A variety of backgrounds, a unified purpose

For MedComms day 2019 Bedrock asked our staff about their journey into the world of medical communications.

What did you do before you joined MedComms?

I was a Post-doctoral Research Fellow working on Duchenne muscular dystrophy in the Department of Human Anatomy and Genetics at the University of Oxford. I didn’t know anything about the MedComms industry until I saw a job ad in the back of the New Scientist that sparked my curiosity!  – Emily Howman, Scientific Services Director

I was managing creative, working in music, book publishing and tech sectors, doing UX and UI design, digital creative and branding. I’d also spent some time working freelance, which gave me a lot of variety.  – Keith Blues, Design Manager

I worked in all sorts of jobs...insurance broking, travel journalism, investment banking, a stint at the Houses of Parliament…my favourite was being long-haul cabin crew!  – Emily Sowter-Bell, Principal Medical Writer

Before discovering MedComms I completed a PhD in Microbiology at King’s College London. Looking back, I wouldn’t say I was the biggest fan of actually being in the lab, but I loved the desk research and really enjoyed writing up my thesis.  – James Davies, Principal Medical Writer

I was working in consumer advertising doing telly ads. I did some consumer healthcare stuff and found it fascinating.  – Amy Downes, Account Director

I worked in Frimley Park Hospital as a healthcare assistant. I was in the Coronary Care Unit, looking after patients who’d had heart attacks.  – Victoria McAnerney, Account Executive

How did you get into MedComms?

I was already working in communications, but my work evolved to include health clients and from general comms to corporate, PR, health and then MedComms…  – Meg Morgan, Strategic Solutions Director

I went on a date with an MSL! The date didn’t work out, but it prompted me to learn more about the industry; eventually I decided to make the leap and I haven’t looked back since.  – Krish Kapoor, Medical Writer

After 13 years in pharma, much of it working closely with agencies, I took the opportunity to use my skills and experience to change direction and knocked on Bedrock’s door.  – Vanessa Hollis, Business Support Manager

After working in marketing for a well-known pharma company, I was looking for a new challenge. I had always enjoyed working with MedComms agencies and thought I’d give it a go on the “other side”.  – Stacey East, Senior Account Manager

I’d heard a lot about Bedrock, and once I met David and the team, I knew it would be well-suited to my passions and approach.  – Keith Blues, Design Manager

After completing a degree in Health Psychology, I always knew I wanted to work in healthcare, but working as a Healthcare Assistant in a hospital wasn’t what I wanted to spend my life doing. I started looking into various options, and found out more about our industry. I undertook a 6-week internship in healthcare PR for an agency in London – and my career in MedComms launched from there.  – Victoria McAnerney, Account Executive

What do you love about MedComms now you’re here?

The diversity of the different therapy areas, teams and challenges that I get to work on. Being able to work with clients to help them deliver their plans successfully.  – Stacey East, Senior Account Manager

I love that there’s loads of variety, across disease areas, or the kind of materials we work on – every project is something new! And compared to lab work it’s really speedy, which I find very satisfying. I also think I’ve been really lucky to work for three great agencies, with amazing colleagues, and on a lot of interesting projects.  – Krish Kapoor, Medical Writer

I’ve worked in MedComms now for nearly 8 years. The variety of projects is what keeps the role exciting. I’ve had the opportunity to work on the production of two short films and I get to meet interesting and inspiring people all the time, it makes doing this job so worthwhile both from a personal and professional perspective.  – Katie Penfold, Account Director

Bedrock has an innovative approach to medical communications, which is really refreshing. The sky-is-the-limit approach to any task as well as the family feel makes it a lovely place to work.  – Laura Carswell, Account Director

The people I work with. Everyone is so passionate about doing the very best for our clients, which is really refreshing. Everyone works as one team and supports each other to achieve our goals. We also have a lot of fun both inside and outside of work.  – Vanessa Hollis, Business Support Manager

MedComms represents the perfect mix of creativity, science, strategy and communication. I also love the variety this career offers: I’m able to get involved in a huge range of different types of projects – from fictional films to sales aids – across a number of therapy areas. This means I never stop learning, and each day brings new challenges and opportunities to explore!  – James Davies, Principal Medical Writer

I love that I’m designing for a purpose, it feels really worthwhile. It’s very satisfying seeing the difference you can make in communicating such vital information.  – Keith Blues, Design Manager

Whether it’s scientific rigour, marketing know-how, or creative flair, Bedrock combines experience and insights from a wide range of backgrounds to imagine, create and deliver innovative solutions to any problem in healthcare communications.

Learn more about Bedrock, who we are and what we do at: https://bedrock-health.com/