Medical copy editing

Helping to present your message fully, clearly, and accurately

Imagine there was a study published about some huge medical discovery, but it was riddled with spelling mistakes, did not list general study information, or had obvious errors with the basic math. Would you trust the results?

Communication and publication are important parts of the scientific method. Unfortunately many research reports are essentially unusable due to

missing or incomplete information;
incorrect or inconsistent information;
poorly written text; or
poor use of figures and tables.

Not all authors/researchers may have the necessary communication or language skills to present their message effectively. And everyone’s writing suffers after being too close to the topic for a long period of time. The brain ends up seeing what it thinks is on the page, not what is actually written.

The medical copy editor’s job is to make sure that the information presented is reported fully, clearly, and accurately in a way that is appropriate for the target audience, be it health care professionals and researchers or the general population.

Here is where I can help you. Besides my editing training, I have a background in neuroscience/biology and health communication. I also have years of experience in in-hospital research and research with a pharmaceutical company. I am well-versed in the AMA Manual of Style, have statistics training, and have a talent for creating effective tables.

What I love about being a medical copy editor is that I am constantly learning new things and I can keep up on current research, authors are usually very appreciative that I (versus their peers) caught any errors, and--who knows?--maybe someday I will play a small part in bringing a huge medical discovery out into the world!