There is a ceramic mug on my desk that reads, Feel free to get to the point.  If people had subtitles or hashtags – this would be mine.  Even now I’m resisting the urge to bullet-point.  

What qualifies me as a Medical Writer?  A career in the healthcare industry both on the front lines of patient care as a Registered Nurse (RN) and for the last 15 years as a Healthcare Executive.  As a Healthcare Executive there are ongoing opportunities to hone my persuasive writing craft:  proposals for new programs, applications to government agencies, proposals for new service lines and pitches to purchase new equipment.  

What I learned:   1.  the better written proposal wins, and 2.  simplicity is a competitive advantage. 

Simplifying complex concepts into plain English is my favorite sport and superpower; it’s a bonafide hobby.  How can I make this concept simpler and more understandable?   How to reframe this idea to generate enthusiasm?  Refine.  Refine.  Refine.  These are the things that take up rent in my head.

As a Grant Reviewer for U.S. Health & Human Services (HHS), Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) and a Grant Writer for a federally funded program, I know what a successful response to the federal government requires.   

What motivates me is meaningful work.  My career in medicine has been spent in the specialty of solid organ transplant – both on front lines as an RN and for the past 15 years as a Healthcare Executive.  After years witnessing the life-changing impact of organ donation at work I decided it was time to walk to talk.  June 2010 I donated a kidney to friend, Risa Simon.  Both donor and recipient are doing fabulous and every year we celebrate a kidney-versary.  

Education:

• Master’s Degree – Clemson University
• Bachelor’s Degree – Lynchburg College in Virginia

Other:

Currently reside in Northern California (NorCal) and adapting to the local vernacular.  I learned that hella is: a) a word and b) used as an adjective.  Synonym:  very.  Used in a sentence:  The farm-to-fork food scene in Sacramento, CA is hella good.  I live in Sacramento, CA with husband, Ron, mother-in-law, Anna, and a mixed terrier rescue named Scruffs.  I have a real last name that starts with the letter B, Bein, which my husband’s family pronounces “bean”.