A Neuroscientist and a Journalist Walk into a Bar

One day, after an exhausting day working on my dissertation, I was looking at job boards and came across a curious position: Medical Writer – Clinical Evaluation Report. After a quick look online, I found a bunch of other positions that fell under the moniker of “medical” or “science” writer. What or who is a science/medical writer? First what came to my mind was a vision of a romantic speakeasy lounge with a posh scientist at one bar stool and a spunky journalist at another stool, both eagerly invested in a discussion about a critical piece of science and how to present it to all of humankind! After a few seconds of enjoying this fantasy, I snapped back to reality and continued my Google search (as any good millennial would do). What began to unravel slowly was a world of careers that I had no idea existed as well as a broader understanding of what happens to scientific results, after the initial report in a scientific journal.

Why would I care about medical/science writing? Partly, it’s because I was entering a phase of transition in my life. I just finished my Ph.D. in Psychology specializing in brain and cognitive sciences, and for the first time in my life, I was not a “student”. The completion of this milestone gave me a feeling of freedom that I had not felt since I left home to study at Wittenberg as an undergraduate. I felt a freedom to consider all potential career paths a new Ph.D. could take. I am a person that never stops thinking about the next steps in my life; therefore, many times during my tenure as a Ph.D. student, I thought about and planned for my career once I finished. While academia was the obvious choice for someone in a Ph.D. program, I like having options in my life, so industry positions or careers out of academia were always on the table for me. Another reason I began to care about medical or science writing grew from my curiosity about what happens to science once it is published in a journal. I had spent years focusing on the content of the scientific articles, but now I was pondering how science is used after a scientist has reported their findings. Armed with my research skills and the classic questions, who, what, when, where, and why, I decided to write this blog and share my journey.

In this blog, I hope to share the information I discover during my research into the profession of medical/science writing, write a few articles of my own, and to talk about science or medical topics that those reading this blog want to learn. I share this blog with the world for two reasons. First, personal practice. If I want to consider writing professionally, then like my academic research, I must at least attempt writing, and practice writing, and discover if I like writing. The second reason; for those people who are trying to figure out their career, are feeling a bit lost, or just are curious, maybe my personal experience and opinions could help.

Next month, I’ll describe a topic from my dissertation. When starting someplace new, why not start with something you know, right?