During my 20+ years as a medical writer and editor, I’ve produced
content for organizations such as the American Heart Association, the
Epilepsy Foundation, and Massachusetts General Hospital. My work has
been featured on health blogs and clinical journals, and I received a
journalism award from the International Bureau for Epilepsy.
My path to medical communication was a personally meaningful one, and
it still inspires the work I do today.
content for organizations such as the American Heart Association, the
Epilepsy Foundation, and Massachusetts General Hospital. My work has
been featured on health blogs and clinical journals, and I received a
journalism award from the International Bureau for Epilepsy.
My path to medical communication was a personally meaningful one, and
it still inspires the work I do today.
Medical writing and editing as a personal mission
I've always been a writer and editor, but until about 20 years ago I wrote about computer technology. At that time, when my young daughter developed health issues, I became active in a national advocacy and support organization that asked me to help prepare website and newsletter material. A few years later, the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital invited me to work on content for the department’s patient and family resource center. In addition to helping develop family-friendly material about mental health, I edited a consumer newsletter on cognitive and emotional health. Writing about health was new and immensely satisfying. I'd found my calling.
Medical communication became a full-fledged personal mission when my daughter faced new health issues as a preteen. Her symptoms had no obvious cause, but eventually we learned that the video games she played every day were causing unseen seizures with lingering aftereffects. Reading studies on visually triggered reflex seizures offered hope her health would improve if she avoided video games and other sources of flashing light. It worked, and the improvement in her health was stunning. With screen time rapidly growing globally, I felt an urgency to raise awareness of this risk to public health.
There wasn't much information written for the public about seizures from bright flashes, so I created a blog about seizures triggered by video games. Because I also wanted to reach clinicians so that they might consider hidden seizures as a cause of symptoms in other patients, I wrote evidence-based articles and co-authored papers on video game seizures for clinical publications. My writing about reflex seizures influenced the clinical redefinition of epilepsy in 2014.
Medical communication became a full-fledged personal mission when my daughter faced new health issues as a preteen. Her symptoms had no obvious cause, but eventually we learned that the video games she played every day were causing unseen seizures with lingering aftereffects. Reading studies on visually triggered reflex seizures offered hope her health would improve if she avoided video games and other sources of flashing light. It worked, and the improvement in her health was stunning. With screen time rapidly growing globally, I felt an urgency to raise awareness of this risk to public health.
There wasn't much information written for the public about seizures from bright flashes, so I created a blog about seizures triggered by video games. Because I also wanted to reach clinicians so that they might consider hidden seizures as a cause of symptoms in other patients, I wrote evidence-based articles and co-authored papers on video game seizures for clinical publications. My writing about reflex seizures influenced the clinical redefinition of epilepsy in 2014.
What I do today...
Today, as a freelance medical writer and editor, I work on health blogs, clinical training materials, manuscripts, and other pieces on many topics such as nutrition, medication safety and efficacy, LGBTQ health, emergency care, and substance use disorders. I’m also a member of the Epilepsy Foundation Photosensitive Epilepsy Task Force, collaborating with epilepsy researchers on documents for clinicians and patients. Whether creating or editing copy, I'm committed to editorial excellence and client satisfaction, and I bring a strong sense of purpose to every project.
...can help you change lives
Patients, clinicians, and the public rely on the health information you provide. Place your trust in a skilled communicator with a passion for information that can change lives.
Contact me to see how I can help you.
Contact me to see how I can help you.