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©2023 American Medical Writers Association. All rights reserved.  
ISSN 2163-5315

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ABSTRACT 
In 2022, the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) 
established a taskforce to develop a survey to understand 
the current state of medical writer apprentice programs 
and the desire for a standard framework to help guide the 
development of such programs. The survey was targeted 
to contributors who were actively responsible for leading 
and/or training and developing a medical writing team 
and was administered by using SurveyMonkey. A total of 
78 responses were received, with the largest percentage 
of respondents primarily working in pharmaceutical/bio-
tech/medical device companies (44%), followed by contract 
research organizations (CROs)/medical writing companies 
(23%), and medical writing consultancies (10%). The survey 
revealed that less than half (42%) of survey respondents’ 
companies currently have an established apprentice pro-
gram, and that CROs (73%) and medical writing-specific 
consultancies (57%) were more likely to have apprentice 
programs than pharmaceutical/biotech/device compa-
nies (24%). The respondents also provided details about the 
goals, training styles, structures, and durations of existing 
programs. Importantly, regardless of whether respondents’ 
companies already have an apprentice program, the major-
ity of respondents felt it would be useful to have a stan-
dard framework for an apprentice program either to refine 
existing programs or to develop a new program. Therefore, 
the AMWA Executives Advisory Council established an 
Apprenticeship Framework Working Group to develop a 
standard yet flexible framework for companies to use as an 
adaptable resource as they develop their own apprentice 
programs. The development of this framework is ongoing at 
the time of publication of this article.

Interest in the medical writing profession has increased 
over recent years, with candidates ranging from university 
graduates to those seeking a career change from within or 
outside the health care industry. Furthermore, demand for 
experienced medical writers continues to be very high, with 
the estimated value of the global medical writing market 

forecasted to more than double in the next several years 
(from $3.8 billion in 2022 to $8.4 billion in 2030).1 Novel 
approaches are therefore necessary to sustainably develop 
a pipeline of new talent, and the need for structured devel-
opment programs for new medical writers has emerged. 
Apprenticeships or similar trainee programs have been suc-
cessful for some companies to bring new writers into the 
profession and ensure their development.
 The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) 
Executives Advisory Council established a taskforce in 2022 
to learn more about existing apprenticeships/trainee pro-
grams. The team also sought to determine whether compa-
nies without such a program would find a framework useful, 
should they pursue this option. Consequently, a survey was 
developed to explore the above. The results of the survey 
were presented at the AMWA 2022 Executive Forum to kick 
off a full-day discussion on apprentice programs.2 

SURVEY DESIGN AND OBJECTIVES
The survey was administered by AMWA anonymously 
(respondent and company names were optional) via an 
online platform (SurveyMonkey) and targeted contributors 
who were actively responsible for leading and/or training 
and developing a medical writing team, regardless of the 
types of documents they produced (eg, regulatory, publica-
tions, medical communication). To gain as much informa-
tion as possible, respondents were encouraged to forward 
the survey to other eligible individuals within their organi-
zation. The survey was also posted on the AMWA site and 
promoted via social media. An option to do a brief interview 
with a taskforce member to gather additional details of the 
organization's apprentice program was included at the end 
of the survey.
 Apprenticeships/trainee programs are referred to as 
“apprentice programs” throughout this article and are gen-
erally defined as programs that seek to develop entry and/or 
junior-level medical writers over an extended period  
(>6 months). Training topics for this type of program go 
beyond the standard training program all companies are 

Medical Writer Apprentice Programs: Who Has Them, What Are They 
Like, and Do We Need More? Survey Results From 2022
Kim Jochman,1 Rona Claire Grunspan,2 Jeanette Towles,3 Rona Vasey,4 Linda Yih,5 on behalf of the AMWA 
Apprenticeship Framework Working Group / 1Merck & Co, Inc, Rahway, NJ; 2ICON plc, Dublin, Ireland; 3Synterex, Inc, 
Dedham, MA; 4Trilogy Writing and Consulting, Frankfurt, Germany; 5Parexel International, LLC, USA

AMWA NEWS

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AMWAJournal.org     69Medical Writer Apprentice Programs: Survey Results

required to have in place (eg, to meet Good Clinical 
Practice requirements).
 Recognizing the limitations on respondents’ 
availability for such a survey, we developed a set of 
questions that would capture key points on training 
programs. These questions targeted program goals, 
training topics, methods and structure, training 
source, duration, and whether a standard framework 
would be useful to further develop their program. 
Most of the questions were multiple choice and 
included an “Other (specify)” option where appropri-
ate. The survey also included a checkpoint question 
to direct respondents who did not have an appren-
tice program to a set of follow-up questions regarding 
whether they had plans to implement such a pro-
gram within 2 years and whether a standard frame-
work would be useful as a starting point.
 For those who agreed to follow-up interviews, 
we prepared 5 questions. These elaborated on what 
prompted the development of an apprentice pro-
gram, components of their program, how training is 
structured, and overall feedback or lessons learned. 
After beta testing, the survey opened in late July 
2022 and was available until early September 2022. 
Interim views of the data were done in August to  
confirm adequate participation, and follow-up  
interviews were conducted during September to 
early October 2022.

SURVEY RESPONDENT PROFILE
Among 78 survey respondents, the largest percentage 
noted their primary work setting as pharmaceutical/
biotech/medical device companies (44%), followed 
by contract research organizations (CROs)/medical 
writing companies (23%) and medical writing con-
sultancies (10%). The majority (63%) of the respon-
dents primarily focus on regulatory writing, and most 
(82%) have a role in training and developing medical 
writers as part of their job duties (Figure 1).
 Among 66 survey respondents who provided 
information regarding the approximate number of 
medical writers in their company (excluding contrac-
tors and nonwriting managers), the majority (58%) 
were in departments that have fewer than 20 med-
ical writers, with an approximately equal number 
of respondents from companies with 20-50 (14%), 
51-100 (14%), or more than 100 (15%) medical writ-
ers. Junior-level writers were largely noted to com-
prise up to 50% of the writers in these departments 
(73% of respondents), with some groups having a 
higher percentage of junior writers (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Survey respondents by primary work setting and primary writing focus. 

Figure 2. Approximate 
size of respondents’ 
medical writing teams and 
percentage of junior-level 
medical writers within 
those teams.

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AMWAJournal.org     70Medical Writer Apprentice Programs: Survey Results

 Of note, some companies had more than 1 survey 
respondent; however, it was not possible to identify the 
exact number of companies with multiple survey respon-
dents because the self-reporting of the organization/
company name was an optional question and was only 
completed by 38 of the 78 survey respondents. In addition, 
it is possible that respondents from the same company were 
responding about different medical writing departments 
within that company. As such, all survey responses from 
each company were retained.

WHAT TYPES OF COMPANIES HAVE APPRENTICE 
PROGRAMS?
Of the 66 respondents to the question, “Does your company 
have an established apprenticeship or training program,” 

42% responded “Yes.” The “Yes” responses were summa-
rized by type of work setting, primary writing focus area, 
size of Medical Writing team/department, and percent-
age of junior-level medical writers (Table 1). The following 
trends were noted:

• For the most common types of work settings, CROs 
(73%) and medical writing-specific consultancies (57%) 
were more likely to have apprentice programs than 
pharmaceutical/biotech/device companies (24%).

• Medium (20-50 medical writers) to larger-sized (51-
100 medical writers, >100 medical writers) organiza-
tions were more likely to have apprentice programs 
than smaller organizations (<20 medical writers).

• Medical writing organizations composed of 25%-<50% 
junior-level medical writers were more likely to have 

Number (%) With 
Apprentice Programs

Total Number  
of Respondents  

in Category
n % n

All Respondents 28 42.4 66
Respondents by Type of Work Settinga

Pharmaceutical/biotech/medical device company 8 24.2 33
Contract research organization/medical writing company 11 73.3 15
Medical writing-specific consultancy 4 57.1 7
Research or academic institution 1 25.0 4
Medical communication company/agency 3 75.0 4
Hospital, clinic, other health care facility 0 0 1
Other (please specify) 1 50.0 2

Respondents by Primary Writing Focusb

Regulatory writing 19 44.2 43
Scientific publications (peer-reviewed) 4 40.0 10
Regulatory and communication writing 1 20.0 5
Medical affairs 2 66.7 3
Patient education 0 0 2
Publications for professional audiences 1 100 1
Other (please specify) 1 50.0 2

Respondents by Size of Medical Writing Team/Department
<20 medical writers 8 21.1 38
20-50 medical writers 4 44.4 9
51-100 medical writers 8 88.9 9
>100 medical writers 8 80.0 10

Respondents by Percentage of Junior-Level Medical Writers 
on Team/in Department

<25% 9 39.1 23
25%-<50% 14 56.0 25
50%-<75% 3 33.3 9
>75% 2 22.2 9

aIn order of most to least common work setting.
bIn order of most to least common writing focus.

Table 1. Types of Companies That Have Medical Writing Apprentice Programs

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AMWAJournal.org     71Medical Writer Apprentice Programs: Survey Results

apprentice programs than those with <25% or ≥50% 
junior-level medical writers.

WHAT DO APPRENTICE PROGRAMS LOOK LIKE?
The 28 individuals who indicated that their companies do 
have an established apprentice program were asked fol-
low-up questions to better understand key elements of 
their training programs. Twenty-seven of the 28 individuals 
responded to these follow-up questions.

Goals and Reasons for Apprentice Programs
The primary goal of the majority (74%) of apprentice pro-
grams was to ensure medical writers have the context and 
skills needed to perform the role in the current landscape. 
The most common secondary goal was to expand the medi-
cal writing talent pool (41%) (Table 2).
 In the follow-up interviews, the 8 respondents who 
agreed to participate were 
asked what unmet needs 
prompted their organizations 
to start an apprentice program. 
The majority of the interview-
ees were prompted to start an 
apprentice program because 
they recognized the challenges 
of finding experienced medi-
cal writers in today’s environ-
ment. Interviewees also noted 
the desire to gain additional 
medical writers and to hope-

fully retain new talent by providing them with the tools and 
knowledge to succeed. By developing an apprentice pro-
gram within their organizations, several interviewees were 
looking for gains in productivity and an overall increase of 
job satisfaction within their medical writing teams. Overall, 
the interviewees found the programs very positive in helping 
to resolve their unmet needs.

Training Styles and Content in Apprentice Programs
According to survey respondents, the most common core 
topics included in existing apprentice programs were doc-
ument-specific knowledge (85%) and general writing skills 
(81%). Other core topics included analytical skills, techni-
cal aptitude, leadership/soft skills, and drug development 
knowledge (Figure 3).
 Most of the respondents indicated that their apprentice 
programs utilized a team training approach rather than an 

Table 2. Primary and Secondary Goals of Medical Writing Apprentice Programs

Goals

Number (%) Who 
Selected This as 

Primary Goal
(N = 27)

Number (%) Who 
Selected This as 
Secondary Goal

(N = 27)
n % n %

Ensure writers have the context and skills needed 
to perform the role in the current landscape. 20 74 6 22

Expand the medical writer talent pool. 6 22 11 41

Support and champion the medical writing industry. 0 0 4 15

Development opportunities requested by writers. 0 0 4 15

Other 1 4 2 7

Figure 3. Percentage of apprentice programs that offer specified core training topics.

≥

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AMWAJournal.org     72Medical Writer Apprentice Programs: Survey Results

individual trainer (81%), with a mix of shadowing/coaching 
(93%), lecture-style presentations (85%), and self-learning 
(81%). Training was generally provided by other medical 
writers (85%) and/or medical writing managers (70%).
 Based on the responses from the 8 interviewees, most 
apprentice programs offered a theoretical learning com-
ponent (eg, classroom learning, self-serve online modules, 
workbooks) and a practical hands-on learning component 
(eg, pairing with senior writers as trainers/mentors, coach-
ing sessions). These programs typically start the apprentice 
on authoring simpler document types and progress to more 
complicated documents as they learn. The apprentices typi-
cally receive feedback on performance and evaluation from 
clients, mentors, and management.

Structure and Duration of Apprentice Programs
There was a mix of time-based (26%; apprentices must com-
plete the program in a specified amount of time), competen-
cy-based (37%; apprentices work at their own pace, but must 
demonstrate a certain skill level to progress), hybrid (33%; 
apprentices must meet time and skill requirements to prog-

ress), and other (4%) structures. The majority (67%) of pro-
gram durations ranged from 6 months to 2 years (Figure 4).
 There was a mix of how frequently new apprentices were 
onboarded into programs (ie, on a rolling basis, as a cohort) 
(Figure 5). Twenty-three of the 27 respondents (85.2%) indi-
cated that program participants were brought on as regular 
company employees; the remaining 4 respondents indi-
cated that participants who successfully completed the pro-
gram were subsequently hired into the company as regular 
company employees or were offered a formal recommenda-
tion into a permanent role.
 Notably, 63% of respondents whose organizations 
already have an established apprentice program thought it 
would be useful to have a standard framework in order to 
further develop their program (Figure 6).

WHAT ABOUT COMPANIES WHO DO NOT HAVE 
AN APPRENTICE PROGRAM?
Of the 66 respondents to the question, “Does your company 
have an established apprentice or training program,” 58% 
responded “No.”

Figure 4. Duration of apprentice programs.

Figure 5. Frequency of onboarding new apprentices.
Figure 6. Would a standard framework for an 
apprentice program be useful?

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AMWAJournal.org     73Medical Writer Apprentice Programs: Survey Results

 The 38 respondents who indicated that their companies 
do not have an established apprentice program were asked 
follow-up questions to better understand why their compa-
nies did not have programs. Of these 38 respondents, 33 or 
34 responded to each follow-up question.
 When asked why they do not have an apprentice pro-
gram, more than half (61%) said they lack the resources 
to provide training, and 46% said they have no to very few 
junior-level medical writers to train at their organization. 
However, 21% said their organization is planning to imple-
ment an apprentice/trainee program within the next 2 
years. Most respondents (82%) who did not have an estab-
lished apprentice/trainee program thought it would be 
useful to have a standard framework available to aid future 
implementation (Figure 6).

SUMMARY AND LOOKING FORWARD
The objectives of the survey were to understand how many 
and what types of companies currently have medical writer 
apprentice programs; the goals, training styles, structures, 
and durations of existing programs; and the desire for a 
standard framework to help guide the development or 
enhancement of apprentice programs.
 The survey responses showed that less than half of the 
respondents’ companies had medical writer apprentice 
programs, and that CROs and medical writing-specific con-
sultancies were substantially more likely to have such pro-
grams than pharmaceutical/biotech/device companies. The 
primary goal of the majority of apprentice programs was to 
ensure medical writers have the context and skills needed to 
perform the role, and the most common reason for starting 
an apprentice program was related to challenges in finding 
experienced medical writers in today’s environment.
 Many existing apprentice programs include training in 
document-specific knowledge and general writing skills. 
Notably, less than two-thirds of programs include train-
ing in leadership and soft skills. In a recent survey, teams 
indicated that leadership and collaboration skills were the 
values that they perceive as medical writers’ greatest contri-
butions. However, when medical writers were asked to iden-
tify areas in which they needed more opportunities to learn, 
leadership skills and collaborative skills/diplomacy were 2 
of the most common focus areas.3

 The survey responses suggest that existing apprentice 
programs vary in terms of structure, duration, and how  
frequently new participants are brought into programs.
Of the companies that do not have established appren-
tice programs, more than half indicated that they lack the 
resources to provide training, and 21% said their organiza-
tion is planning to implement an apprentice program within 
the next 2 years.
 Importantly, regardless of whether or not respondents’ 
companies already have an apprentice program, the major-
ity of respondents felt it would be useful to have a stan-
dard framework for an apprentice program either to refine 
existing programs or to develop a new program. As such, 
and in follow up to the discussions held at the 2022 AMWA 
Executive Forum,2 the AMWA Executives Advisory Council 
established an Apprenticeship Framework Working Group 
to create a standard yet flexible framework for companies 
to use as an adaptable resource as they develop their own 
apprentice programs. The creation of this framework is 
ongoing at the time of publication of this article.

Acknowledgments
We thank Julia Forjanic-Klapproth, Trilogy Writing and 
Consulting, and Julia Cooper, Parexel International, for their 
input into the design of the survey and the interpretation of 
the results, and for their review of the manuscript. We also 
thank Susan Krug, AMWA Executive Director, who provided 
significant support setting up the survey and communicat-
ing to survey participants.

Author declaration and disclosures: The authors note no  
commercial associations that may pose a conflict of interest in 
relation to this article.

Author contact: kimberly.jochman@merck.com

References
1.  Medical writing market size, share & trends analysis report by type 

(clinical, regulatory), by application (medical journalism, medico 
marketing), by end use, by region, and segment forecasts, 2022-
2030. Grand View Research, Inc. Published 2022. Accessed March 
1, 2023. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/
medical-writing-market

2.   Mas M, Worley J, Diskin S, et al. AMWA’s Fourth Medical Writing 
Executives Forum: Creating an Apprentice Program to Develop the 
Next Generation of Medical Writers. AMWA J. 2023; 38(2):61-67. 

3.   Harris D, Tyrrell C, Myers A, et al, on behalf of the AMWA Value 
of Medical Writing Working Group. Value of medical writing: the 
regulatory writer’s perspective. AMWA J. 2021;36(4):152-158.

http://www.amwajournal.org
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/medical-writing-market
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/medical-writing-market

	Cover v38 n2
	Contents
	Mission Statement, Masthead
	FROM THE GUEST EDITOR
	THEME ARTICLE - An Overview of the 2022 Update of GPP Guidelines
	THEME ARTICLE - GPP 2022 Update: An Interview with Dikran Toroser
	THEME ARTICLE - A Medical Writer’s Guide: Working on Clinical Research Manuscripts 
	TOPICAL FEATURE - The Business of Medical Writing: Understanding the Value 
	TOPICAL FEATURE - Effective Onscreen Editing: New Tools for an Old Profession
	SCIENCE SERIES
	EVERYDAY ETHICS
	FREELANCE FOCUS
	CE CRAFT CORNER - Continuing Education Writing: Know Your Clinician Audience
	CE CRAFT CORNER - Practical Strategies For Creating CME/CE Content: Insights 
	CONFERENCE-SESSION REPORT: The Backbone of Manuscripts: Supporting Your    Writing with Storytelling
	CONFERENCE-SESSION REPORT:  Journalistic Approach to Writing Better Abstracts
	CONFERENCE-SESSION REPORT: The New Normal in the Medical Publications Sector
	AMWA NEWS
	From the President
	2022 Annual Business Meeting for AMWA 
	AMWA Financial Report, 2021-2022
	AMWA’s Fourth Medical Writing Executives Forum
	Medical Writers Apprentice Programs - Survey Results
	2023 Conference Preview

	CALENDAR OF MEETINGS

