4 - 6 Months (Self Paced)
Maximum Allowed Duration: 18 Months
Expected Effort: 10-15 hours/week
This online medical writing training program provides you with a thorough understanding of both pharmaceutical regulatory writing as well as medico-marketing writing thus boosting your skills as a medical and scientific writer.
TOTAL CREDITS: 18
Why study this program?
Medical writing is a specialization that has gained momentum over the last few years. For those who like writing, it is an exciting, creative and satisfying career option. Medical and scientific writing involves writing manuscripts required by the medical / scientific fraternity and the pharma-biotech industry including clinical research. Two key domains in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector where medical writers are in high demand are pharmaceutical regulatory writing and promotional material writing i.e. Medico-marketing writing.
The main role of medical writers is to create well written documents and manuscripts as per standard formats, compliant to regulatory standards for approval of new clinical trials, drugs, medical devices and biologics.
What will be taught?
MODULE 01: GENERAL INTRODUCTION
MODULE 02: EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EBM
MODULE 03: PHARMACEUTICAL MEDICINE
MODULE 04: BASICS OF GOOD MEDICAL WRITING
MODULE 05: COMPUTER SKILLS
MODULE 06: OVERVIEW OF THE REGULATORY, MARKETING AND DRUG PROMOTION PROCESSES
MODULE 07: COMMON TECHNICAL DOCUMENT
MODULE 08: PROTOCOL, INVESTIGATOR’s BROCHURE & CASE REPORT FORMS
MODULE 09: CLINICAL STUDY REPORT
MODULE 10: SENTENCE CONTROL
MODULE 11: WRITING FLOW AND COHESIVENESS
MODULE 12: PUBLICATION WRITING
MODULE 13: DOCUMENTS IN MEDICO-MARKETING
MODULE 14: MANAGING THE REVIEW PROCESS
TOTAL CREDITS: 18
MODE OF STUDY: ONLINE
The curriculum for the program - Professional Diploma in Medical Writing (PDMW) is extensive, however, it is more suitable for entry-level professionals or those who wish to make a move to medical / scientific writing from any other related sector.
How will I be assessed?
You will be assessed on an ongoing basis by the faculty based on the following criteria:
One is the completion of the online multiple choice question tests that follow each lesson; and second is the timely submission of assignments for each study module within the JLI e-Campus.
Your academic performance in the program will be assessed on a 4 point GPA scale. More details about our evaluation system is available in the following link: Evaluation System
Am I eligible?
The minimum eligibility criteria for Professional Diploma in Medical Writing (PDMW) would include either of the following:
- Any degree in Bioscience/Life Sciences such as Biochemistry, Microbiology, Genetics, Biotechnology, Botany, Zoology etc
- Any degree in Medicine such as MBBS, BDS, BPT, BAMS, BHMS, BUMS etc
- Any degree in Pharmacy / Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Any degree in Chemistry / Biostatistics / Bioinformatics
- Any degree in Nursing / Allied Health
- Any degree in English Language
- Students in their final year of graduation for the above courses are also eligible to apply.
If you lack the above mentioned educational prerequisite you may still be eligible to apply if you have some prior work experience in medical or scientific writing. Please contact our admission representatives / counsellor to discuss your case.
What support will I receive?
As a student you can interact online with the faculty members and fellow students to network and to discuss important topics via your e-Campus. The faculty promptly answers all questions related to the study in the Online Campus Tutoring Center (OCTC).
Towards the end of the program you will be provided placement assistance if required and career development support via the “Student Success Team”.
In addition, each participant registered in the Professional Diploma in Medical Writing Course is provided with a mentor who is an experienced professional from the clinical research industry. The mentor can be contacted at any time via email or phone.
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James Lind Institute offers various masters degree programs in the areas of public health, business administration etc.
- MPH
- MPH (with specializations)
- M.Sc in Health Mgmt
- MBA (various specializations)
For information on available masters programs via our School of Health Sciences; & our Business School click below:
Having formal training in medical writing opens up a number of career opportunities in the area of medical / scientific writing. As a medical writer you can explore multiple career opportunities with pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations, medical communications companies, healthcare websites, journals, magazines etc. In addition to working as a full time writer you can also explore freelance medical writing opportunities.
In 2008, a Centre Watch market research analysis reported that the medical / scientific writing market has grown at the rate of 15% every year for the past half decade close to $700 million. This rapid growth has been reported to be due to the sheer volume of work outsourced by pharmaceutical and other companies in order to create regulatory documents, and also to convert clinical trial data into publication formats for various international medical publications.