My journey with medical writing began early in my pharmacy career, inspired by my passion for teaching. To diversify my education, I sought experiences in pharmacy, public health and reaserch. I spent my first years in pharmacy school learning what it meant to digest and disseminate medical information. During my Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences, I interned in detailed capacity with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Institutional Review Board as well as the Drug Information office. This position nurtured my curiosity, and taught me the necessary skills for balancing the questions that are asked with the answers that are needed. We called this “Finding the true question”, an idea that the first question that is asked is rarely the full story. It was here that I learned how to strategically use follow-up questions to ensure that my answers are appropriately detailed, complete and concise. If your audience cannot understand you, then you have wasted everyone’s time to the potential detriment of your credibility and their safety.

I wanted a more robust understanding of the populations that I would be serving, so I pursued my Master’s degree in public health. My focus areas were health disparities, health communication and cultural competence. I worked with the University of Iowa Student Health and Wellness department to provide sexual health education to college undergraduates. During my practicum, I planned and scheduled events, coordinated with educators, developed educational materials, wrote up supply requests and hosted presentations. I made materials for students from a variety of backgrounds including with differences in race, education, health literacy, gender identity and sexual orientation. The biggest challenge that I overcame during this process was to present a delicate topic in an accurate yet palatable way, while adjusting the delivery to best meet the unique needs of my audience. My practicum write-up and the poster presentation are available for review in my portfolio.

Health outcomes research drew my attention because it gave me to opportunity to apply many of the concepts learned during my pharmacy and public health curricula. My team worked on a pilot project which focused on operationalizing a model for assessing how patients perform and understand medication management activities in the home. Such a model would allow healthcare providers to take a personalized approach to home nurse visits, patient education and compliance technology. I was intimately involved in the project from the beginning. This allowed me to gain experience in project planning, grant writing, IRB proposals, interview question writing, poster development, written and oral presentations, and preparation of a monograph for publication. Our poster and accepted monograph are available for review in my portfolio.

As a healthcare professional, I use the skills gained during the formative years of my career to create a balance between what to teach, how to teach and where to most effectively apply my knowledge. I enjoy learning, I value the exchange of constructive criticism and I appreciate the challenge of meeting the unique needs of a diverse audience. I would love the opportunity to discuss how my talents can best fit your projects and how I can help meet your organizational goals.