We can't type in front of our clients

Musicians have to perform live to prove that they are not AI.

I came up with this reflection after listening to one of Rick Beato’s YouTube videos about AI-generated music.

What is the equivalent for freelancers in medical communications?

I initially thought that conferences were the answer. They are the usual way we meet and learn from other professionals in this type of work. But I think we have to go deeper and be able to show how we work. We can’t type in front of our clients, so what do we do?

I think when a client can’t see how the work gets done, it's easy to assume another black box can do it, so we see teams that offload tasks to AI, basically substituting a black box for another black box.

To solve this, I have been working on an AI Use Policy that I share with clients and a way to keep track of each step required to perform my work. But even more importantly, I'm helping my clients understand where judgment goes by explaining the workflows that used to happen behind the scenes. For example, some of the CME providers I work with have brought part of the localization pipeline in-house. LSPs have been cut out, so I'm offering guidance on which steps should not be automated and where clinician involvement is key.

So, when a client comes our way, I think we can be very transparent and explain the parts of the work that needed our judgment. “I did X here because of Y.” Do this especially when something seems obvious to you, because it might not be obvious to them.

Recently, a client was sending me documents to review without approved terminology or a style guide. I flagged that they needed both, because the decisions were staying with me instead of becoming institutional knowledge. They weren't sure how to use them, so I'm slowly helping them adopt both at scale.

Which parts of your work that stay behind the curtain do you wish your clients understood better?

The end of the year is a great time to market yourself (as a CME writer)

The last part of the year can be one of the best times to make a transition or to chase the clients you said you wanted to pursue. As I understand it, most of the funds obtained through grants have to be used up before the end of the year,

You’ll succeed only if you’re willing to embarrass yourself

“I’m not ready.” I hear this often when people ask me about how to make the move to medical writing from translation and vice versa. I think it’s because both fields have been affected by budget redistribution, workflow changes brought by AI, overindexing on credentials, and just how

The cost of convenience

There are people that like coffee, people that drink coffee, and people that avoid it. I've been thinking about the cost of convenience since reading Julie Beck's article in The Atlantic about Gabe Bullard's book, Against Convenience. A cup of coffee can come in

The edges of the work will blend

I’m increasingly being asked by Operations Managers at Medical Communication companies to review text from the clinical standpoint. I keep being surprised by these requests, because I thought that my background as a doctor made it clear to them that that’s what I had always done. It didn&

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The end of the year is a great time to market yourself (as a CME writer)

You’ll succeed only if you’re willing to embarrass yourself

The cost of convenience

The edges of the work will blend