The Importance of Learning to Write Even After Med School
Nov 30, 2020
Published by Kathrin O'Neill
Healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses know the importance of lifelong learning. Continuous education is vital to better diagnosis methods and improving the patient’s quality of life. And while not all learning needs to be medical, aspiring doctors and graduates may find writing to be on the bottom of their lists.
Mastering the art of interpreting scientific data requires analysis. As medical graduates, you must pay close attention to these data to understand certain concepts and communicating suitable care the team will be implementing. This is particularly crucial in the accuracy of delivery of management, medical interventions, and other data that needed to be conveyed to other healthcare professionals working on that case.
One of the important skills honed early in any medical professional’s journey is history taking. Doctors and nurses are particularly trained to listen and jot down details of the client’s medical history to come up with an appropriate diagnosis, test, and patient management. While these skills are essential, coming up with a coherent narrative from this will require precise and organized written material.
Detailing a narrative history is an active process. It should be organized and complete, specifying all medical events and how this is relevant to the case. These facts should be written in a non-judgmental manner highlighting only key facts to derive a diagnosis. As a doctor, you may have seen these narratives written in patient’s charts by fellow doctors and nurses to give you a ‘picture’ of how a shift went or what kind of treatments and management were given.
It’s also likely that more than one doctor is working on a patient. Hence, having a detailed charting of their care can bring that history back to life even after months (or years) post- hospitalization.
Writing helps you understand what you experienced. It will allow you to evaluate how you communicate this narrative to fellow healthcare workers. Moreover, this activity allows you to understand your patients and how you’re going to plan out their care. Well-thought-out patient care can build trust and encourage patient-doctor relationships throughout the management.
You don’t have to be a novelist to achieve a good narrative about your medical interventions. It’s all about clarity and presenting concisely written information.
Writing could offer a venue to help you understand yourself and process experiences. This is particularly true for physicians aspiring to pursue this as a career in the future. If you’re writing an essay, this skill forces you to have a deep understanding of how you take in ideas and deliver them to your audience.
While many academic heads shrug this off, writing is just as important to your success in this field. From creating your ERAS application, you already have the idea that clarity and organized thoughts are important to boost your chances of landing a Match. Moreover, program directors are likely to see through ‘rushed’ personal statements, especially if delivered in a disorganized manner.
Writing also helps you become more efficient in delivering oral presentations. There might be opportunities for you to speak in settings where international groups are present. Other scenarios include patient care conferences, community group presentations, and scientific publications for public magazines.
Building an efficient writing method allows you to communicate not just with fellow doctors but also with students, patients, and even children in words they can comprehend. This activity forces you to shift the language and level of detail to help your readers understand complex medical ideas.
Developing a writing skill also allows you to expand your expertise in the realm of publications. Though clinicians can spread their expertise to public speaking or scholarly publications, there are also opportunities for doctors to engage in consumer health writing. There are a few physicians who make writing as part of their careers. But only a few can attain a high level of achievement in this arena.
Many practicing doctors may have found a good income stream from medical writing. If time permits, you can pursue writing in your free time such as a long train ride, waiting for your kids to finish soccer practice, or even on your day-offs.
Writing allows you to learn more about current trends and research. It keeps you updated while helping your readers understand these data. You can take this opportunity to learn and hone your skills as you help your audience learn more about the latest developments in the medical field.
