Associate Copy Editor, Medical Education

 

 

Do you have an interest in science and medicine, and are you passionate about effective and accurate
communication? Do your friends ask you to review and edit their important documents? Are you
already a professional copyeditor? If so, then Medscape is in need of your skills.
Medscape Education, a division of WebMD, develops and hosts online portals and related mobile
applications that make it easier for healthcare professionals to stay abreast of the latest clinical
information and earn continuing medical education credits. If you’re looking to exercise your
copyediting and grant development skills with a highly respected medical education company, this
position will allow you to contribute to educational initiatives that make an impact on physicians,
nurses, and other healthcare providers.
 
Responsibilities:

The Associate Copyeditor is responsible for completing editing and writer assistance assignments within
strict deadlines and to the highest-quality standards. Specific tasks include, but are not limited to: 
 EDITING
o Editing medical education grant proposals and other assigned materials
o Ensuring consistency and correctness in spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax, and
usage per AMA and Medscape house style
o Applying judicious edits, as well as offering suggestions for improving clarity, format,
and flow (while upholding the author’s voice)
o Revising scientific language for usage, flow, and clarity, as well as ensuring facts and
data are described accurately
o Revising proposal language to ensure Medscape Education solutions are described and
recommended appropriately
o Formatting reference citations according to Medscape house style (modified AMA style)
o Maintaining friendly and productive relationships with all stakeholders and colleagues
o Conveying edits and queries using a respectful tone and concise format
 GRANT DEVELOPMENT
o Accurately constructing portions of grant proposals with the use of templates and a
“roadmap” for each proposal, ensuring that elements follow internal guidance, and
tactfully working with stakeholders to address any discrepancies
o Incorporating revisions from stakeholders after grant proposal reviews
o Reconcile grant elements against roadmap for accuracy and completeness
 
Qualifications:
 Bachelor’s degree in a life science, English, or journalism, or equivalent work experience
 1 to 2 years of medical/scientific editing experience; recent college graduate with substantial,
formal copyediting experience may be considered
 Prior work in medical education/communications or with a professional medical publisher is
preferred
 Familiarity with medical and/or pharmaceutical terminology and ability to search peer-reviewed
journals and other sources of medical information

 Familiarity with medical/scientific phrasing, nuances, and terminology, including statistical
concepts
 Experience using style guides (AMA preferred) and applying house styles
 Experience with internet technologies, including AI, and online/electronic editing
 Familiarity with PubMed and similar sites to locate scientific publications
 Comfortable with editing in Microsoft Word using track changes
 Demonstrated understanding of editorial processes and procedures
 Solid work ethic and good judgment; finding satisfaction in the promptness, accuracy, and
consistency of your work
 Ability to travel <10% of the time

Preferred Skills:
 Excellent medical editing skills, with high level of attention to detail
 Exceptional focus on accuracy, attention to detail, and consistency of work
 A positive attitude, friendly query style, and ability to prioritize multiple deadlines in a high-
volume environment (and able to proactively assess and inform stakeholders of any delays)
 Ability to identify opportunities to rewrite, as needed
 Ability to collaborate with colleagues and look for ways to assist in the department as a whole
 Comfortable in a deadline-driven environment and able to pivot quickly between tasks
 Excellent time management and organizational skills, with the ability to work on multiple tasks
simultaneously in a deadline-driven environment, while taking into consideration stakeholders
based across multiple time zones, including the UK
 Ability and desire to meet deadlines and deliver results with minimum supervision by creatively
using existing resources in a productive way
 Ability to quickly identify unforeseen issues and seek plausible solutions to ensure that timelines
are met
 Excellent communication (verbal and written) skills
 Excellent computer software skills (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Gmail)
 
Preferred Qualifications:
 Board-certified Editor in the Life Sciences (BELS certification)
 Experience editing medical education materials
 Familiarity with ACCME guidelines a plus
 Experience with web-based document sharing sites (such as SharePoint)
 Experience using web-based project management tools (such as Workfront and Salesforce)