Medical Affairs and Scientific Communications Forum

Audience expectations and understanding of common terms, like “narrative” or “story,” vary across different groups, complicating the role of the medical communicator. This session will review how an awareness of rhetorical strategies and the function of stories can improve the quality of medical communications, and earn the reader’s trust. The speaker will illustrate how specific concepts like “practical wisdom” (phronesis) and “applied knowledge” (techne), which were first described by Aristotle, can carry over into today’s medical communication practice, from medical writing through to scientific communications. Using specific examples from regulatory documentation and biomedical publishing, the speaker will discuss how guidance documents that set the tone for “practical wisdom” and an awareness of the narratives different groups bring to medicine can promote the best application of knowledge to reach different audiences, such as regulators, health care providers, and the public.