I am happy to let you all know that I have officially landed my first freelance writing position! I will be writing both the cover story and special feature for each issue of a local physician magazine here in Southern California. The magazine is a national publication with regional distribution (I would compare it to how the Real Estate Book is released), and there is a new issue each month. Basically, I will be traveling to different locations throughout the county to sit down and conduct interviews with physicians or group practices on a variety of health topics including upcoming clinical trials, new surgical developments, unique approaches to medicine, and state-of-the-art treatments. All of the work of securing interviews and arranging meetings is handled by my publisher, so I can really focus on conducting a good interview and creating some great content for the magazine.

It seems that, no matter how hard I try, or how much I convince myself that I am out of medicine, I somehow keep finding my way back, lured by the promise of new technology and more information to digest. I know my medical experience is what landed me this job, and I really need to embrace this side of myself and use it to my advantage.  The work I do for this magazine will not only challenge my present abilities and demand better and better writing, it will also allow me to gain some (much needed) exposure in the literary realm. I still have a deep love and respect for the practice of medicine, and I am very excited about this opportunity to stay current with medical trends, and keep my medical terminology fresh.  This may prove to be the final kick in the bum that sends me over to either the journalistic side of myself, or firmly plants me on the path toward graduate medical education.

I turn down one medical-related job, and another, more relevant opportunity appears; pretty strange coincidence for someone that does not believe in coincidence.

June 1st, 2008 | Freelance Writing, The Office, Employment