Yasmine S. Ali, MD, MSCI, FACC, FACP
Medical Writing Coaching for Physicians
from
The Most Experienced Physician Medical Writer Offering Comprehensive Writing Coaching Services for Physicians
If you’re looking for a 6-figure nonclinical career that offers:
- Financial freedom
- Location independence (so many flexible, work-from-home options!)
- Escape from burnout while still using your medical expertise
You’d be right to consider medical writing! But how do you break into this highly competitive field? How do you ensure that your medical degree and your expertise as a physician are valued by potential clients or employers? And can you replace your clinical income?
YES, all of this is possible, because I’ve done it myself for decades! Let me show you how.
And if you’re already giving medical writing a shot, but you’re struggling to find clients and build your business, I’ve been there too. With 35 years of medical writing experience, I’ve seen it all. Let me help you get unstuck!
Writing Coaching for Physicians, by a Physician
You may be burned out. You may be exhausted by the demands of clinical medicine and the insanity of the healthcare system. I know, because I’ve been there.
Or you may have already taken the leap into the field of medical writing, and are now uncertain how to find clients, maybe even despairing over how to make ends meet and wondering if you did the right thing by pursuing a writing career in the first place.
I know, because I’ve been there too.
And if you’re also like me, you’ve had a hard time finding physician mentors in medical or creative writing, physicians who can give you inside information, tips, and encouragement, and connect you with the resources you need to thrive as a physician writer. A physician who understands what other physicians go through, who knows how to find clients who value your medical degree and your medical training.
I had to learn all of the above the hard way, mostly through trial and error. But you don’t have to.
Let me share the knowledge and experience I’ve gleaned over the past 35 years of medical writing and 40+ years of published creative writing to make it easier for YOU. You don’t have to make the same mistakes or spend the same amount of time I did “learning the ropes,” because I’ve already done that for you.
I can empower you to build a multi-6-figure writing business, to even be able to replace your clinical income, as I have done.
About Me
I’m a cardiologist, award-winning writer and public speaker, and bestselling author with 35 years of experience in medical writing and 40+ years as a published creative writer.
My medical writing and consulting have spanned every major area of the field, including CME, regulatory writing, medical review, health blogging, health journalism, advisory boards, medical communications, medical affairs, peer-reviewed publications, medical editing, strategic planning, clinical guidelines, utilization management, bench-to-bedside research, device-to-market research and planning, sales training, health promotion, health newsletters, patient education materials, chart review, and so much more. I’ve worked with global health companies on 5 different continents, and I’ve been an acclaimed medical educator for medical students, residents, fellows, and attending physicians for 27 years.
I’m also an award-winning poet and essayist, and the bestselling author of Walk through Fire: The Train Disaster that Changed America, a selection of the Network of the National Library of Medicine and featured on ABC, CBS, C-SPAN, and the Southern Festival of Books. My debut novel, The View from the Cliffs, was released in December 2024 to great acclaim, and is now in its second printing. It is the first book under my own publishing imprint, LastSky Books, with more to come!
Whatever your writing and writing-business goals, I’ve seen and done almost all of it now, and I can help you break into the business and empower you to achieve the lifestyle you want and deserve.
I only take physician clients, because I know that our needs and our training are unique!
Photo by the Tennessee State Museum
Accelerate Your Medical Writing Career!
What You Can Achieve with 1:1 Coaching:
By the end of your 1st session, you’ll:
- Have a clear direction for your goals
- Understand what type(s) of medical writing is best for YOU
- Identify your greatest writing strengths
- Get clarity on how much medical writing experience you actually have (as a physician, it’s always more than you think!!), and understand how to define, describe, and market that experience
- Explore whether freelance, employed, or hybrid business models are right for you
- Identify which therapeutic areas will be your focus/specialty as a medical writer, to increase the value of your client offerings
- Get your burning questions answered and demystify the process and business of medical writing
- Have a plan for contacting your first (or your next) high-value client
By the end of your 2nd session, you’ll:
- Know how to optimize your resume/CV for the kinds of clients YOU want to attract
- Understand how to optimize your LinkedIn profile and any directory listings (such as AMWA)
- Have an overview of how to use LinkedIn and other job boards to find clients
- Identify further clients that value your medical expertise
- Get my honest assessment of your current writing portfolio, and create a plan to build on it
With each successive session and email support in between, you’ll:
- Gain the confidence to conquer imposter syndrome
- Build the essential infrastructure for your medical writing business and career
- Unlock access to the clients who value you as a physician
- Improve your medical writing skills
- Learn how to use new and evolving tools (such as ethical use of AI, citation managers, PubMed searches, etc.) to increase your productivity and your value as a cutting-edge medical writer
- Get insights from an industry veteran (with 35 years of medical writing experience!)
(Coaching sessions or packages are often tax-deductible as a business expense–be sure to consult your tax advisor. And if you didn’t already know this, then insights like this alone are worth the cost of coaching!!)
Success Stories
Recent physician coaching clients have accomplished the following in accelerated time (less than 6 months!):
- Polished resumes that WORK for landing the right medical writing clients
- LinkedIn profiles that attract high-value clients–so the right clients find them
- Increased visibility to attract clients online and at conferences
- Beautiful, professional websites that act as client magnets and set these physicians apart as experienced, serious medical writers
- An understanding of their value in the medical writing market: all of my physician coaching clients, every single one, had underestimated how much medical writing experience they actually had. We are often able to add YEARS of legitimate medical writing experience to their resumes and profiles. They just hadn’t realized that it counted as medical writing. One physician added 14 years to her resume after our very first session!
- Guidance on the daily tasks and operations of running a medical writing business–the practical nuts and bolts
- Knowing where to find new clients–how to conduct successful warm and cold outreach (in less than 2 months, clients often add 3-4 new clients and are waiting to hear back from at least half a dozen more)
- Improved writing skills for their chosen medical writing area of interest (e.g., needs assessments, health blogging, medical review, manuscripts, regulatory writing)
- Publication of their first blog posts
- Learning how to handle and identify less-than-ideal clients
- Improved time management, since medical writing and running a medical writing business (even if you’re employed as a medical writer) is very different from the patient-care environment
- Learning business development skills
- Understanding which social media channels are best for them, and how to handle social media contacts and connections to avoid time wasters and filter out scammers and spammers
Testimonials
Make this your most successful medical writing year to date!
Tired of “almost” reaching your goals, or “almost” getting started? Don’t let this be another year of “almost”! Let me help you. Get started on the path to success today!
Coaching Offerings and Packages:
Single 1:1 Strategy Session – $799
- 75-minute Zoom session (or phone, if you prefer) to get clarity on direction, explore medical writing as an option, or identify any major problems with your current medical writing business and brainstorm solutions.
- Can be credited toward a coaching package purchase (see below) within 30 days of your strategy session.
- Best for: physicians who are uncertain about medical writing as a viable career option, who are in the exploration phase of nonclinical careers, or who feel stuck in their current medical writing business or creative writing efforts.
Premium 1:1 Package – $3,499 or 2 payments of $1,899
- 5 x 60-minute, 1:1 Zoom sessions within 4 months
- Complimentary access to Dr. Ali’ “Introduction to Medical Writing” online course
- Email support between sessions and continuing for 30 days after the last session
- Resume/CV review and optimization
- LinkedIn profile optimization
- Directory listing review (e.g., AMWA)
- Website review and design input
- 5% OFF renewal, any package
By the end of your 1st session, you’ll:
- Have a clear direction for your goals
- Understand what type(s) of medical writing is best for YOU
- Identify your greatest writing strengths
- Get clarity on how much medical writing experience you actually have (as a physician, it’s always more than you think!!), and understand how to define, describe, and market that experience
- Explore whether freelance, employed, or hybrid business models are right for you
- Identify which therapeutic areas will be your focus/specialty as a medical writer, to increase the value of your client offerings
- Get your burning questions answered and demystify the process and business of medical writing
- Have a plan for contacting your first (or your next) high-value client
By the end of your 2nd session, you’ll:
- Know how to optimize your resume/CV for the kinds of clients YOU want to attract
- Understand how to optimize your LinkedIn profile and any directory listings (such as AMWA)
- Have an overview of how to use LinkedIn and other job boards to find clients
- Identify further clients that value your medical expertise
- Get my honest assessment of your current writing portfolio, and create a plan to build on it
With each successive session and email support in between, you’ll:
- Gain the confidence to conquer imposter syndrome
- Build the essential infrastructure for your medical writing business and career
- Unlock access to the clients who value you as a physician
- Improve your medical writing skills
- Learn how to use new and evolving tools (such as ethical use of AI, citation managers, PubMed searches, etc.) to increase your productivity and your value as a cutting-edge medical writer
- Get insights from an industry veteran (with 35 years of medical writing experience!)
You can recoup the cost of this coaching investment with your first freelance project!
Advanced 1:1 Package – $8,499 or 3 payments of $2,999
- 7 x 60-minute, 1:1 Zoom sessions over 6 months
- ALL of the benefits of the Premium 1:1 package above, plus:
- 3 manuscript/article/blog post reviews and feedback
- List of high-value clients and industry contacts in your area(s) of medical writing
- Guest posting opportunity on my blog–published on my website and added to your resume and portfolio of writing samples
- 5% OFF renewal at any level
Elite 1:1 Package – $9,999 or 3 payments of $3,499
- 9 x 60-minute, 1:1 Zoom sessions over 8 months
- ALL of the benefits of the Premium and Advanced 1:1 packages above, plus:
- Up to 5 manuscript/article/blog post reviews and feedback
- Introductions to high-value clients and industry contacts in your area(s) of medical writing
- 2 guest posting opportunities on my blog–published on my website and added to your resume and portfolio of writing samples
- Done-with-you portfolio building
- Review of draft emails to potential clients (warm and cold outreach)
- Business development strategy
- Master an essential new skill in your area of medical writing, such as needs assessment writing, under my supervision
- 10% OFF renewal at any level