4 research tips for your next medical story

As a medical communicator, I’ve written a number of articles requiring research. Luckily, I love the research aspect of my job and enjoy learning with each piece.

Not everyone is like me. What if the research doesn’t come easily? What if your job is to turn a verbose research paper or content-packed PowerPoint into something that a non-clinical audience would want to read and can easily understand?

Here are a few tips from our clients to keep in mind:

Write interview questions as you research. If there’s something you don’t understand in the research, ask your interviewee to explain it. Sometimes clinicians believe a PowerPoint or academic paper will tell the story on its own.

If you’re facing resistance to an interview, let your expert know that you’re writing for both a scientific and a general audience. A brief phone interview—or answers to some questions via email—will greatly improve your content. UC Health has posted a detailed yet easily understood story on curing pancreatitis; in it, the writer paraphrased a doctor’s explanation of a surgery.