Types of medical writing and teaching of writing in U.S. medical schools

Abstract

U.S. medical schools were surveyed to determine which types of medical writing are most important for physicians, house officers, and medical students to learn and whether such types are formally taught. According to the responding schools, the five most important types were: write-up of the patient history and physical examination, progress note and discharge summary (tied), peer-reviewed published paper (of either clinical or laboratory research), and grant proposal. Certain types, however, were considered more important for some categories of physicians and trainees than others. Although these major types of writing represent complex and diverse writing tasks, they are not taught extensively in medical schools or thoroughly explained in the literature on medical writing.