As a doctor you will be confronted with different writing tasks: grants, case reports, letters. But what if you don’t know how to write?

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I had classmates who studied medicine because they don’t like to write. Their writing skills were barely good enough to take a multiple choice test..   But what can you do to improve your writing skills?

First you have to understand that nobody was born with this skill. Sure, there are writers who are more gifted than others. But even the pros had to start some time.

Writing is a skill that you have to learn step by step and practice it.

So here are my three strategies:

1. Read as much as you can. Find journals in your field and read them on a regular basis. Pay close attention to the structure of the articles.

2.Take a writing course: There are many courses available. Check out the courses at your hospital or your university. If it costs money, so be it. This is an important investment in your career. (You can ask your boss for a subsidy. If you advance your writing skills, he will profit from that as well. But the University of Stanford offers a FREE writing course. I took it and can only recommend it. Check it out here.

3. Start practicing: Look out for interesting cases in your working place and start with a case report. Find colleagues, who published a lot and ask them for honest feedback.

Question: What’s your best strategy to improve your writing skills? Leave a comment!