Write Medicine Alexandra Howson PhD | CME Writer, Educator, Researcher

Have you ever wondered how gender inequities affect career progression in the world of continuing medical education/professional development (CME/CPD)?
In this episode, we explore women's pervasive challenges in CME and CPD, from microaggressions to barriers in leadership roles. Whether you're looking to climb the career ladder or simply gain insights into the dynamics of gender equality within your field, this conversation sheds light on critical issues affecting many in the industry.
1. Discover strategies to navigate and overcome gender-based barriers to career advancement in CME and CPD.
2. Learn how to build and leverage a supportive network that can help propel your career forward.
3. Gain insights into the real experiences and solutions from industry veterans Poonam Kapadia and Annette Schwind, who have successfully navigated these waters.
Tune in to arm yourself with the knowledge and tools needed to advocate for equity and forge a path to leadership in medical education.

Connect with Poonam and Annette
Poonam Kapadia, Vice President, Education Strategy: poonam.kapadia@kaplan.edu
Annette Schwind, Associate Director, Medical Grants & Sponsorships, LinkedIn, annette.schwind@takeda.com

Resources
Field E, Krivkovich A, Kügele S, Robinson N, Yee L. Women in the Workplace Report, McKinsey, 2023.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
01:35 Introducing Poonam and Annette
05:37 How they started getting interested in gender inequities in CME/CPD
10:45 More about the poll they took at the Alliance panel in New Orleans 2024 and what surprised them
14:00 Women’s experiences of microaggressions 
16:09 Starting the conversation on intersectionality
20:09 Addressing pay inequities
25:53 Building trust in a distributed field
32:31 Skills and strategies for women navigating CME careers
36:32 Practical takeaways from today's episode

Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast!
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Are you tired of feeling like your freelance medical writing business is running you, instead of the other way around?
Many freelance medical writers find themselves stuck in a reactive cycle, pouring all their time and energy into client projects but neglecting the strategic work that will actually move their business forward. They dream of a thriving, fulfilling business where they're in the driver's seat, but struggle to find the time or headspace to make it a reality amidst the constant deadlines and demands.
You are the most important resource in your business. In this episode you’ll learn:

Practical strategies for distinguishing between working ON vs. IN your business, so you can invest in the big-picture tasks that drive growth

Actionable tips for cultivating discernment around what you say yes and no to, so you can focus your time and energy on the right clients and projects

A roadmap for scaling your business intentionally by defining your core services and optimizing your processes for efficiency and impact


If you're ready to take control of your freelance medical writing journey and build a business that truly energizes and fulfills you, hit play now and let's dive into why YOU are your most important resource.

Resources
Claire Bonneau, Email Newsletter Writer
Write Medicine Insider
Niche Discovery Checklist

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
02:18 Working in vs working on your business
02:55 3 steps to take today to work on your business
04:24 Discernment is key to your freelance medical writing business when thinking about investing in yourself
06:46 3 steps to take today to be discerning with your yes and your no
09:12 Leveraging social media for your freelance medical writing success
10:43 3 steps to take today to focus your time and effort on social media
13:25 Scaling your business intentionally
13:58 3 steps to take right now to start scaling your business with intention
16:34 Prioritizing your well-being
17:54 3 steps to take right now to start taking care of yourself

Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast!
Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Are you curious about the role of Medical Affairs in Independent Medical Education (IME)? Perhaps you're struggling to demonstrate the value and impact of your programs in a way that resonates with IME teams.
IME is evolving. Today’s episode with IME expert Nancy Paynter discusses the pivotal role of IME within the broader scope of medical affairs and provides valuable insights to help you effectively communicate your initiative's impact to IME personnel.
By tuning in, you'll discover:

The concept of the "scientific journey" for clinicians 

How IME is focused on digitizing data on clinical and patient decision-making

What the evolution of IME within Medical Affairs means for CME/CPD.

Don't miss this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the evolving role of IME and medical affairs and their strategic priorities.
Takeaways
1. Independent Medical Education is becoming more closely integrated with medical affairs, aligning with broader organizational goals and cross-functional partnerships.
2. Medical affairs teams use the four-stage "scientific journey" framework to plan their engagement strategies and meet clinicians where they are in their understanding and adoption of new evidence. The stages include Awareness, Agreement, Adoption, and Advocacy.
3. CME can support the scientific journey while maintaining independence by conducting root cause analyses of practice and care gaps, employing data-driven strategies, and adapting educational materials based on real-time feedback and learner outcomes. By doing so, CME is well-positioned to serve as a strategic partner to IME in driving meaningful educational outcomes.
Resources
Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS)
Industry reports from McKinsey and Deloitte discuss the evolving role of Medical Affairs
Moore's Outcomes Framework
Connect with Nancy Paynter, Strategic Adviser, Life Science Industry
nancympaynter@gmail.com
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
01:56 What medical affairs is and how it’s evolving
05:58 Understanding Independent Medical Education (IME)
10:48 Transformation in IME work within medical affairs
19:20 Pharma company thinking about the scientific journey and how accredited CME can support it
23:12 Use of Moore's framework in medical education
28:10 How CME can partner with medical affairs
30:48 Accredited CME professionals communicating touch points with IME counterparts
33:09 Nancy’s final thoughts
37:39 Key takeaways from episode 118
Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast!
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Are you struggling to keep your clinical audience engaged and invested in your CME content?
In today's fast-paced, information-overloaded world, medical writers face the daunting challenge of capturing and maintaining their readers' attention. This episode explores how you can leverage proven storytelling techniques to create compelling, memorable CME content that resonates with your target audience.

Discover how to structure your content using powerful storytelling frameworks that build anticipation and drive home your key messages.

Learn how to hook your reader with compelling openers, incorporate patient and clinician voices, and make the "so what" crystal clear.

Gain insights into adapting storytelling structures to your CME content.

Tune in and unlock the secrets to becoming a master CME storyteller, ready to captivate and inspire your clinical audience like never before!
Resources
StoryBrand
Think Faster Talk Smarter by Matt Abrahams

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
02:55 Crafting compelling CME content: Exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution
05:36 Storybrand
08:30 Other storytelling frameworks
12:09 My challenge for you

Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast!
Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Are you curious about how artificial intelligence and chatbots are revolutionizing continuing medical education (CME) and transforming the way clinicians learn?
As a CME professional, you constantly seek innovative ways to create engaging and effective educational experiences for your clinician audience. Staying up-to-date with the latest technological advancements, such as AI and chatbots, is crucial to address the specific knowledge gaps and practice needs of busy healthcare providers.
This episode will provide valuable insights on using these cutting-edge tools to enhance your CME programs.
1. Discover how AI-powered chatbots can provide clinicians with personalized, real-time answers to their clinical questions, while seamlessly integrating with validated educational content.
2. Learn how to use data from chatbot interactions to identify knowledge gaps, trending topics, and urgent educational needs, enabling you to create more targeted and impactful CME programs.
3. Gain a deeper understanding of the future of AI in CME, including the potential of machine learning to predict learner gaps and deliver need-specific education, as well as the challenges and opportunities of using generative AI to create customized content.
Tune in to hear Alana Brody MBA, CHCP, Executive Director, Vice President of Strategic Educational Design, and David Setiadi, Chief Technology Officer at Projects in Knowledge Powered by Kaplan, share their expertise on how AI and chatbots can help you create cutting-edge, engaging, and effective CME experiences for your clinician audience!

Takeaways
1. It’s possible to use AI-powered chatbots in your CME programs to provide clinicians with a quick and reliable way to get their clinical questions answered at the point of care. Over time, you can build and maintain a cycle of trust with clinicians, ensuring they can rely on the technology for efficient and effective patient care.
2. You can use data from chatbot interactions to gain valuable insights into your learners' knowledge gaps, educational needs, and trending topics.
3. Pay attention to copyright compliance and privacy. To safeguard the rights of original publishers, you’ll need to verify that the information provided through chatbots is copyright compliant and establish protocols to ensure that all learner data is deidentified to ensure privacy.

Connect with Alana
alana.brody@kaplan.edu
Website

Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
01:54 Exploring what chatbots are and how they have entered the CME space
02:47 How chatbots compare with other point-of-care tools
04:30 Lifting the hood into the processes they use to send the learner in the right direction
06:01 The continuous process of updating all the content
06:39 How they’re using the data gathered
09:40 User engagement and interaction with chatbots
12:23 The ecosystem: how they pull learners in, analyzing qualitative data and privacy
16:36 How learners find the chatbot
20:06 How they handle volumes of qualitative data
23:08 The future of the chatbot: Traditional AI vs Generative AI
29:11 Final thoughts: Leveraging AI for personalized learning in CME
32:20 Key takeaways from episode 116

Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast!
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed and frustrated when searching for relevant studies on PubMed for your medical writing projects?
As a medical writer, you know that conducting a comprehensive literature review is crucial for delivering high-quality work to your clients and audiences. However, the process can be time-consuming and challenging, especially if you don't have a clear strategy. This episode of Monday Mentor will provide you with the tools and techniques you need to streamline your literature review process and find the most relevant, high-quality studies to inform your work.
Listen in to gain:

Best practices for efficiently searching databases like PubMed

Steps to find the most relevant and high-quality sources.

Tools and resources to stay organized and produce a rigorous literature review


Tune in now to discover how you can elevate your literature review skills and deliver stronger, more valuable work to your clients and audiences!

Takeaways
1. Defining your research question or objectives is crucial for guiding your search strategy and ensuring a focused, efficient literature review process. Before diving into your literature search, take the time to clearly articulate your research question or objectives using frameworks like PICO, SPIDER, or PEO.
2. Using a combination of keyword searches, subject heading/index term searches (like MeSH terms), and database filters can help you capture a wide range of potentially relevant sources while narrowing down your results. Familiarize yourself with the search functionalities and controlled vocabularies of databases like PubMed, and experiment with different combinations of keywords, subject headings, and filters to optimize your search results.
3. Leveraging citation management tools, note-taking techniques, and reporting guidelines can help you stay organized, maintain transparency, and produce a rigorous literature review. Explore and implement tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley for citation management, and develop a structured note-taking system (e.g., literature matrices or apps like Notion or Roam Research) to synthesize and report your findings effectively.

Resources
NYU Libraries Literature Search Template
Literature Review Typologies


Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
01:47 Defining the research question
03:43 Establishing search terms
06:17 Exploring various databases
10:30 Grey literature sources
13:32 Additional search techniques
15:07 Tools and resources that can help you
20:28 The power of literature reviews

Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast!
Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.