 |
|
Adrienne S. Zion
Adrienne S. Zion is Vice
President, Medical Director & Executive Editor at MEDCON, a medical
education company
located in East Rutherford, NJ where she leads the scientific teams
in the development of CME materials for physicians and healthcare
professionals.
Zion holds an Adjunct Associate Professor position in the Department
of Biobehavioral Sciences, Columbia University Teachers College. She
is involved in the TC Alumni Mentoring Program, educating students
about opportunities beyond the lab.
Prior to her current position, she was Medical Director, Cardinal
Health, and Officer, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, College
of Physicians and Surgeons, NY.
A graduate of the dance department (BFA) from the Julliard School,
Zion received her masters and doctoral degrees in Applied Physiology
from Columbia University Teachers College. |
While finishing my doctorate in physiology
from a prestigious university, it seemed all the advice I was given
regarding career tracks was to pursue either a postdoc in clinical medicine,
research, or in academia. Having worked in research for many years, the idea
of chasing grants, tenure track, or committing to many long years of
research in one (or a few specific) areas of science with little in the way
of remuneration did not seem appealing.
One of the things that helped shape my career path was the ability to
develop keen editorial skills via writing original scientific abstracts and
student grants. As any researcher can attest, the discipline to stay within
a precise word count, effectively communicate principal ideas, and provide
adequate information can be a challenge. Further justifying the relevance of
the research to clinical practice also led me to learn to “market” the
science. Given the fact it seems as if no one reads anymore, the secret to
communication, and yes, even the most highly complex science I have found,
is to synthesize the salient features and translate it to an appropriate
audience. When I would ask smart scientists to explain their research in a
couple of sentences, and in a way mere mortals could understand, time and
again, they could not. While at an APS career symposium, the concept of
working in industry was suggested to me, but, no leads were offered.
Searching the web with key buzz words, scrutinizing my strengths and
promot-ing them accordingly, ultimately led me to stumble into a career in
Medical Education (MedEd) which couldn’t make me happier.
“Like many, I was completely unaware of the existence of medical
advertising or medical education. Trained as a synthetic organic chemist, I
was working in the research department of a plastics firm and hating it. A
photographer friend suggested I speak to a NY medical advertising agency
where potentially, I could combine my background and outside interests.
Eventually, I joined a well known company and from there worked briefly in
medical public relations, and then, finally, in Med Ed, at which point I
immediately knew I had found my niche.” Alan G. Morrice, PhD, Director,
Scientific Services, MEDCON.
What is MedEd?
Education related to the practice of medicine and designed for healthcare
professionals, patients, or consumers. The business of MedEd involves:
¸ development of scientific materials of a variety of calibers on a given
therapeutic agent, device, or condition;
¸ collaboration with KOLs (key opinion leaders: experts in respective
fields);
¸ working with medical strategists either on the pharmaceutical or medical
education side to align appropriate educational messages;
¸ exploring the wide realm of opportunities as new business initiatives,
whether in the print or website domain;
¸ researching new venues to disseminate original or repurposed content
through electronic media driving towards a wider physician population;
¸ collaboration with other medical education organizations to build and
leverage strategies and resources.
Venues Utilizing MedEd
¸ Communications and professional relations agencies
¸ Medical Education Companies (MEC)
¸ Publishing companies (journals)
¸ Pharmaceutical companies
¸ Web-based venues utilizing new and competitive trends in electronic media
¸ Healthcare and policy organizations
¸ Nonprofit organizations
¸ Academic institutions
¸ Hospitals and group practice settings
¸ Medical Societies
Preparing for a career in MedEd
An advance degree in science is a given. Supporting degrees in English or
Journalism are helpful but not required. A passion for precision in language
is essential, as is humility: it’s not about you, it’s about the data and
interpretation of the data. Matching the right personality for the type of
job is key. Do you like to chat up KOLs and pick their brains for new ideas
about research? Do you prefer to stay in the background and immerse yourself
in data and facts? Do you like to market science to help promote physician
education or enhance patient care? Are you better sticking with one project
over a protracted time or are you better juggling a variety of projects? Do
you have a knack for strategically marketing science for education and the
ability to understand the principles of adult learning?
Few schools offer formal programs in medical writing. Most of us arrived in
the field serendipitously, dissatisfied with what we found ourselves doing
after graduation. Now imagine collaborating with the finest minds in their
respective medical fields, working on cutting edge research—work that will
not be in the public domain for years. That’s why we stay. As with other
fields, there is a spectrum. A useful analogy is to consider Law or
Journalism. It’s easy to come up with bad examples of those professions.
But, fundamentally, they are concerned with objective not subjective fact,
as is MedEd, and the firms that are based on that represent the high end of
that spectrum.
Supporting skills one should have include understanding medical terminology,
clinical study designs, statistics, and complex data. The ability to work in
mixed media is a necessity nowadays. There can be a tremendous amount of
flexibility regarding working remote or onsite with occasional travel to
attend client meetings, international congresses, etc. The ability to work
within tight timelines and work as part of the team is crucial as is having
excellent organization skills and precise attention to detail. Because the
skills writers, editors, and medical directors bring to this industry, there
is a high premium to recruit and retain smart individuals. Working in this
business is never dull; one is constantly learning to obtain diverse
therapeutic experiences.
“After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and working at a
Master’s level in basic medical research, I did not see a career path in
primary research as a great fit for me. I spent a number of years in
Marketing, Consumer Research, and freelance writing before hitting upon
MedEd. The mix of writing, editing, fact-checking, and proofing in MedEd is
a welcome combination guaranteed to keep me fully engaged. I find working on
high quality, scientifically rigorous slide kits, monographs, web postings,
and other formats extremely satisfying.” Pamela J. Clark, Senior Editor,
MEDCON
Distinctions in MedEd
Traditionally, MedEd is divided into two broad categories, CME and
promotion. A CME piece must be developed to follow strict rules as
determined by an accrediting institution or organization offering continuing
medical education accreditation. All information must be fair balanced, not
include product brand names, and should discuss both the merits and flaws of
a drug class. CME material should foster the development of tools to enhance
physician care in regard to optimizing quality patient care and the
continuum of medical education.
CME projects in regulatory agencies or legal entities should be aligned with
AMA, related regulatory requirements, and copyright laws, as needed.
Educational activities must comply with regulatory CME requirements and
legal mandates through site visits and annual reports as set forth by the
accrediting institution.
Promotional materials are used by pharmaceutical companies to highlight a
drug. Information is provided from the package insert as reviewed by the FDA
and does not discuss off-label uses in the development of teaching tools to
physicians. A strict medical legal review process is required in the
development of these materials that can be used. Examples of promotional
work are seen in ads in a variety of media and may often be linked selling a
product.
Working collaboratively
There is a great deal of both internal and external collaboration when
developing educational materials. External collaboration with principal
investigators, CME departments, grantors, and faculty, in addition to
collaboration within the internal teams including account development,
program management, editorial, and art departments, to name a few.
Selling out?
I have often heard scientists and medical doctors refer to the idea that
working in industry is akin to “selling out.” While no doubt there may be
exceptions to every rule, in general, all the scientists I have encountered
take scrupulous efforts to ensure their research is transparent and
reproducible, and all data may be checked by external reviewers. At the end
of the day, a good scientist is an ethical scientist. Results, whether
positive or negative beg to be disseminated. Some of the most beautiful
labs, yes I mean beautiful, have been owned by pharmaceutical companies - a
far cry from the dismal basement labs some major teaching hospitalities run.
Careers in Medical Education, A Partial List
Medical Writers, Editors, Proof Readers, Fact Checkers, Copywriters,
Publication Managers: all work within medical publishing, including
regulatory, promotional, and educational materials. These individuals
develop scientific content via literature review or primary data for
publications (manuscripts, posters, abstracts, slides, etc, for
symposia/focus groups/advisory board meetings etc), clinical study reports,
FDA filing reports, slide kits, newsletters, and websites.
Grant Writers: Conduct medical education market analysis; develop medical
education strategy for educational area of focus. Can develop Request for
Proposal (RFP) to external medical education vendors that support the
strategic initiatives to satisfy unmet medical education needs. Responsible
for maintaining currency with FDA, CME, PhRMA and OIG Guidelines.
Medical Directors: Used by all procurers of MedEd, Medical Directors counsel
clients and develop medical strategies that are consistent with product
marketing goals in an assigned disease area through content review of
journal articles and other communication materials.
Medical Liaisons: work with pharmaceutical companies to educate physicians
on a given therapeutic medication, device, or condition.
Medical Marketing: understand key business processes, business drivers,
roles/responsibilities of decision makers and influencers, common issues and
obstacles faced by healthcare institutions and other distinctive industry
attributes to drive marketing campaigns, market awareness, and sales
training, and to meet revenue goals.
Account Services: manage components of an account or grant. Oversight
includes budgeting, tracking, logistics, and generating sales.
Business Development: help to identify potential new business opportunities;
keep teams abreast of all current competitive intelligence, develop strong
relationships with KOLs, and lead the team in identifying pertinent research
related to grants or clients.
Creative and Production Services: direct and maintain the print and design
process, develop branding concepts and apply throughout the specific
initiative; vendor selection and print delivery and fulfillment; lead the
team in the best design applications and research.
Program Management: interface with faculty, grantors and all internal teams;
traffic components for projects from start-up to delivery, update current
trafficking systems and project management, track budgetary details and
report results to team, create standard operating procedures specific to
cost and time efficiencies.
Operations: liaise with both internal and external teams in the day-to-day
management of projects from inception to completion, work with teams in
budget development and management, participate in the development and
execution of new business proposals, research new vendor opportunities and
selection, create resourcing and staff opportunities and build the right
team.
Selected resources:
http://www.us.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195176339/aboutthebook/?view=usa&view=usa
AMA Manual of Style, 10th Edition published in 2007 by Oxford University
Press, is the authoritative book on medical writing. The legal and ethical
considerations chapter has expanded; nomenclature has continued to expand
and greater coverage of references and visual presentation of data is
included. Throughout the book, there is an increased international scope and
recognition of the changes in scientific publishing field associated with
advances in technology, the Internet, and the electronic evolution of
writing, editing, and publishing.
http://www.amwa.org
The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), founded in 1940, is the
leading professional organization for medical communicators. The more than
5,400 members include a variety of medical communicators from around the
world.
http://www.accme.org/
The ACCME’s Mission is the identification, development, and promotion of
standards for quality continuing medical education (CME) utilized by
physicians in their maintenance of competence and incorporation of new
knowledge to improve quality medical care for patients and their
communities.
http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/
Council of Science Editors: CSE’s purpose is to serve members in the
scientific, scientific publishing, and information science communities by
fostering networking, education, discussion, and exchange and to be an
authoritative resource on current and emerging issues in the communication
of scientific information.
http://vbwg.org
Vascular Biology Working Group: The mission of the VBWG is to improve the
cardiovascular health of patients by providing a forum for the review,
exchange, and assimilation of findings from vascular biology research for
dissemination to the clinical medicine community. This is a top site
offering a wide range of CME activities accredited by the University of
Florida. |
