hiring managers and recruiters. If no new jobs are communicated to us in a given week, the newsletter will not be published that week. See also our disclaimer at the bottom of the newsletter.
If you're a writer or editor and are getting calls about staff or contract positions you aren't interested in, please forward that job information to Susan Caldwell at caldwell@biotechink.com. We'd be delighted to publish such positions in the next issue of the Insider. | |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Publications Associate; South San Francisco, CA |
REPORTS TO: Senior Manager, Medical Information and Publications
JOB TYPE: Full Time, Contractor
Position Summary
Position will be responsible for collaborating with authors, internal colleagues, and medical writing agencies on publication projects in order to execute strategic publication plans. The objective is to ensure timely presentation and publication of clinical data and reviews at independent medical and scientific congresses and in peer-reviewed journals.
Primary Responsibilities (other duties may be assigned)
- Collaborate and liaise closely with clinical operations staff to execute on publication plans
- Manage publication development processes and projects with the help of publication planning software, in compliance with corporate policy
- Participate in weekly and monthly meetings of the cross-functional publication group
- Assist in the development of annual strategic publication plans
- Act as liaison between US and global medical communication teams
- Assist in the management of publication budgets
- Practice and monitor company and industry publication planning best practices
- Identify and participate in the development of group best practices, process innovation, functionality improvements, etc.
- Participate in other cross-functional projects, as needed/appropriate, such as supporting Medical
- Information requests (e.g., professional product information letters)
- Prepare timely summary reports of the status of all responsible projects
- Maintains technical proficiency and professional skills via independent study and continuing education (e.g., conferences, seminars)
- Follow departmental policies, procedures, and SOPs
Qualifications
- PharmD/PhD/MD, preferred. Other degrees with appropriate (industry / clinical) experience will be considered.
- Two to five years of progressively increasing experience within the pharmaceutical industry, e.g., in clinical affairs or medical communications
- A working knowledge of clinical trial and publication processes, ICH/GCP guidelines and good publication practices (GPP)
- Scientific aptitude in the relevant cardiovascular therapeutic areas/disease states
- Ability to deliver oral presentations and write scientific documents in a clear, focused, and concise manner
- Excellent teamwork and collaboration skills, and exceptional organization skills
- Ability to work independently with strong attention to detail
- Ability to achieve departmental and company goals in a timely manner
Contact
Jim Antonis Senior Vice President Medical and Scientific Affairs Steffin Kutzman & Associates Phone: (650) 685-1000 ext 103 Fax: (650) 685-4660 Email: jim@skutzman.com |
|
Medical Writer; San Francisco Bay Area |
One-year medical writing contract in the SF Bay area, with responsibilities including writing clinical documents; including clinical study reports, protocols, manuscripts, case report forms, investigator brochures, informed consent forms, statistical analysis plans, and study manuals. In addition, assisting with the generation of regulatory submissions documents, including NDA/sNDA briefing documents. If you are interested please contact:
Erik Georges
Managing Director
Opus Regulatory, Inc.
Office: 919.323.8722
Cell: 919.656.7005
Toll Free: 888.272.8744 x251
|
|
Medical Writer for Book Project; Home Office Located Anywhere |
JOB TYPE: Contractor
I am a literary agent scouting on behalf of a major publisher for an expert to write a small trade book on bioidentical hormones. The ideal author is an OB/GYN, or someone who has prescribed both/either hormones or bioidenticals to women. The idea is to be objective, and to respond to the unanswered questions women may have after reading books on the subject like the Suzanne Sommers book. The page count is 176 and we're not talking about a lot of writing. The publisher wants this for a December 2009 publication, which means they would need 100% delivery by late May/early June the latest.
If you think you are right for this and have interest, please send me an email and your cv.
| |
|
|
DISCLAIMER: Biotech Ink, LLC, and the Biotech Ink Insider provide the Insider jobs list on an "as-submitted basis," and neither assumes responsibility for, nor guarantees the quality or accuracy of, any listing or response. All listings are provided as a free service and courtesy to subscribers and users, and users assume all risk in using the information in the Insider.
|
|
|
|
|
|
