Medical Writing Mini-Test Series

I created a medical writing test series to help aspiring and early-career medical writers gain exposure to different deliverable types. The main goal is to build confidence by overcoming the common challenges of writing tests for interviews and preparing portfolio samples. I also hope this experience supports a smoother transition into a medical writing career.

The tests provide an opportunity to produce a complete deliverable. However, full-length tests can be time-consuming. To make this process more accessible, I’ve developed shorter “mini” tests designed to take about 3 to 6 hours each.

These mini-tests are adapted from full-length writing assignments I previously completed as examples. For each test, you’ll receive an incomplete version of one of these examples and be tasked with completing it.

I offer one free mini-test review with one round of feedback per person. You can send your completed draft to nhbowens@asapmw.com for feedback. For additional feedback or coaching, please see my coaching tiers.

Mini-Test 1: Promotional Medical Education/Sales Training. Create a storyboard for sales representatives. I’ve provided an outline with references and a storyboard table that includes selected graphics. The trainee’s task is to review the references, draft voice-over text, and align that text with the predesignated image frames. This material is intended to provide guidance and reduce some of the upfront work. However, trainees are not required to use the provided content and are free to take a different approach if they prefer.

Mini-Test 2: Publication Planning/ Abstracts and Conference Presentation. Create an abstract for a congress. I selected a clinical trial with posted results and copied and pasted all the relevant content from clinicaltrials.gov along with a few notes. I also provided an outline for trainees to follow when preparing the draft. In this test the trainee is tasked with using the data from the copied relevant content and converting it into a complete abstract using the outline. 

Mini-Test 3: Medical Journalism/ Clinical Updates. Write a news piece on a recent publication. I’ve provided an outline that explains the structure of the news piece and highlights the main points from the publication for each section. You may follow the outline or take a different approach if you prefer. Reading the article is optional, but a link to full text is provided if you want to.

Disclaimer: Mini-tests provided through this program are for practice purposes only. They cannot be submitted as portfolio pieces, because approximately 50% of the work is my own.