The New Face at mdBriefCase!

Hey there blog readers!

My name is Kristen Husack and I’ll be parachuting into mdBriefCase for the next few weeks! I’m excited to receive the torch that’s been passed along by previous students and experience a whole new non-direct-patient-care facet of pharmacy!

As this is now my second non-direct-patient-care rotation, I've already gained a glimpse of the value pharmacists can offer in non-traditional roles. Prior to this year, I was not aware of the various opportunities in which pharmacists can become engaged and exercise their expertise.  I am therefore eager to discover how pharmacists can contribute to the continuing education landscape at mdBriefCase!

Some things about me: I’m a bookish pharmacy student by day and ultra-artist extraordinaire by night. Ultimately I would love to find a way to combine these pursuits; I hope that a non-traditional role, such as the one I'm currently filling, will bring me closer to my goal. 

Stay tuned for more posts! Happy holidays J.

Kristen

Tips and Tricks for Creating Continuing Education Content

I am at the tail end of my rotation at mdBriefCase and it has been an amazing experience. Developing content for the Pharmacy Student eNewsletter (sent to your inboxes last week!) and the Pharmacy Corner program on medSchool For You exposed me to the world of medical writing.

I learned that continuing education material can have important and relevant information, but if it is not created in a way that engages and appeals to the readers then the information can be lost. While still very far from being an expert, I did learn a couple of approaches and techniques that help engage a reader.

4 Tips and Tricks for Continuing Education 

Think like your reader

Make sure your reader can understand what you're writing by tailoring your language to the target audience. This is especially important when writing for patients as common medical terminology for you may be foreign to them.

Fluff is your enemy

Always remember that it’s quality over quantity and ensure that all text is relevant. If it doesn't add to the reader’s knowledge then feel free to toss it out the door.

Tables, lists, diagrams, oh my!

It's easy to get lost in a sea of words, adding tables, lists, or flowcharts will decrease the amount of text and reduce the chances of lengthy paragraphs. It will also organize content in a way that is visually pleasing and easy to follow for the reader.

HAS-BLED, FAST, SIGECAPS

You have likely heard of these acronyms before and they act as a great memorization aid. If you have a list of important risk factors or red-flag symptoms, consider creating an acronym. Readers find value in acronyms as it gives them an easy way to remember important, and sometimes lengthy, lists.

I have learned a lot at mdBriefCase. From how a program topic is selected to final tasks before a program goes live, I have a new found appreciation of all the work that goes into creating a continuing education program. At the end of the whole process, the result is a masterfully crafted program. Participate one of the programs on rxBriefCase to find out for yourself.