Medical Communications: Reviving the Side-Hustle Journey in Healthcare

Contents

• The Landscape of Medical Communications

• Current Trends and Opportunities

• Benefits of Engaging in Medical Communications Side-Hustles

• Professional Growth and Skill Enhancement

• Financial Rewards

• Flexibility and Work-Life Balance

• Challenges and Solutions

• Balancing Side Hustles with Full-Time Medical Practice

• Managing Time and Resources Effectively

• Overcoming Regulatory and Ethical Considerations

• Anastomos Explaining the Role of Side-Hustles in Enhancing the Healthcare Landscape

The most trending topic in every financial blog post and podcast today is side hustle for passive income. While they are a fantastic source of supplemental income and are suited for all age groups, finding feasible side hustle jobs for practicing healthcare professionals may be challenging. A side hustle for doctors, dentists, therapists, paramedics, nurses, etc. needs to be relevant to the industry, academically and professionally rewarding, less time-consuming, and, at the same time, financially satisfactory. After all, do you want a side gig that doesn’t involve seeing more patients but still keeps you cognitively active and personally fulfilling?

Imagine a side gig that offers it all.

Medical communications is one such profile that ticks all the boxes. Medical writing side hustle can be your next best idea if you are looking to boost income and professional excellence. This non-clinical side hustle generates income without seeing more patients after work hours while staying mentally engaged, feeling relevant, and finding personal fulfillment. Unlike healthcare mentoring (as we discussed), medical communication jobs are entirely remote with no allotted work hours.

The Landscape of Medical Communications

Medical communications is an umbrella term for the different modes of engaging patients, vendors, and providers in the healthcare industry through written, verbal, or visual channels. While communication modes shift, one constant across platforms is "writing”. Apart from articles, research papers, medical regulatory writing, etc., podcasts; videos; social media; etc., they all need well-written scripts. Here is a brief overview of medical communication jobs:

Current Trends and Opportunities

What is medical communication?

Medical communication entails communicating medical information in a clear, effective, and compassionate manner. This communication is critical in healthcare because it facilitates comprehension, builds confidence, and ensures that information is shared accurately among all parties involved.

Types of medical communication

• Clinical Study Communication: Research reports, study summaries, and clinical study articles

• Professional communication refers to the exchange of information between doctors about scientific breakthroughs and new treatment options. Vendor-doctor communication about new drugs, dosages, and treatments.

• Patient Education entails developing patient brochures, blog posts, podcasts, and video scripts that explain treatment options and side effects.

• Regulatory Writing: Writing grant proposals and reports for regulatory bodies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• Sales, Marketing, and Advertising (Medico-marketing communication): Participation in medical communication promotional activities such as sales, marketing, and advertising

Medical writing is diverse. Ranging from highly technical and scientific content to more accessible, consumer-oriented stories. Regardless of the format, all medical writing emphasizes clarity, accuracy, and adherence to FDA regulations.

Medico-marketing communications is a booming industry worldwide. The recent pandemic has catalyzed the need for correct, scientific, and engaging medicine for the masses. There are essentially, two types:

• Clinician-Focused (B2B)

This category includes clinical studies, research papers, regulatory writing, professional documentation, and so on. It underscores the communication between healthcare professionals, founders, vendors, and buyers.

• Patient-Focused (B2C)

On the contrary, B2C focuses on all that the healthcare industry communicates with the patient. It includes patient education and motivation that should culminate in a rewarding action. The language is simpler without medical jargon.

Who Can Practice Medical Writing Side Hustle?

Medical writers need outstanding communication skills and scientific knowledge. Nevertheless, as the content often involves complex technicalities, certain employers may favor writers possessing advanced scientific degrees or a background in healthcare.

Who can be a medical communication expert?

• Healthcare professionals:

Medical communications encompass a side hustle for doctors, and a side hustle for nurses, dentists, paramedics, therapists, and technicians. All healthcare practitioners can leverage their clinical expertise and strong verbal and written skills to become effective medical communicators.

• Scientists and researchers:

People with a background in scientific research can excel at communicating complex medical facts to a wide range of audiences.

• Professionals in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology:

Pharmaceutical and biotech professionals, such as researchers and marketing representatives, can advance into medical communication positions.

• Specialists in Regulatory Affairs:

Professionals with regulatory affairs experience, such as medical device regulations, are experts in preparing well-researched regulatory documents.

• Technology Professionals:

Professionals with digital communication and technical skills can contribute to the modern era of medical communication, marketing, and better outreach, particularly in the context of online platforms and digital health.

How to research for Medical Communication Jobs?

The stepping stone to hitting the right profile for the medical writing side hustle is to revise your clinical resume to highlight your scientific writing chops. The resume should speak volumes about the certifications and training programs you have completed, as well as a portfolio of all your previous experiences, including demonstrable projects and feedback from industry leaders.

Job boards, social media platforms, and hitting up a couple of free projects with colleagues or friends in the industry can help kickstart your career. Cracking the first project is challenging, beyond which your work, collaboration efforts, and word-of-mouth will streamline assignments.

Medical Writing Salaries—A Vital Consideration

Monetary gains are solely based on your experience and expertise. As a hybrid work model, this side hustle can be both remote or on-site and run across borders. However, you must remember to check the credential requirements of the specific country before submitting your application.

This side hustle for passive income can be done on an hourly basis or as a monthly project. Whether you are self-employed or a fractional employee, you can earn anywhere from 3 LPA to 12 LPA, or more, depending on your work type, years of experience, and collaboration skills.

Benefits of Engaging in Medical Communications Side-Hustles

• Professional Growth and Skill Enhancement

Research, planning, and penning down facts in healthcare help you stay abreast of every aspect of healthcare. Doctors, dentists, nurses, and paramedics can enhance their writing and communication skills, expanding their expertise and credibility in the healthcare field.

• Financial Rewards

A larger aspect of jumping on the bandwagon was to supplement your income. As a non-clinical role, it is a lucrative avenue beyond their primary healthcare work.

• Flexibility and Work-Life Balance

Medical writing side hustle provides the ability to work on projects remotely, allowing you to effectively handle your calendars and strike a better work-life balance

Challenges and Solutions

• Balancing Side Hustles with Full-Time Medical Practice

Writing and researching demand focus and concentration. Switching schedules and jumping between the regular job and the side hustle may slow your work both ways. This may eventually push deadlines, lead to sloppy submissions, affect work standards, or cause burnout.

Prioritize projects, allot specified time blocks for each, and maintain transparent communication with your employers.

• Managing Resources Effectively

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to medical communications. Stay open to research and various writing tools, without which you may fall short of industry standards.

Leveraging technology and digital tools may smooth your work process.

• Overcoming Regulatory and Ethical Considerations

Keep up to date on industry regulations, get legal counsel when necessary, and follow stringent ethical guidelines in all communication initiatives.

Remember, breaching NDAs (Non-Disclosure agreements) or other legal documents may have serious impacts.

Anastomos Explaining the Role of Side-Hustles in Enhancing the Healthcare Landscape

Side hustles have progressed from a trend to a revolutionary opportunity for healthcare professionals. At ANASTOMOS, we understand that healthcare professionals often look for alternatives beyond their primary careers. This is why we are so excited to introduce you to the world of side hustles—a route that not only complements your medical career but also allows you to take control of your life in novel and captivating ways.

ANASTOMOS is a cutting-edge, end-to-end online platform for healthcare careers, appealing to aspiring scholarly students, recent medical graduates, experienced professionals, and veterans alike. Our platform walks you through each stage of side-hustles suitably catered to your speciality in medicine.

Do you want to learn more? Feel free to contact us:

Ms. Akhila: “SAMADHA SHAYAMRAD PVT LTD”, Flat number 003, Palace View apartment, Jayamahal Main Road, Bangalore 560046

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +91 98454 55217