Friday, October 7, 2016

Writer's Block is Real

I've been at md/rxBriefCase for a week and a half now and I've  assigned several projects.  Some of the projects I am working on include:
  1. Critical appraisal: Are you ready for subsequent entry biologic insulin?
    • Throughout my rotation, I will be developing a critical appraisal of this program.  I will analyze and review the pros and cons of the program, as well as draft recommendations for improvement.
  2. Content development: Cold sore management
    • After some discussion with my pharmacy mentor (Mike), I decided to write an eNewsletter on cold sore management, as a program recently expired but is a hot topic since pharmacists want to learn more.
  3. Patient information
    • 150 to 200 word patient information summaries on a variety of therapeutic topics
As you can imagine, these projects require a lot of writing.  And, in the past week and a half, I've learned that writing is a huge challenge for me.  It seems I have the tendency to try and make one sentence perfect before I move on to the next. I've also learned that doing so would take too long to complete an assignment.  

I think the most important thing to do is to get ideas on the document and rearrange the format/sentences later.  Even so, getting something down is quite difficult.  

After discussing the issue with my preceptor, she recommended I take breaks and switch between projects.  If I can't think of something to write for one, then I work on a different project. After doing so, I found that I was more efficient. Hopefully, by the end of my rotation, my writing skills will have improved.

That's all for this week.  Tune in next time to see how I dealt with my writer's block!