Most doctors surveyed say they wish they could leave medicine. But few doctors actually end up leaving. Despite the fact that I have written an instruction book for doctors who want to leave clinical medicine and I run nonclinicaldoctors.com, I still believe that the vast majority of physicians are happier and more productive in patient care, even if the thought of leaving clinical medicine seems appealing once in a while.
 
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you consider whether you really should put some energy into finding a non-clinical job or whether you are more likely to find career satisfaction by remaining in patient care for the long-term.
 
1. What do you think when a young person mentions that she wants to become a doctor?
A. What a smart, ambitious kid! Good for her.
B. Poor kid doesn't know what she is in for.
 
2. If you were handed an offer to go to a committee meeting once a week instead of seeing patients, with no overall change in your reimbursement, what would you do?
A. I would not want to sit through a committee meeting. I would keep my schedule as it is with patient care work.
B. I would grab that opportunity. One day a week of working without demanding patients and medical malpractice risk sounds like a relief.
 
3. If you ran into a patient of yours on an airplane and she enthusiastically greeted you, how would you feel?
A. I would be happy to see that she is enjoying a vacation.
B. I would want to run away- my patients are a pain.

4. If you received a notice that one of your most common patient care encounters required a new change in documentation, how would you feel?
A. Slightly annoyed, but I would learn how to implement the new change as soon as I could.
B. Beaten down, insulted and disempowered. My work is tough enough without additional changes every time I turn around.
 
5. You have been taking care of a patient for 3 years and he is taking a turn for the worse, but his current condition requires a specialist in a different department. How do you feel?
A. I might call the specialist to touch base and I hope the patient and his family are at peace with the outcome.
B. Terrified. I review my charts to make sure there is nothing in his care that I can be blamed for.
 
6. You hear that one of your medical school classmates has retired after writing a best selling science fiction novel. How do you feel?
A. Happy for him.
B. Jealous. I'm not sure when my lucky break will finally come.
 
7. You find out that one of your former colleagues commuted suicide after a malpractice lawsuit. How do you feel?
A. Sad that he couldn't find the strength to pull through.
B. Angry at the world for putting him through that.
 
You see the trend here. If you answered mostly A, then clinical medicine is most likely right for you. But if you answered mostly B, now is the time to start exploring your options. Learn more about non-clinical opportunities here and explore nonclinicaldoctors.com to see how you can plan your transition to make your career more satisfying.

Will you have job opportunities if you drop out of residency?
Residency entails a 3-7 year minimum commitment of training to attain clinical skills and board eligibility.
But what if, after finishing medical school, you decide that you hate residency and want to leave before finishing to pursue another avenue? You will most likely receive a number of different messages from various people.
I have received this question over a hundred times, and I have heard over one hundred different stories of why residents want to drop out.
And I have the answer you are looking for, but it might not be the answer you want to hear. Over the past years, I have spoken to over 30 health care recruiters and I know what they want in a job candidate for a non-patient care position.
The answer of whether or not you should leave residency depends on how you visualize your future. So, you need to ask yourself the following questions.

*Do you want to see yourself practicing medicine the same way that senior level physicians in your specialty practice medicine?

*Do you want to see yourself as a leader in your specialty?

*Do you want to see yourself spending hours working in your specialty, but not as a leader?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you need to stay in your residency to become qualified. Your discouragement is understandable, but dropping out will not help you get where you want to go.
If you answered no to all of the above questions, then move on to the following questions.

*Do you want to see yourself practicing medicine the same way attendings in another specialty practice medicine?

If you answered yes to that question, then you need to develop good relationships with your program directors and transfer into a different residency. You deserve to practice the specialty you want to- and even if you waste a few years of training to get the specialty you want- you will find the extra training well worth it.

If you answered no to all of the questions so far, then move on to the next question.

*Would you like to be a leader in the health care field?

If you would like to be a leader in health care, the honest truth is that you will have a very hard time if you do not complete residency. It is true that leaders in health care can be nurses, PhDs, pharm Ds and MBAs. But the vast majority of non-MD professionals did not leave their own training and are certified and usually experienced in their own fields. I am sure you don't want to hear this, but, completing your residency and not getting your chairpersons mad at you (you will need letters of recommendation) actually puts you on par with non-MDs who are qualified in their own areas.

If you have still answered no to every question so far, then move on to the next question.

* Would you prefer to work as a businessperson, a lawyer, an investor, a journalist, a professional consultant, an entrepreneur or in any other field with little to no emphasis on medicine?

If you answered yes, then leaving residency is probably in your best interest. Residency, board eligibility and board certification will not help you attain these types of positions any more than just having a graduate degree. In fact, this is the only instance in which you will waste time professionally by remaining in your residency. But, be aware that your medical school and your residency will not be helpful in getting you the job you are looking for.

I wish you the best of luck in your future and a long and happy career path.

For more information on how to find a non-clinical job,  see Careers Beyond Clinical Medicine. Find out more about your specific career options without residency here.

I welcome your questions, but I apologize in advance that I cannot always respond promptly due to volume.

I have heard from doctors throughout the country who want to know if the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a necessary pre-requisite for non-clinical positions.

The answer to this frequent question is - sometimes the USMLE helps and sometimes it doesn't. In medicine, the top 3 measures of a physician's value lie in certification, certification and certification. This is especially true in the United States.

What is the USMLE?
You are required to pass parts 1 and 2 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) in order to get your MD degree from a US medical school. And you cannot receive a medical license without passing parts 1, 2 and 3 of the USMLE. The tricky part is that it is recommended to take part 3 of the USMLE after a your internship- and it is getting harder and harder for foreign medical graduates and US medical graduates to match into residency programs in recent years.

More doctors can't match into an internship than ever before, and thus they cannot get a medical license. And some doctors-in-training already know they want out of clinical medicine early in the medical training process. This is where the question of how to succeed without taking the USMLE comes up.
To find out more about 'dropping out' of residency, see here.

Success without USMLE?
I have heard numerous success stories of non-clinical doctors who have reached greater salaries and attained more prestigious professional appointments than clinical practice would allow. And most of these highly successful doctors did not rely on licensure or certification. However, a number of non-clinical entry level positions do require some form of official medical licensure or specialty certification. So the answer is that if you have an opportunity to take licensing exams- don't walk away from the opportunity to take an exam just so that you can more quickly apply for an entry level non-clinical job. If you are a doctor, you know how to pass exams and you know how to score well. Just do it.

If you have a solid non-clinical offer on the table that you don't want to pass up, then it is understandable that you would want to jump at the chance to build your non-clinical experience if your long-term goal is to become a leader or an executive in the non-clinical arena of healthcare. When you have a solid contract in front of you, if you want to take a break from tests and prove your worth in the non-clinical world, by all means go with your gut. Nevertheless, if you have time to study for your board exams while working that non-clinical job, it is best to do both. (I know, this is not what you wanted to hear)

You can only achieve success without the USMLE if you become distinguished enough that companies want to recruit you. However, it takes some time to build such a stellar resume to be recruitable - and sometimes the entry-level and mid-level work that builds your resume does require medical licensure.

Why take the USMLE?
Whether you are an entrepreneurial minded foreign graduate with years of clinical experience overseas under your belt or whether you are a recent graduate from a medical school in an exotic tropical location or whether you are a U.S. graduate who didn't match- the unpleasant truth is that state licensure and specialty certification opens some doors that your MD does not, even if your goal is in non-clinical work.

So the short answer is- if you don't have a non-clinical offer in place, continue to make yourself the most qualified candidate that you can possibly be. And the USMLE is the most recognized way to do that, even for non-clinical jobs. A medical license is required for most non-clinical positions that require chart review or litigation review. If you have your foot in the door to a non-clinical opportunity, follow the path that best matches your long term goals, but keep in mind that most non-clinical positions are not known for being secure.

What if I can't take the USMLE?
If you absolutely cannot take the USMLE, but still want to work, you have to really decide whether you want to stay in the medical field or not. There are other ways to work in the medical field, and becoming an expert in regulatory matters is one of the most powerful steps you can take. Learn more about jobs for doctors without residency or licensing here.

If you are a biology, chemistry or health sciences major with a pre-med mindset in college and then changed your mind, you might feel a bit lost right now. Colleges report that between 45%-65% of entering pre-med freshman are no longer pre-med at the time of graduation.
Students who change their minds about a future in medicine might do so at a number of different stages in the 'pre-med' process. Some students change their minds about a future in medicine right before medical school applications are due, some after acceptance into medical school, and some after starting medical school and realizing that it isn't a good fit.

I feel like a loser
This stage in life is tough if you have already spent years studying science - and you suddenly feel unqualified to do anything. If you are also worried about disappointing your parents who expected you to become a doctor, you might have the added stress of needing to select another path with a 'wow' factor. Another nagging feeling is the feeling that you might always be labeled as 'not being able to get into medical school.' In fact, there are a number of physicians I have interviewed over the years who attended medical school just to prove that they were smart enough to tackle the challenging program.

However, it is important to realize that if your heart is not in it, you are unlikely to be content with continuing in a medical career day in and day out for the next 50 years. There are several good approaches for you at this point. Spending a little time re-evaluating your goals is vital at this stage and can help you decide which, if any, aspects of your undergraduate science education you want to use in your future before you start on your next steps.

There are some key questions you might want to ask yourself at this point:
*Do I want to work with sick people?
*Do I want to study health and disease?
*Do I want to develop patience with people when they are scared?
*Do I want to learn to comfort emotional and agitated people?

If you answered yes to the questions above, you might still enjoy and succeed at a health services career that is not an MD.

Health services careers include:
Dentist (more specialized than an MD right from the beginning of graduate school)
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (similar to MD, but more focus on wellness)
Nurse (very hands-on with patients)
Chiropractor (focus on joint and spine health through hands-on procedures)
Podiatrist (more specialized than an MD right from the beginning of graduate school)
Physical therapist (focus on exercise and rehabilitation)
Physician assistant (can independently see patients and write prescriptions, some specialization)
Dietitian (prescribes caloric and nutritional instructions)
Science PhD (research in the sciences)
Geneticist
Non-health job path
If you answered no to all of the questions above, then a student internship can be a great next step. Even an unpaid internship can help you immensely in deciding whether your 'dream job' (journalist? trader? financial analyst? business owner? designer?) is as great in real life as it sounds.

Whether or not you end up formally using your science degree, having had a STEM major in your undergraduate years will be of benefit to you because of the rigor and the different skills that you need to use to succeed while studying science during college. You still have a world of opportunities ahead of you, and reassessing your plan after 4-6 years as a pre-med will not be as big a setback to you in the long run as it may feel right now!

Solutions Based Approach to Medical Career Problems
It seems to be a recent trend in the media to feature stories of doctors who are going broke, being driven to despair, and quitting what used to be viewed as an altruistic and rewarding profession. The news articles and segments certainly feature accurate depictions of disillusioned and unhappy doctors, but there is more to a medical career than despair.

The practice of medicine, not unlike many professions, is undergoing a transformation. While there are definitely too many unproductive cooks in the kitchen trying to grab a piece of the ever-shrinking healthcare pie, there are other developments in medicine besides the worsening bureaucratic crisis.

Face the Fact that Medicine is Changing
Medicine is also experiencing some positive changes stemming from advances in science, technology, public health and patient knowledge and empowerment. Any doctor who imagines that over a fifty year career in medicine, he or she will not be required to attain new knowledge and skills is in for a very unpleasant reality.

Whether it is adapting clinical practice to constantly improving devices and medical therapeutics or learning to use unfamiliar patient records or dealing with new and often temporary policies on multiple levels, it is the physician who is able to easily adapt and roll with the punches who will thrive.

Changes in rules, regulations and organizational structures of health care will continue to cycle, twist and turn, while the reality of the demand for caring, compassionate and capable doctors will remain constant. The challenge for doctors is to continue to improve competence, always providing the best care, while understanding and, more importantly, taking the initiative, to actively shape and influence the peripheral factors that encompass patient care.

There are ways you can adapt to the changes in medicine without losing your mind!
*Keeping up with regulations is one of the most effective ways to manage a healthcare career. Find out how to increase your regulations know-how here.
*Recognizing that a medical career is a continuum instead of a dead end can help you throughout your whole career path. There is more than one way for a doctor to make a difference.
*Periodically re-evaluating your professional goals can help you redirect your career if necessary.
*Know your options. As medicine changes, it is crucial for doctors tohave a grasp of the range of professional options. You might want to remain in patient care and adapt to the changes in healthcare. Or you might want to leave patient care as you adapt to the changes in health care. Either way, the one factor that will not change is that every doctor must adapt to the changes that are affecting in health care.

Medicine is NOT all doom and gloom. There are solutions for the bumps in the road of a medical career.

Having an online presence is becoming an important part of building and maintaining a professional reputation. For your customers, clients or patients, visiting your website is one of the most important ways they use to 'screen' you to decide if they want your professional services. Constructing a website can be intimidating, but even if you are not experienced with computers, you can tackle it in a few manageable steps. 
 
1. Decide why you want a website. Determine whether the priority of your website is to attract customers to your offline business or whether you want a website for the purpose of interacting with your customers. If you want an interactive website, the process of building the website is much more involved than if you want a website that provides information. A simple informational website may have plenty of material, articles, links and pictures without interactive features beyond a simple email/ contact feature for your web visitors to ask you questions. An interactive website allows visitors to create their own profiles or to order items.

2. Search for a web host. A web host is a service that is already designed to help you build and publish your website. A web host is to a website as powerpoint or prezi or keynote is to a presentation. Popular and easy to use web hosts include weebly.com, wix.com, wordpress.com and squarespace.com among others.
All of these web hosts have easy to understand tutorials for do-it-yourself web builders. The web hosts typically offer a free web building package as well as additional add-ons that you can pay for, such as a domain name or a dedicated email. You will probably find that as you navigate the do-it-yourself instructions, you will get an idea of which web host is more in line with your goals for your website and whether you want to move forward with building your website yourself of hiring someone to do it for you. 
 
3. Decide if you are going to move forward by building and managing your own website or by hiring someone to do it for you. There are an abundance of web designers who you can hire. You might choose someone who is local, or you might even find a web designer by searching online. Often, your web host can provide this service for you at a cost determined by how complex and interactive you want your website to be. 
 
4. If you are going to proceed with the do-it-yourself path of building and managing your website, you need to choose a web host. Typically you can 'buy' different packages from the web host, and most web hosts have a free basic package that includes easy to follow instructions. You can usually upgrade if you want additional features at a future time.

5. The next step is choosing a domain name. This would be ‘yourwebsitename.com.’ Your domain name is going to be on your business cards and on your social media links, so think about this carefully. It should be easy to remember, but also specific enough that it describes the feel and purpose of your website accurately. Thinking through this step may take you longer than any other step. If you change your domain name at some time- whether it is 3 months or 3 years from when you publish your website, old links using your previous domain name will not work anymore, and that could have a significant impact on your website traffic and on your credibly if people try to search an old link and reach a page that says, 'this page no longer exists.'
Registering a domain name requires a fee that must be renewed every year, and you should be able to find simple instructions for registering a domain name through your web host
 
6. Build your home page using the web host’s template for a home page.  A home page features your website title and a description of the website. Your home page is the page that people reach using your web address, so this will be your most visited page. Your website visitors will use your home page to decide whether they want to learn more and whether your business is right for them.
While templates are available, you do not have to use them- you can be more creative and build pages from scratch or even code your own pages if you want to.
 
7. Additional pages can follow a web host template, and each page has its own title that is part of the web address for that particular page. For example, an additional page web address would be 'yourwebsitename/ournewfeatures.com.' Additional pages may follow a simple page format with information and pictures or may follow a blog format, which features articles and pictures. As with the home page, you can opt out of pre-designed templates and create your own set-up or program codes for special features if you are skilled at coding.
 
8. Graphics should follow a similar theme and color scheme throughout the whole site. Graphics are extremely important to website visitors, as they relay a powerful message about you and your business. You can usually use graphics provided by the web host or you can upload your own photos.

9. Marketing your website may be important if you need to get your website ‘out there’ as a destination. If your site is primarily playing the role of serving existing customers, then you probably do not need to focus on marketing your site. But if your website is one of your marketing tools for bringing in new customers, then you need to have a marketing strategy. Sharing your site or sharing articles from your site in special interest groups or on your social media channels are some of the ways to build traffic. Collaborating with other websites that are similar or complementary to yours by guest posting can also help build cross-traffic. For example, if your site is relevant to the content on nonclinicaldoctors.com 'the truth about medicine' or 'what doctors want patients to know,' submitting an article can help drive traffic to your own site. 
 
10. Revenue tools include negotiating with individual businesses to advertise on your site or signing up for advertising collaborations such as Google AdSense or Amazon.com, among others. If you want to use advertising collaborations such as Google or Amazon.com, you need to apply to become an affiliate before they accept your site for their targeted advertisements.
If your website is accepted as an affiliate, you will receive your own code that you can place on your website so that you can feature targeted advertisements on your website. Your own web host will have a special tool that looks like something this < > for you to put into your web pages in order to place your designated codes for your ads. Then, depending on your traffic, you will earn revenue that can range from pennies per day to thousands of dollars per day, if many visitors come to your site and stay on the site.

This means that if your site is not useful, or if you have a title that promises more than it delivers, visitors will only stay on your site for seconds and will not return or recommend it to others. So of you want to earn revenue from your website, the number one method of doing that is by having good content that is relevant for your readers.

Do you think you can be a good mom and a good doctor?

Being a doctor and a mommy sounds like a great combination. However, recent polls suggest that the reality can be much different. It should come as no surprise that physician mothers of young children are more likely to feel torn between home and work than mothers of teenagers or young adults. Nevertheless, most successful physicians who are mothers of older kids did not suddenly get there overnight. They were, at one time, mommies of babies too! Mom MD's of older children often have good advice to share. However, one of the comments that I have heard from physician-mothers of older kids is that it seems to be getting harder to manage the combination of parenthood with being a physician than it used to be. Some of the reasons that maintaining a clinical practice while raising a family is so difficult for moms in recent years is that some things have changed with the times while other things haven't.

Some Things Have Changed...
Licensing and board certification exams
The years in your life when you are studying for certification exams are often the same years that you find yourself sleepless with young babies and sick kids who wake up at all hours of the night. This makes it tough to carve out dedicated study time in between work and caring for your family, much less to concentrate on studying during that time. On top of all this, re-certification is a new requirement that is more time consuming than ever before. 

Documentation
Paperwork and regulatory requirements require a different mindset than patient care and take your focus away from your core duties as a physician. The threat of being accused of improper billing if you forget to hit 'save' on just one of your EMR notes is enough to make you double and triple check everything you do. While that level of compulsiveness is admirable, we are trained as physicians to be compulsive in checking patients' electrolytes and medication doses. This reality of additional administrative/documentation responsibilities divides physician attention at work.

Some Things Haven't Changed...
Persistent gender roles
Dads want to be equal partners at home. While modern dads have made great strides in caring for young children, the work environments of modern dads have not caught up with the 2 working parent reality. Most workplaces of today are not any more accommodating of a dad's participation in child care than workplaces of the past. In fact, many would point out that the demands of high powered positions and mid-level jobs provide tenuous job security and are more stringent than ever, making it scary for fathers to request flexible schedules in order to share responsibility for kids in a 2 parent working family.

You can make it work
Regardless of the factors sabotaging mommy doctors, there are numerous ways for physicians to balance work and family. As you evaluate your future goals as a physician, know that you have unlimited options and that nothing you aspire to is out of reach. Leaning In is not only about working as much as you can. It is about making your own work situation work for you.

Business Know-How
Women earn less than men in most professions, including medicine. One of the most important tools you need to have in order to be a better negotiator is an understanding of the economic and regulatory factors that come into play in the world of healthcare. This means diving right in and unraveling the complicated financial matters and reimbursement situation at work. It may take months or even years of 'self study' to understand the complexities of where your value comes from. But, once you master the language and the details of the business of medicine, you position yourself as a better negotiator.

Collaboration
Teamwork is about more than just getting the job done. Being a doctor who is trusted by other physicians and other healthcare providers goes beyond strong patient care skills. We all appreciate camaraderie and we are more likely to work well with others who are gracious and understanding in the work setting, rather than threatening or accusatory. It is a subtle, almost subconscious response to avoid those who are judgmental and hostile. Working well with others while maintaining patient safety is a delicate balance that makes the daily work of a physician smoother.

Keep Long Term Goals in Mind
Being a doctor is a great privilege. Women physicians need to take hold of opportunities to become leaders in health care. The physician career can have many stages, including clinical practice, but not excluding other options such as leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation. Understand that a physician career is a continuum of education, clinical practice, leadership, and creativity. You have the power to take your career in any direction you want to- at any time.

Know Your Options
Physicians have so many career options. Knowing your options is a critical part of planning how to set the stage to reach your goals. And it is an important part of being able to choose the right job without 'settling' for a position that is not really fulfilling your professional and personal goals.

"I can do anything"

I have received this question over 100 times from doctors in the US and abroad:
'I am a doctor looking for a career switch. I can provide medical advice for any company. I can speak, write, advise, and consult. I can do just about anything you need. Can you recommend something for me? I need to continue to make at least my current income.'

I know how these doctors feel. As highly qualified professionals- most doctors really can do anything quite well! I also hear regularly from recruiters who tell me that they can't easily fill well-paying positions. Why are there so many doctors who want non-clinical jobs while there are unfilled jobs? The reason is that doctors and recruiters often don't speak the same language. I have learned that there is a wrong approach to looking for a non-clinical job and there is a right approach. It saves time and agony to stick to the right approach.

Wrong Way
There are no job descriptions for 'a doctor who wants to change direction, great pay.' Recruiters are very specific in their needs and they are never looking to pay someone to give medical advice. One of the first questions recruiters ask is, 'do you know someone who is a good fit for this position?' The wrong way to transition out of clinical medicine is to look for, ‘anything else’ without specifying what it is that you are looking for. If you state that you can 'do anything' (especially that you can provide advice) you are less likely to be taken seriously than if you are specific and targeted in your approach.
Managers and recruiters try to avoid hiring people who seem like they want to 'get away' from something. Ironically, expressing too much flexibility in your job search can backfire.

Right Way
The right way to obtain a non-clinical job is to
1. Honestly evaluate your goals and professional priorities
2. Study your options and narrow down your choices to the type of jobs that match your professional and personal objectives. Finding the right fit is the most important part of landing the right job. Doctors who are changing direction need to reevaluate their goals before, not after, they start looking for the right non-traditional job.
Each type of non-clinical job requires a different approach. Before applying for any non-clinical position, you should become familiar with the work environment, typical salary, expectations, and, of course, the best approach for finding a job that specific field. Find the salaries of the most common non-clinical jobs in Careers Beyond Clinical Medicine and learn how to become qualified for the most common non-clinical jobs here. You could sabotage yourself by offering to do 'anything' or 'provide advice'. You can use Careers Beyond Clinical Medicine to find more detail about how to effectively tailor your job search for the job you really want. This will give you a huge advantage.

Q: I am about to finish my Internal Medicine training and I want to try to find a non-clinical job. I am not sure that will work out, so I am concerned that if I ask for recommendations from my attendings, they will see me as less dedicated to clinical medicine, and I will lose my chances at good recommendations for clinical jobs if I need them.

A: You don’t need to worry about your attendings seeing you as less dedicated if you ask for letters of recommendations for more than one job or for more than one type of job. It is typical and in your best interest to evaluate several options before you accept your first job offer. Unless you have specifically heard your attending criticizing a particular work environment, you should not worry. However, sometimes it can be best to ask an attending who may have observed you in one setting (as a senior resident on the wards for example) recommend you for one type of position while another attending who has observed you in another setting (presenting grand rounds) recommend you for another type of position. An important factor to keep in mind is that regardless or whom you list as a reference, future employers are more likely to call their acquaintances in the department where you are doing your training- even those who you have not listed as references. Good luck.

What are the qualifications to become a medical writer?
The majority of these jobs do not specifically require an MD, but they often require subject matter expertise, such as a graduate level or undergraduate degree in the health sciences. Subject matter proficiency beyond the stated job requirement is not necessarily an advantage.
The most important criterion that you will be evaluated on when you apply for a job as a medical writer is the demonstration that you can write for the publication’s target audience. In other words, if you want to get a paid job as a health or wellness writer for a public audience, you will be asked to submit writing samples that have already been published in order to show your writing style. Getting your first few writing samples published is a crucial step in this process because your written pieces are the most important part of your application. If you are considering applying for a medical writing job at some point in the future, it is worthwhile to work on building a portfolio that includes at least a few published writing samples in advance. 
If you want a job editing scientific manuscripts or medical textbooks or journals, you should begin by authoring several peer-reviewed articles as the lead author. If you envision yourself writing health articles for a general audience, you can start by submitting articles to blogs, websites and magazines.

How can I get a job as a medical writer? 
There are 2 ways to get a paid position as a medical writer.
1. Applying for a job
2. Being recruited for a job
 
Most professional publications use recruiters who find prospective authors who have experience in writing. Some publications list job openings for medical writers and editors on their websites under ‘employment’ or ‘jobs.’. Another method of finding job openings is by searching job sites. Publishers who hire health writers are typically flooded with applications for the positions they list on job sites, and therefore they screen for the best applicants by evaluating applicants’ published work. 
 
How should I send my writing samples?
It is a good idea to construct a CV than you can use when you apply for writing jobs. Even if you have strong articles that prompt a recruiter to initiate contact with you, you will be asked to submit a CV if you are interested in pursuing the job offer. You can place links to your writing samples right on your CV under a heading ‘selected publications’ or ‘writing samples,’ along with the title of the article. This makes it easy for senior editors to see your articles and to get a feel for your writing style. Because there are so many applicants for medical writing jobs, positions fill quickly. Therefore, it is best to have your CV ready and waiting for an opening so you can send it right away when you see a posting for a writing job.
 
Building your writing sample library 
A number of websites accept submissions for consideration. The health and wellness websites and blogs that you read will often accept submissions from health care professionals. To submit an article to nonclinicaldoctors.com, send your article here.  Some guest written articles include How to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain and Hiding Veggies in Your Kids Food.
See tips about how to write health and wellness articles here.