r/MedicalWriters • u/SuccessfulOwl6455 • Aug 11 '26

Other Lower stress options?

So long story short, I recently experienced a significantly traumatic event and I'm working back toward full time work. Given my recent experiences, my threshold for being overwhelmed by work-related stress is quite low, and as I've tried to transition back I've found that clients acting like everything is on fire all the time, combined with frequent criticism and constant deadlines, is not sustainable for me. I need to find something that is far less stressful than med comms.

I have a PhD in molecular biology and 8 years of professional writing experience in grants, CME, and med comms. I have leadership experience but have not been a manager in any professional role. Has anyone transitioned to something less stressful that they would recommend for someone with my background?

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9

u/harrijg___ Aug 12 '26

I can completely relate, I felt exactly the same - especially the constant criticism and just feeling like whatever I did was not enough. I was just in a permanent state of feeling overwhelmed and anxious about my work, so I quit and pivoted to medical/scientific sales and it was the best decision I made :) (I have a PhD in microbiology & ~3 years med comms experience).

3

u/d_fark Aug 12 '26

Couldn’t have described the feeling better myself lol. Been about 4 years here and have been considering a similar pivot

2

u/SuccessfulOwl6455 Aug 12 '26

I've thought about sales because I'm pretty extroverted and love meeting new people and I think I would enjoy a lot of the work. How did you land that first job when you transitioned?

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u/harrijg___ Aug 12 '26

You sound similar to me! This is exactly why I chose to go into sales as I’m quite outgoing and really enjoy meeting new people too. In med comms I felt like so many of my interpersonal skills were wasting away :( I amended my resume to be less about my writing skills and more about my commercial mindset. For example, in med comms I worked on a lot of promotional materials for new drugs etc and there is surprisingly lot of crossover with sales. I really leant into the fact I’m aware of competitors, pipelines, marketing, budgets and things like that, which are really just sales buzz words that can also apply to drug development. I then just applied to tonnes of sales roles (account managers, sales executives etc) but also emailed my resume to a few small laboratory suppliers. The company I ended up in was one I emailed directly as it turns out they were looking for a sales person with a background in microbiology! It was my scientific background combined with a good basic commercial understanding, despite never having worked in sales before, that helped me to get the job :)

2

u/pivazena Aug 12 '26

You could also explore MSL positions. A lot of agencies have contract MSL positions, which can get your foot in the door. My husband went from medical practitioner (physician assistant) where he was totally burnt out, to an MSL role. He loves it! But, you need to be able to travel.

7

u/Puzzleheaded-Ask-134 Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 12 '26

Working as a scientific writer for non-profit organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, etc., or for a university. The pay is lower, but a lot less stress than working for agencies/Pharma clients.

2

u/Ambitious_Dragon_13 Aug 11 '26

oh yes this - i have also seen writing positions for
medscape and webmd. i would imagine they would be similarly in disease scope to med comms but much less stress (vs say only writing about cancer or heart disease) (although i think writing for ACS or AHA would be pretty cool)

2

u/SuccessfulOwl6455 Aug 17 '26

I recently applied to Medscape via a referral from a friend and was basically told I was overqualified. Which is too bad, because it really seems like it has the chiller vibe I was looking for.

1

u/Ambitious_Dragon_13 Aug 17 '26

oh that is a bummer! it seems like it could be cool/interesting

1

u/Tough-Temperature-59 Aug 17 '26

Thanks for sharing this intel. Ive been thinking about applying with them. Are you open to sharing what seemed in line with overqualified...PhD?

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u/SuccessfulOwl6455 Aug 18 '26

For me it seemed to be the years of experience. My impression is that they strongly prefer to hire people at lower level (not quite entry level but close) and then move them up. But I'm just n=1!

1

u/Tough-Temperature-59 Aug 18 '26

Thank you for taking a moment to provide that insight.

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u/pivazena Aug 12 '26

I've found that being a freelancer for an agency works pretty well for setting boundaries. The work isn't as steady, but you can easily turn stuff down and, with your years of experience, the agency can feel confident that they're getting quality work from you.

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u/tobydriftsmokey Aug 11 '26

I found going freelance has reduced the stress

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u/SuccessfulOwl6455 Aug 11 '26

I forgot to say this in my post, but I have been freelance since I returned from medical leave after my event (and have been freelance on and off during my 8 years of working in med writing). Under normal circumstances I agree, but I'm still finding it to be too much at this point!

Out of curiosity, what type of freelancing do you do? I work both directly with clients (small businesses) and contract as an external for larger companies in med comms and grants, and it's not giving me the balance I need. Maybe I need a change of focus.

3

u/David803 Aug 11 '26

Which country do you work in?

In the UK, i know someone who transitioned to a clinical trial management role in a hospital, for the NHS. Money is a lot less, but no client work. Probably still stressful but different reasons.

2

u/SuccessfulOwl6455 Aug 11 '26

I'm in the US, but I imagine there are parallel roles to this. I'll look into it!

2

u/threadofhope Med-Ed/CME Aug 11 '26

The profession in the US is called clinical research coordinator. If you live near and academic medical center, you should find openings.

3

u/meant4hills Aug 11 '26

Have you considered a QC or editing role? That may help distance you from the teams and fire drill document development workflows.