Writing with emotional intelligence
Justine Garner is a medical writer and copywriter who’s been successfully providing her services as a one-woman business for over 5 years
Hi! I’m Justine (she/her).
I’ve been a professional medical writer and copywriter for about 10 years in total and 5 years on a freelance basis. I write marketing and educational content for clients in Canada and abroad (including the USA and Europe).
I’m also skilled at adapting Global advertising tactics for the Canadian market, ensuring that those tactics comply with Canadian advertising regulations.
Here’s my story.
Writing supported me financially through grad school.
As I was completing a research project for my master’s thesis at McGill University, I had to come to terms with a personal shortcoming that would be a major hindrance to attaining any further opportunities in academia: I was not good at lab experiments, and I also did not enjoy them. Fortunately, I had a knack for writing compelling scholarship applications — which, funny enough, kept funding my ineptitude at lab work — and so that’s how I chose my career.
For context, during my studies, I was awarded 9 scholarships totaling $111,200 in funding. I also completed my program with one publication in the journal Biology of Reproduction.
My agency job taught me that I love business.
I then started as a Junior Medical Writer at an agency in Montreal that specializes in marketing pharmaceuticals. Within 4 years, I became the Lead Medical Writer for 9 of the agency’s clients, including brands owned by Novartis, Pfizer, AbbVie, Otsuka, and Lundbeck.
I was also involved in business development. One day I found myself in San Francisco, helping to pitch the agency for new business, and I thought, I like this! Pitching myself and my abilities is now everyday work for me. I’ve worked with numerous agencies in Canada and abroad, a non-profit, and a medical device company in Switzerland. References available upon request.
I have a principled approach to writing and business.
I’m committed to my personal and professional values, which include:
Integrity: I’ll only work on a brand if I believe in the product.
Credibility: All claims must be supported by credible data from reliable sources.
Honesty: People have a right to make informed decisions. I do my best to present information in a complete, accurate, and balanced fashion.
Empathy: I believe the reader’s opinion matters. There is no point in producing something that doesn’t put the reader’s interests first.
I spend some of my free time volunteering.
In my community of Guelph, ON, I am a volunteer at Homewood Health Centre, a hospital that is a leader in Canada for providing mental health and addiction care. I also serve on the Board of Trustees at The Elliot Community, a not-for-profit residence for seniors offering four levels of care and accommodation. Through the American Medical Writers Association, I help monitor discussions on the AMWA Engage forum to identify opportunities for AMWA to provide value to its members. I enjoy making positive contributions to my community and online network of medical writers.
