As a physician for four decades, I’ve worn many hats. From a busy Family Practice office, to an occupational medicine clinic (workers’ comp) to onsite health centers in local industries.
Then a medical school mentor called and asked, did I know how to use a computer? That call launched my thirty-year career as a medical director starting at Anthem. The job there led to other positions writing and publishing medical policies, performing utilization management/ utilization reviews, and working with many insurance companies, reinsurers, lawyers, and Medicaid programs.
A huge reader since childhood, I worked in our public library starting in junior high. I once mentioned to my AP English teacher that while I was headed to medical school, I’d rather be an author.
She advised, “Go to med school, authors never make any money!” (Hmm. Tell that to Drs. Robin Cook, Michael Crichton, Michael Palmer, Tess Gerritsen, Anton Chekov, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Kaled Hosseini.)
When my now-grown daughter was little, that urge to write fiction just refused to go away.
An original member of American Christian Fiction Writers, I’ve been privileged to help many fabulous fiction authors along the way with their medical scenes. I had an added advantage of being a writer and understanding how scenes and characters need to be constructed.
I’d be happy to help you as well. My presentations for writers groups and conferences, Novel Malpractice, and a brand-new talk, Historical Novel Malpractice – for all you historical writers, are aimed at providing an easy educational source for writers to get valuable medical information in a format they understand.
If you have a topic you want discussed, or need help with a medical scene in a book, just email me!