How to Weave Medicine into a Dedicated Writer's Life with Dr. Andrew Wilner - 075

First Become a Full-Time Medical Writer

Andrew Wilner has always been a dedicated writer. He has also been passionate about medicine. And he wanted to pursue both.

Writing has been a part of his life since high school. After medical school and internship, Andrew became an emergency room doctor while trying to decide the next steps for his career.

dedicated writer and author — Dr. Andrew Wilner

Using the flexibility that came with the ER job, Andrew continued to write. And that temporary ER job “was actually locum tenens. I never knew of it as such,” said Andrew.

It not only allowed him to write books and continue his clinical work, but it helped him discover an interest in neurology. This led to his applying for a neurology residency at McGill University in Montreal. He was later accepted to the program and eventually completed an epilepsy fellowship at McGill.

Medical Writing vs. Scientific Literature

In Andrew's opinion, there's not much “literature” in the scientific literature. Writing a scientific paper is just a skill and “pure drudgery.” It’s not a creative endeavor. But writing for online journals, news outlets and blogs requires a creative mind, and satisfied Andrew's need to write.

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Writing About Epilepsy

As an epilepsy expert, he wanted to write a book about epilepsy, so he published Epilepsy 199 Answers: A Doctor Responds to His Patients' Questions, in 1996.

What is epilepsy?
Is it contagious?
What's an EEG?
Can I drive a car?

Later, he wrote a book for clinicians, Epilepsy in Clinical Practice: A Case Study Approach.

While between jobs, he started doing interviews at conferences writing news articles for written publications. He found he was quite good at it, sometimes turning a 3-day conference into twenty or more published articles.

He developed relationships with editors. As the Internet exploded, he wrote blog articles and news stories for online publications such as Medscape, KevinMD and Neurology Times. He had to hustle and write a lot but was able to earn a living writing.

He transformed his blog posts into his first non-epilepsy book, Bullets and Brains. It opens with an essay about the impact of a brain injury on the life and career of a very capable, high-performing congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords. She was shot in the brain. And Andrew explored the idea that “bullets and brains (obviously) don't mix.”

Andrew’s Attempt at Work-Life Balance

With the growth of the Internet and the ability to work remotely as a writer, Andrew decided to travel. “One of my passions is scuba diving, so I went off to the Philippines. I discovered that I could sit there with my little laptop and I could write my articles,” said Andrew.

However, he had to consider whether he wanted to “retire” from clinical work permanently. He found that as he distanced himself from the clinic and seeing patients, his knowledge became less relevant, and he became less desirable as a speaker.

I think if you've been a dedicated clinician, taking some time off is only a good thing.
Andrew Wilner

So he decided to give clinical practice another shot. After writing for a living for ten years, he made a decision to return to clinical practice. It wasn’t easy, not because he had forgotten anything, but because the system wasn't flexible.

“It was very difficult. I was a little rusty. But, it's like riding a bike. I think if you've been a dedicated clinician, taking some time off is only a good thing,” said Andrew.

He had difficulty obtaining malpractice coverage. But a small hospital desperate for neurology coverage helped him return to clinical medicine by arranging temporary supervision that demonstrated his competence to practice.

He then sought to balance his clinical work and medical writing. He started by pursuing locum tenens positions. In the process, he began a whole new chapter of his life. And it eventually led to publishing another book.

That's the first half of my interview with Andrew Wilner. Next week we'll pick up here and talk about his experiences living the “locum life,” and how those experiences inspired him to write his latest book The Locum Life: A Physician's Guide to Locum Tenens.

Thanks to our sponsor…

Thanks to the UT Physician Executive MBA program for sponsoring the show. It’s an outstanding, highly rated, MBA program designed for working physicians. It might be just what you need to prepare for that joyful, well-paying career. You can find out more at vitalpe.net/physicianmba.

I hope to see you next time on the PNC Podcast.

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Disclaimers:

The opinions expressed here are mine and my guest’s. While the information provided on the podcast is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, there is no express or implied guarantee that using the methods discussed here will lead to success in your career, life or business.

Many of the links that I refer you to, and that you’ll find in the show notes, are affiliate links. That means that I receive a payment from the seller if you purchase the affiliate item using my link. Doing so has no effect on the price you are charged. And I only promote products and services that I believe are of high quality and will be useful to you, that I have personally used or am very familiar with.

The information presented on this blog and related podcast is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only. It should not be construed as medical, legal, tax, or emotional advice. If you take action on the information provided on the blog or podcast, it is at your own risk. Always consult an attorney, accountant, career counsellor, or other professional before making any major decisions about your career.

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