Introduction to Medical Writing.

Abstract

Three forms of medical writing are of special importance, because each may be written by any doctor—teacher, consultant or general practitioner. They are (1) the report of research; (2) the case report; and (3) the M.D. thesis. Experience shows that both papers and theses are hard to write, however able the writer may be from the professional or scientific point of view. It may therefore be helpful to discuss the different aims and structure of papers and theses and the best ways of tackling them. It should be easy to apply the general principles to other forms of medical writing, such as annotations and book reviews; although short, these are no less hard to write. Writing a paper or thesis is the last stage of a research or study of some kind, and the value of the report will depend partly on the work itself, partly on the way it is presented.