First Draft of IR

Alesha Reynolds

Professor Paudel

English 102

3 February 2015

Writing in the Medical Field

            In college, a lot of writing is involved no matter what area of study you are involved in. Whether its essays for an English course, reports from a biology course, or simply just taking notes in class, writing is always a big part of earning your degree. Although this is all true, I have never stopped to think about how much writing I will be doing once I have my career. Studying the medical field means there are numerous jobs I could have. I could be a pharmacist, a nurse, or even a surgeon. Surprisingly, writing is very important in the medical field.

            According to owl.english.purdue.edu, “Medical writing is an interdisciplinary field that applies knowledge of both rhetoric and science to enhance reader understanding of medical phenomena.” The main purpose of medical writing is to get information out whether it is to the public, or to another doctor. “Nevertheless, nearly all medical writers share a like-minded value: to articulate medical information to their readers in the most effective ways possible,” according to owl.english.purdue.edu. Medical writers have to take important information that uses medical terminology, and put it into terms that the everyday reader can understand. Unless you’re studying in the medical field, it is almost impossible to understand the terminology doctor’s use, so it is very important that they are efficient in their writing skills and translating important information.

An example of translating information for the public is:

Before

Desensitization (converse of secondary sensitization) is distinguished from habituation (converse of primary sensitization) by the explicit expression of memory rebound and recovery effects in the post-stimulation response.

After

"In the study, Poon and his colleagues use two types of nonassociative learning called habituation and desensitization to promote a better patient-ventilator interaction. Habituation refers to a person's decrease in responsiveness to a repeated stimulus. In terms of the fireworks example, you may learn to successfully "block out" or become more accustomed to the loud, recurring noises over time. On the other hand, desensitization is a person's diminished response to a second stimulus as a result of the first stimulus. For instance, if you became more accustomed to the loud fireworks through repeated sounds, your ability to hear other noises might have decreased, too."

In the “before” statement, the information being presented was unclear and too hard for me to understand. Once translated into everyday terminology, I could better understand the information and use this information.

            An example of non-academic source for medical writing would be Health & Fitness articles in the LA Times magazine. These articles talk about ways to stay mentally and physically healthy. The research and studies done to know how to do so, are performed by persons in the medical field who have made their discoveries into a readable magazine article.

• While talking to my local pharmacist, she says there are a few things you need to know when writing in the medical field.
•   Taking medical jargon and translating into readable material for someone not educated in the medical field.
• Know what you are talking about! You have to know every specific fact and scenario to write accurately.

·         Knowing what facts are important and the most up to date.

“If you know how to relate to your reader, it will help you become better in your career. You will not only know how to write more effectively, but also speak to clients or customers more effectively as well,” says my local pharmacist. The New England Journal of Medicine is an example of academic medical writing. The journal has articles about topics happening in the medical field today. This journal is getting medical information out to the public.

      When it comes to how much you will write in your career in the medical field, it will vary. While talking to my childhood pediatrician, he says that he very seldom writes a lot of information at one time. He can write down symptoms of his patients and also write down prescriptions, but he has never had to write a journal or article that would be posted for the public. According to owl.english.purdue.edu, “Biostatistics, journalism, medicine, English, public health, and pharmacy are fields that most medical writers tend to consult regularly.” This meaning that my pharmacist might write more regularly than my pediatrician.

     Writing skills are very important. Some areas of study will require more writing than others, but writing is key to getting information out to the public. If you are interested in the medical field, just remember that not everyone who reads your material will know exactly what you are trying to say unless you make your information readable and reliable.

Work Cited

Ardough, Brent. "Medical Writing." Purdue Owl. N.p., 25 June 2012. Web. 2 Feb. 2015.

Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.

"The New England Journal of Medicine." New England Journal of Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 02                                                

   Feb. 2015.