First Friday: From Pharma to Freelance Medical Writing in the Digital Age

Virginia Chachati is a pharmacist turned medical writer who embarked on her freelance journey after moving to Germany in 2020. Inspired by the need to work remotely and make a living online, Virginia started a travel health blog that caught a client's attention on Upwork. Despite being underpaid for her valuable work, this experience motivated her to create a community of medical writers focused on fair compensation and support. Virginia established a presence on LinkedIn, where a medical communications agency found and recruited her. Now a full-time freelancer, Virginia enjoys the flexibility of working from home while being able to travel back to the UK for work and family visits.

Join us as Virginia shares her insights on building a thriving medical writing career.

1. Learn how to identify and attract high-quality clients who value your skills and expertise

2. Discover the power of community in setting fair rates and supporting your professional growth

Connect with Virginia LinkedIn

Resources Free 61 tips Ebook for medical writers

Timestamps 00:00 Introduction

02:10 Virginia’s journey into medical writing

04:02 Her experience with Upwork

06:31 Being picky about clients

08:29 Importance of writers knowing their worth and setting ground rules

12:56 The power of community in medical writing and solving the problem of Upwork

17:52 Setting fair value in medical writing

21:56 The future of medical writing: AI and social media

26:15 Takeaways from today’s conversation with Virginia

Subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast! Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write Medicine podcast for more valuable insights on continuing medical education content for health professionals. Click the Follow button and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Mentioned in this episode:

Root Cause Analysis Practice Lab

Ready to write needs assessments that go deeper than "clinicians need more education"? Join our Root Cause Analysis Practice Lab on February 19th. You'll learn systems thinking, defensible frameworks, and grant-ready language in 3 hands-on hours. $297 | Applies to WriteCME Pro membership [CTA Button] Save My Spot → https://community.writecmepro.com/root-cause-analysis

Root Case Analysis Practice Lab

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp