Before writing your first article, conduct an informal ‘patient interview’ with a non-medical friend or family member.
Step 1: Choose a medical topic you plan to write about (e.g., high blood pressure, sleep apnea).
Step 2: Ask them: ‘What would you want to know if you were just diagnosed with this?’
Step 3: Write down their exact words. Those are your article’s guiding questions.
Step 4: Check — does your planned outline actually answer what they asked?
Coursera Inspiration: This mirrors the ‘Empathy Map’ tool used in the Stanford d.school
Human-Centered Design course (available on Coursera). Great preparation for patient-centered writing.
