5 Types of Medical Freelance Jobs

Jul 12, 2022

medical freelance jobs

In 2020, 40% of healthcare professionals were working on a freelance basis. This number may surprise you, but many medical practitioners are beginning to realize the perks of a freelance career over a traditional nine-to-five job. 

And if you’ve come this far, it looks like you may be one of them! There are some excellent perks associated with a freelance medical career.

Keep reading to learn more about five different kinds of medical freelance jobs. 

1. Freelance Medical Writer

Perhaps it sounds a little vague, and you may find yourself wondering what a freelance medical writer does. But as a medical writer, you’ll be providing a vital service to doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. 

Your main duties will include writing and keeping track of patient information. You may also be tasked with creating or overseeing the creation of medical pamphlets, or social media pages. Freelance writing is an excellent source of income for many people. 

You’ll also have the unique opportunity to learn on the job, as you will be involved in writing and editing educational documents for the medical practice you choose to work with. These could be materials such as speeches or briefs for medical conferences.

As a medical writer, newsletters and journal articles will also fall under your care, so if you have the writing skills plus the medical knowledge, this could truly be the role for you. 

Now, it won’t all be fun and games. It’s important the content you create is accurate, well-referenced, and meets a high standard of both writing and up-to-date medical information. 

The team you work with needs to know they can trust you with the material they need, so you must market yourself as a hard-working, enthusiastic medical writer. 

2. Medical Courier

As a medical courier, you will be offering clinics, hospitals, and other medical centers the chance to have their inventory accurately monitored.

And you will provide them with any items, medicines, or equipment they need to keep up to date with patient care. So, it is a very important role. 

You’ll need to be able to offer transport of required items, so it’s likely you’ll need a driver’s license. Along with this, you should have a decent sense of direction to ensure you are meeting deadlines and are consistently punctual with delivery.

You may even get the opportunity to work with device sales. There are endless possibilities for this role. 

One of your most important duties will include keeping track of all relevant medical documentation associated with the equipment you’re using.

Safe storage for the goods you’re transporting is an absolute top priority, as is the verifying of where and when you dropped items off. 

It’s a great career if you enjoy driving, seeing new places, and meeting new people. You’ll also never be short of work, as medical facilities require new equipment all the time!

3. Contract Physical Therapists

The world is always in need of physical therapists, as they provide an empathetic service that can truly heal and rehabilitate those with injuries. 

As a contract physical therapist, you’ll offer people with muscle injuries, bone damage, and spinal issues specific movements and exercises to aid in their recovery.

You’ll get to know your patients on a personal level, and work with them to develop an outline for their treatment that works both for them and for you.

There is also great freedom associated with this particular role. You could find yourself working with schools, sports teams, and other varying positions that will always keep you active in your work. 

You’ll have the freedom to choose your hours, and be able to build a working plan around your life that leaves plenty of time for you too. 

4. Physician Assistant 

In this role, you’ll work closely with doctors and other high-ranking senior medical practitioners to make sure their important work runs smoothly. This is often a great role for graduates seeking to develop their knowledge of a working medical practice. 

You’ll have varying tasks to perform depending on what your employer requires. But your duties could include helping with physical exams and lab work based on patient samples.

You may also be taking on patients with long-term illnesses who already have a treatment plan in place with the physician you’re working with. 

It’s truly an excellent role to take on if you’re seeking to learn and expand your knowledge. Medical research could also fall under your duties, giving you plenty of opportunities to learn. 

You’ll also be a critical part of a medical team. By providing the physician you’re working for with assistance in all general medical areas, you’ll be enabling them to focus on more pressing tasks, leading to faster diagnosis and treatment and better patient care.

5. Nurse Practitioners

This is one of the most rewarding and important careers for anyone with a background in medicine. Nurse practitioners work tirelessly to help patients through their journey with illness and injury. 

Your tasks will be far-reaching. But they may include accurate patient sample collection and labeling, performing examinations as assessed by a physician, and working with patients to develop personalized treatment plans that will get them on the road to recovery as quickly as possible.

You may also be involved with medical transcription, depending on what is required by your team. 

Nurse practitioners work hard to make hospital and medical environments run as smoothly as possible. And there’s no shortage of need for them.

You will more than likely be able to find work wherever you go, making this a great career choice if you enjoy traveling. 

Create Ideal Medical Freelance Jobs!

With the wide range of medical freelance jobs available, the world is your oyster in deciding which route to take. Some may require more experience than others, but a lot are also entry-level and could be perfect for recent graduates. 

Medical freelance work is more important than many people realize. It keeps hospitals and clinics running smoothly. You’ll be offering medical teams a vital service that will ease the burden of work they carry.

In doing so, patient care and treatment can improve, making your role as important to the patient as it will be to you. 

It can be an intense transition to go from full-time medical work to freelance, but the many advantages make it worth it.