‘A year in the life of a med comms graduate trainee – from education to employment’
27 August 2024
There are three career pathways at Wave: writing, editorial and client services. Our graduate trainees are able to try out all three paths during their onboarding, enabling them to gain confidence within the med comms industry and a full understanding of successfully managing a project.
At Wave, we are committed to help support our graduate trainees smoothly transition into working life. We caught up with two of our team members who joined Wave as graduates in 2023 to hear what it’s been like starting their careers in medical communications. Rasnika excelled in client services during her onboarding and is now an Account Executive. Phoebe found that she preferred to create content so transitioned from client services to writing and is now an Associate Medical Writer.
Both Rasnika and Phoebe share their thoughts on their first year in med comms below.
What about your role do you find most interesting?
On a micro level, thinking about the day-to-day role, it is so rewarding to watch projects transform from a seed of an idea, to delivering the end result and being the main point of contact for the client as well as the internal team to make sure it is delivered efficiently. Looking through the more macro lens, the most interesting part of my role is working to gain a holistic view of a therapy area and use that to educate or challenge healthcare professionals and work to deliver a clinically relevant therapy strategy with the hope to ultimately inform clinical practice. – Rasnika
I enjoy working on creative projects, like animations or websites. It can be a challenge to make the information as engaging as possible without losing any key messages, but it’s worth it to see the final product. – Phoebe
What kind of projects do you work on?
The benefit of working as an account executive across multiple accounts is that it has allowed me to be involved in a variety of projects – from big medical education face-to-face meetings, congresses, symposia and webinars, as well as supporting our internal client team with strategy meetings and training decks. – Rasnika
I’m part of a team that works mostly on digital projects, providing educational content for doctors and nurses online. However, across Wave, I’ve been involved in content for webinars and meetings, amongst others – there is always something to get involved with! – Phoebe
What project(s) are you most proud of?
Looking back over the year, the project that makes me feel the proudest is my first ever project, an advisory board – a meeting designed to collect advice from healthcare professionals to address an unmet need. It was so rewarding to see all the team’s hard work pay off! More recently, I feel proud to have project managed mostly independently. On reflection, it’s great how much I have progressed in nine months – I feel all that I’ve learnt during the grad scheme has really been cemented. – Rasnika
I am most proud of my work on projects involving global medical experts; their insights on the disease and treatment are so valuable, so I am glad that we can disseminate these to a wider audience. – Phoebe
How has Wave helped facilitate your move from education to employment?
From my very first day, Wave has been patient in understanding this is my first job. Every team I have worked with has taken the time to explain anything I may not have understood, as well as checking in with me regularly to make sure I was comfortable with each task set. The way the grad scheme has been set up really helped me to understand how all cogs of the business work; from stints with the editorial and writing team, to gaining confidence performing finance tasks and working with more senior team members to explore business development and wider strategy pieces for several accounts. Everyone, no matter how senior, is approachable and encouraging. – Rasnika
Wave’s graduate scheme was a great way to start in med comms; I enjoyed the opportunity to try out different aspects of each role, which helped me to make decisions about what I wanted from my career. I liked starting in a small close-knit team too, as it was easier to learn from others and I could take responsibility for projects at an early stage. – Phoebe
How do you feel your role matters in med comms and the wider industry?
Although we don’t have regular contact with patients, the potential life-changing impact the therapies we work on could have drives the work I do. I always describe my job as the behind-the-scenes of the frontline of medicine – working with pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals to form part of the wider effort to improve patient outcomes is incredibly motivating. Coming from a family of doctors, it’s nice being able to say I teach healthcare professionals! – Rasnika
Our role matters because we are responsible for providing clear, relevant, and accurate information to doctors and patients. The way we present this information could have an impact on a doctor’s treatment decisions and, as a result, the outcomes for their patients. – Phoebe
Wave is dedicated to help our graduates realise their full potential. The work we do in each career path is essential and rewarding, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes.
Look out for our next graduate assessment scheme later this year.