Steve Scott at Media Contacts has chatted with David Jenkins, Principal Medical Writer, AXON Communications.

What attracted you to this career in the first place?

I’ve always had an interest in writing and was looking for a way to do that instead of bench science. After completing my PhD I attended a life sciences careers day and a talk given by a medical writer made the career sound appealing so I investigated more. Also, he showed a photograph of the glider he owns, and I thought ‘yes, I cou

What’s your favourite part of your job?

I enjoy the onsite activities, advisory boards in particular. It’s a buzz to see experts present slides that I’ve helped with at symposia and stand-alone meetings; and you’ll never hear a group of doctors talk like they do at an ad board!

What is the most challenging experience you have faced?

At a standalone meeting a speaker was taken ill at the last minute and couldn’t deliver their talk. We managed to brief and rehearse one of the chairs as a replacement in record time!

What’s the highlight of your career so far?

We had just handed a project over to the client; we had written our section and they were going to take on the next part for budget reasons. The next day they sent it back to us to complete (with more budget) because we had done it so well that they wanted us to continue

Who would play you in the movie of your life?

I’d like to say Mark Ruffalo – I think he did a good Bruce Banner in the Avengers films. As an ex-scientist I’d like to promote a positive image for scientists in the movies!

What’s a typical day look like for you?

Check email, check Outlook calendar, check to-do list, get urgent client request, throw the lot up in the air and do the rest of the day on the fly

What would your key tasks in a typical day be?

As well as my writing work and reviewing work from other writers I may also have catch-up meetings with account teams or line reports. We schedule regular client calls, so they crop up every couple of days or so. I also support recruitment for our department, so it’s not uncommon for me to interview a candidate for a medical writer role, either on the phone or in person. If I’m supporting a new business proposal I’ll fit in some research or catch up with other writers on the RFP team to make sure we’re aligned and not duplicating work

Thanks, David. Have a great day!