MEET CATARINA SAMORA, MEDICAL WRITER – BIOSCIENCE
LENGTH AT CURRENT JOB: 7 MONTHS
- What does a typical day in the life of a Medical Writer look like? I would say that there is no ‘typical day’ for a medical writer at Edelman. I am involved in multiple projects and work with a range of clients each with their own requirements, so each day poses new challenges and that’s what makes this role so appealing!
- What three skills do you think are essential to fulfil your role? I think that being curious and always wanting to know more are essential skills as you need to keep on top of the latest data available for a given therapy or what is generally happening in a field of research in order to deliver the best possible work. It is also important to be organised but adaptable at the same time as each project has its own demands with different people (and personalities) working on them.
- What do you like best about working at Edelman? There are plenty of pluses about working at Edelman. I think that the main one is being surrounded by very creative and talented people with very different backgrounds. This diversity allows me to have different perspectives and to look at projects in ways that I wouldn’t normally do. Other perks like having your birthday as a gift day or the subsidised massages are not so bad either!
- What are some of the challenges you face in your day-to-day role? Being new to medical communications, I am still learning the ropes. I had to develop many skills in little time, but I always felt that I had all the support I needed. The office is very fast paced so you have to be efficient to be able to keep on top of everything, which also means that I am constantly being given the opportunity to try new things and collaborate with different people, which is great.
- Describe Edelman in three words. Vibrant, challenging and fun.
- What’s been your most memorable moment at Edelman so far? It has to be the day the I started. I didn’t know what to expect but everyone was really welcoming and I was able to jump straight into work. I have been building great memories since, but I think I will always remember my first day with a smile.
- What’s your favourite part of a working day? I really enjoy when we receive great feedback from our clients. I always feel a sense of accomplishment when a client is happy, and it motivates me to keep evolving and delivering the best work I can do. I also really enjoy the start of a new project when I have to research and learn about a new therapy or disease.
- How do you stay motivated? Knowing that Edelman has a reputation for excellence and for always delivering top-quality work is a great drive to keep improving to meet those high standards. I think it helps the fact that we work on very interesting projects and that hard work is recognised and not just taken for granted.
- Did anything surprise you when you joined Edelman? The working culture is great! Coming from academic research where I pretty much managed my own time, I was a bit concerned with how I would fit in office type work, but I was positively surprised by how much weight is put on a healthy work-life balance and wellbeing in general.
- Finally, how do you see your career path developing in the future? I have only been at Edelman for 7 months, but my learning curve has been quite steep so far. I am learning and developing new skills every day, and I’m looking forward to continuing to improve my ability to deliver great work for our clients.