Drawing from various resources available for medical writing professionals around the world, including the International Council of Medical Journal Editor (ICMJE), American Medical Writing Association (AMWA), and the International Society of Medical Publishing Professional (ISMPP), as well as his own experience, Dr. Abid has designed the MedTrain syllabus to prepare novice clinicians and researchers to achieve the best competence possible in helping them to contribute back to the medical science fraternity.

MedTrain is a comprehensive training program designed to help individuals develop the skills and knowledge needed to become successful medical writers. The program offers a flexible, self-paced learning approach that allows participants to learn at their own pace while receiving guidance and support from experienced medical writing coaches. This program comprises five modules that cover everything from writing original and review manuscripts to technical editing, journal selection, and handling revisions. Through this program, participants can gain the practical experience and confidence required to succeed in the field of medical writing.

Despite the tremendous benefits of contract research organization (CRO) outsourcing in medical research around the world, many of our local clinicians and researchers still argue about the negative impact that this practice might cause to our local fraternity. To quote one of the response that we received, “CRO outsourcing deprives scholars from the arduous process of editorial process, which might be the reason why we have poor quality academic writing in all our Malaysian institutes”. Although comment like this is prone to be anecdotal, it is a comment that should not be taken lightly.

Accordingly, it has become of one our core commitment at MedCentral to provide theoretical and practical guidance on how to become a competent medical writer for young scholars or senior clinicians that want to experience the publishing process hands on. The sessions are based on the different stages of the publishing process, covering both empirical study design and secondary literature review. The details of each of the sessions are as follows:

Medical Writing Coaching Program

Writing An Original Manuscript

Every 1st & 3rd Tuesday & Saturday | 9.00 AM – 1.00 PM

(Registration only. No walk-in)

International Youth Centre, Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur

Evidence-based clinical practice urges the need to procure constant new evidence to support drug evaluation, policy development, and health care delivery design. It is no secret that crafting concise and crucial publications requires an arduous apprenticeship on its own.

This half-day program is specifically designed for those who has completed their study and about to prepare their manuscript. The workshop comprises 1.5 hours theoretical session that covers different types of study design, ICMJE reporting guidelines, generalization of your findings (writing the Discussion), as well as tips and tricks that lead to a publishing-worthy manuscript. This is followed by 2.5 hours of coaching session where Dr. Abid will be available to work together with you on preparing your draft.

Only 10 seats will be available for each session to allow effective coaching session.

Writing A Review Manuscript

Every 2nd & 4th Tuesday & Saturday | 9.00 AM – 1.00 PM

(Registration only. No walk-in)

International Youth Centre, Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur

In the context of evidence-based clinical practice, secondary literatures such as systematic reviews or scoping reviews permits a bird’s eye view towards a particular topic in health care. This allows efficient understanding on the available body of knowledge needed to inform health care stakeholders, namely clinicians, medical scientists, or policy makers, to improve health care delivery.

This half-day program is specifically designed for those working on a review manuscript with an objective to get a minimum viable draft ready, which can be later expanded by you and your research team. The workshop comprises 1.5 hours theoretical session that covers different types of evidence synthesis techniques, critical appraisal know-how, identification of knowledge gaps, as well as tips and tricks that lead to a publishing-worthy review manuscript. This is followed by 2.5 hours of coaching session where Dr. Abid will be available to work together with you on preparing your draft.

Only 10 seats will be available for each session to allow effective coaching session.

Technical Editing & Proofreading

Every Wednesday | 9.00 AM – 1.00 PM

(Registration only. No walk-in)

International Youth Centre, Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur

Manuscript writing is a recursive process. This half-day program is specifically designed for those with a complete draft that requires polishing before being ready for submission. The workshop will start with 1.5 hours theoretical session about different techniques of editing and proofreading, as well as tips and tricks to prepare a submission-ready manuscript. This is followed by 2.5 hours of coaching session where Dr. Abid will be available to work together with you on completing your polished draft.

Only 10 seats will be available for each session to allow effective coaching session.

Journal Selection and Submission

Every 1st & 3rd Thursday | 9.00 AM – 1.00 PM

(Registration only. No walk-in)

International Youth Centre, Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur

Choosing the right journal to be the home of your manuscript will give the necessary exposure and prestige for your study to make an impact. Yet, the submission process can be daunting for novice researchers, and sometimes the senior too. This half-day program is specifically designed with an objective to make the journal selection and submission process less daunting and more triumphant. The workshop comprises 1.5 hours theoretical session that covers publication metrices, different journal formats, reference management, writing cover letters, the editorial process and the peer-review mechanism, as well as tips and tricks that lead to a successful manuscript submission. This is followed by 2.5 hours of coaching session where Dr. Abid will be available to work together with you on completing the submission.

Only 10 seats will be available for each session to allow effective coaching session.

Handling Journal Revision

Every 2nd & 4th Thursday | 9.00 AM – 1.00 PM

(Registration only. No walk-in)

International Youth Centre, Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur

The possible outcomes of submission is four-fold — (1) outright rejection, (2) acceptance with major revisions, (3) acceptance with minor revisions, and (4) acceptance with no changes. Knowledge on the stakeholders of the peer-review process is crucial in managing each of these post-submission outcomes. This half-day program is specifically designed for those who is in the post-submission stage that needs help with addressing the peer review comments. The workshop comprises 1.5 hours theoretical session that discuss different strategy of handling submission outcomes. This include preparing respond to reviewer letter, rebuttal of erroneous comments, handling negative comments, and strategizing study design modification. This is followed by 2.5 hours of coaching session where Dr. Abid will be available to further discuss the revision.

Only 10 seats will be available for each session to allow effective coaching session.