CME Writer's Marketplace, 2019 Edition

by Don Harting

Overview

The printed version of this e-booklet was distributed as a handout for the author's "Introduction to CME Writing" workshop in May of 2019 during the 23rd annual Princeton Forum in Princeton, New Jersey hosted by the Delaware Valley Chapter of the American Medical Writers Association. People who attended the workshop called it "fabulous," "awesome," and "well done."

CME Writer's Marketplace is written to help freelance medical writers who specialize in developing content for accredited, or certified, continuing education in the health professions. This 7,000-word e-booklet contains 8 pages of detailed listings about the current needs of 9 different medical education companies based on in-person interviews with hiring editors and medical directors. Each listing contains guidance on what types of documents are typically purchased (needs assessments, test questions, slide decks, manuscripts/monographs, case studies, competitive market analyses, and outcome reports), typical prices paid, URLs of exemplary programs, as well as full contact information. CME Writer's Marketplace also provides writers with guidance on where to find free and low-cost training and development opportunities. Finally, readers receive a full-length, Wall Street Journal-style article highlighting 5 different trends that are affecting supply and demand for CME writing services today: growth of commercial support, attrition among accredited providers, accelerating pace of drug approvals, physician burnout, and rise of the gig economy.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940163206322
Publisher:	Don Harting
Publication date:	05/22/2019
Series:	CME Writer's Marketplace
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	501 KB

About the Author

In 1974 I entered Harvard College dazed, confused, and depressed by my parents' divorce, which had been finalized less than a year before. After changing my major three times, I just barely managed to graduate with my class in 1978. English had always been my best subject, so I pursued my first career in journalism. I advanced from small- to mid-sized newspapers in Maryland, Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania, winning prizes for investigative and public service work. I won a fellowship and earned a master’s degree in newspaper journalism from Syracuse University's Newhouse School in 1992, just a few years before the American newspaper industry began to collapse. I transitioned into medical writing with help from the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA). I attended my first chapter workshop in Princeton, New Jersey in the spring of 2007 and that's where I first heard about the system of accredited continuing medical education (CME) in the United States. I attended my first AMWA national conference later that year and soon earned a certificate in medical writing and editing. I passed the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) exam in 2008. These credentials helped me land my first job as a medical writer in 2009, writing needs assessments full-time, from home, for a company in Georgia. I enjoyed the work so much I made CME writing my specialty. Today I work as a freelance CME writer from my home outside Philadelphia. To firm up the foundation for my second career, I invested in a second master’s degree, in biology. My thesis project was part life science, part continuing education research using the famous Delphi method. I also earned the CHCP credential, which stands for “certified healthcare continuing professional development professional.” To earn points toward recertification I conduct an annual survey of best practices for writing CME needs assessments. You can find out more in the Recommended Resources section of CME Writer's Marketplace. In my spare time I enjoy climbing hills on my bicycle, spinning the wheel on my rowing machine, building stone retaining walls in my garden, touring wine regions with my wife of 33 years, visiting our grown children, spoiling our grandchildren, and mailing free books to help children of divorced parents across the United States and around the world. Thank you for your interest in CME writing!