You’ve lived on a diet of scientific facts since you decided to go to medical school, and you thought your creative writing days were over when you wrote your last essay for GCSE English. But don’t hide the Shakespeare away in the attic just yet.
You may not be attempting any sonnets, but writing is a key skill for a successful medical career. Getting research or writing published will make your CV stand out in whatever specialty you go into. Even writing patient notes and case reports needs good writing skills, grammar and clear English.
Although you probably won’t get the chance or be expected to have original research published while at medical school, there are lots of other ways you can get your foot in the door of the publishing world.
You’re probably thinking that you’re far too busy cramming your brain with an encyclopaedia of knowledge, attending lectures, submitting essays or travelling between hospitals for clinical practice to have time for anything more creative.
However, writing can be a really good way of getting some distance on a clinical situation, problem or career decision. It’s also a good tool for refreshing your mind and reminding you of your ability to think analytically and look at the bigger picture – some of the most important skills for being a successful doctor.
Here are our top five tips on getting started:
1. Voice your opinion
Got something to say? Writing a letter to a medical journal, or writing to a newspaper on a hot medical topic, can be a good way of getting your name in print without the need for heavyweight research to back up your opinions. Most national newspapers have much bigger circulation and readership figures than medical journals, so it’s worthwhile keeping up with public health issues and taking any chance to comment. For example, a well-worded letter to a national paper about how rising tuition fees might affect medical students could catch an editor’s eye. There’s a lot of competition to get letters published, so getting yours in print can go on your CV as a real achievement, showcasing your self-motivation, knowledge of current affairs and ability to analyse and write clearly and persuasively.
2. Keep it real
As a medical student, you are going through some unique experiences, seeing and doing things that most people never get a chance to do. You are also in a profession that is endlessly fascinating to the public (just look at the number of medical dramas on TV). You have a wealth of things to write about, from what it’s like experiencing your first dissection class, to coming face-to-face with patients, or the terror of being asked a question you can’t answer on your first ward round. Of course, you will need to approach all these topics with sensitivity and make sure you never breach patient confidentiality or get into trouble with your medical school.
3. Bag yourself a blog
Instead of idly surfing the web while avoiding the big pile of lecture notes waiting to be looked over, why not make use of the distracting nature of the internet and start a weblog? Less formal than a diary, and easier to get published than a journal article, it has the added advantage that you can make it anonymous (although you should still be aware of confidentiality, fact checking and libel laws, see below). Write about anything, from studying to the romantic difficulties posed by medical student life, and see if you can spark some online debates! A regular blog will be useful if you ever want to try your hand at writing a column, feature or advice page once qualified. However, this comes with a word of warning. The Medical Protection Society has seen doctors face complaints over unwise commentary. You should always write as if you can be identified, never drop your standards of professionalism, and don’t say anything that you wouldn’t be happy to put your name to, or say face-to-face.
4. Don’t get carried away
It’s tempting to think that as a student, you can write about anything and be immune from any comeback as you are not yet officially qualified. However the GMC and the Medical Schools Council expect and require students at medical school to behave as professionals before they qualify, as well as in the years that follow. Even one-off mistakes, in circumstances such as breaches of patient confidentiality, plagiarism, poor attitude or alcohol misuse, could harm your chances of obtaining provisional or substantive registration. Here are a few pitfalls to be aware of:
- Patient confidentiality always applies. For example, Student BMJ requires that everyone who submits articles or photos containing medical details has written consent from the patient, whether or not the patient is named in the article.
- Check all your facts. The rules of publishing mean that you could fall foul of laws around defamation (harming someone’s reputation) – not to mention damaging your own career prospects – if you publish incorrect or potentially damaging information about people, whether in hard copy or online.
- Don’t write about anything that might affect your future career as a doctor, eg, excessive drinking, drugs or the wilder side of student social life. Remember that as a doctor, your personal and professional life can no longer be completely separated. A career in medicine brings many privileges, and also responsibility – you should set out to be a role model from now on.
- Always include references for any quotes or information gained from other publications or authors. Plagiarism, or passing off others’ work as your own, is extremely frowned-upon and in serious cases, could even lead to you being subject to student fitness-to-practise proceedings.
5. Look close to home
Check out your university newspaper – it’s not just there for media and journalism students to practise on. Read it first, to see where you might be able to place articles. Contact the editor for advice – they might welcome a regular feature on medical student life.
In our next post, we look at places where you could get published.
Article written by Frances Warneford of the MPS, where student membership is free!