If you have a nursing degree, experience, and a passion for writing, a nurse writer position might be the best fit for you! Welcome to the ultimate guide to becoming a full-time nurse writer! Here, we will provide a brief overview of a nurse writing job and how you can pursue becoming a nurse writer.
Who Is a Nurse Writer?
Simply put, a nurse writer is a medical writer who uses their nursing profession to write healthcare-related articles. In most cases, there are freelance nurse writers who might be taking their writing and medical jobs at the same time!
Nurse writers may also refer to medical writing for different outlets, like medical journals, professional blogs, healthcare magazines, academic papers, and more!
By any means, they are trained in the medical field and write from their experience and learning of the given field.
What Are the Responsibilities of a Nurse Writer?
Many assume a nurse writer's job is limited to writing nursing content. But that's not the truth. There are various nurse writing jobs available besides being a nursing content writer.
Here's a detailed explanation of a nurse writer's role and responsibilities.
- Consultations: Many nurse writers also serve as consultants. They are trusted sources for screenwriters and novelists to gain insight into medical terms and incorporate them into their writing. In fact, when buying research papers in the medical field, many tend to fact-check whether the given data and information are correct! As a result, research paper writers reach out to nurse writers to gain insight into medical terms and include them in their research papers.
- Interview Subjects: Nurse writers also incorporate interview material into their work. These nurse writers spend time with subjects and discuss various topics related to the medical field. They collect all the content from the nurse to incorporate in their interview to find the best candidate.
- Managing Clients: Most of the nurse writers are freelance nurses, so they spend time developing relationships with their clients - especially publishers and writing outlets. This helps them maintain a steady stream of work. For example, their next writing job might involve an essay of 200 words on medical terms. Here, they can collect various data, information, and evidence to prepare that essay or reach out to professional essay writers to learn more about the structure and meet the client's demands and needs.
- Pitch articles: Nurse writers, in most cases, work in freelance positions, meaning that they don't have stable employment with any publication. Therefore, they may have to pitch their articles and content topics to different journals with the hopes of publication. The process usually involves reaching out to the publishers and describing why their writing is a good fit.
- Writes Content: As the job itself mentions, nurse handwriting is all about writing. The writing incorporates research, interviews, and personal experience in the writing until it meets the approval of the publication.
These are a few job roles and responsibilities the nurse writers carry.
6 Steps to Become a Nurse Writer
Now that we've described what a nurse writer is and the key roles and responsibilities surrounding the job, let's proceed to the exact steps on how you can become one!
Here, we have offered a general overview of how one can become a skilled narrative writer with skills, education, and experience.
Step 1: Obtain a nursing degree
The title of 'nurse' only comes after you've completed your degree! To become a nurse writer, the first step is to gain experience as a registered nurse. There are several nursing degrees, with a bachelor's degree being the most common.
Depending upon the degree you select, it might require less school time. When choosing a nursing degree, you should consider your future goals, what you expect from your degree, and the job role you want to fulfill. Once decided, you can enroll in the program and complete it to earn a nursing degree.
Step 2: Earn a nursing license
The next step is earning a license! Only a nursing degree doesn't make you a certified nurse! Once you earn your degree, you'll have to be certified in your work area, i.e., earn a license.
In the United States of America, the licensing exam is the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), which checks your overall skill, knowledge, and qualification to determine whether you can get the license! You must participate in the nursing practice to be a certified nurse and earn a license.
Step 3: Gain nursing experience
To be able to write about something, you must have experience in it. You must have your roots in the field, understand the concept, and be able to differentiate different medical terms. So, the next step towards being a new writer is gaining experience.
Upon receiving your license, you can work for medical organizations and earn several years of experience as a registered nurse. When it comes to nursing, there are different avenues for you depending on your interest and specialization.
You can select from hospitals, clinics, mental health, oncology, home care, and more.
Step 4: Spend your time writing
Once you start working as a nurse and get experience with your work, you must spend time developing your writing and communication skills. When you start as a nurse content writer, your writing will have a huge impact! You can start specializing in the subject matter and the potential audience you might be writing for!
For example, writing an academic paper for medical professionals can differ from writing a general blog post directed to a regular audience. You can meet with fellow writers to enhance your writing and get valuable feedback. To begin with, freelance nurse writing can be your part-time job where you get ideas, experience, and knowledge to start your writing career.
Step 5: Develop your network
With the growing demand for nurse writers, many users are heading toward a writing career. As a result, you must enhance your role to ensure that you offer the best content to your clients.
During your tenure as a nurse, you'll get the opportunity to meet various healthcare professionals who might be running their own healthcare publications. You can utilize these contracts to work in your favor and turn them into clients with whom you can work!
You can create a close full-time freelancing writing position or just a part-time one. Other ways to connect are attending meetups, networking events, and building opportunities to meet potential clients.
Step 6: Reach out to publications
Once you've started working as a nurse writer, it's time to research a few publications that are willing to publish your work. While some publications accept the submission of pre-written articles, others prefer only the article pitch to be considered for the work.
You can reach out to a publication or two to kick off your writing career as a freelance nurse writer.
Wrapping Up
Studies show that the employment growth of writers is expected to grow by 9% by 2030. This combines the job roles of nurse writers with an estimated opening of 15,400 jobs and authors each year from 2020 to 2030.
Once you leverage your skills and abilities for the role of nurse content writer, you can excel in your job! We hope this article was helpful for you in gaining insight into what a nurse writer is, their job and responsibilities, and how you can become one!
Author Bio
Laura Fields is an experienced tech writer dedicated to unraveling the complexities of technology for educational purposes. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for simplifying intricate topics, she strives to make learning accessible and enjoyable for all.
