Capstones to Careers: Keeping Up with Patrycja Wojcik

Patrycja Wojcik is a Medical Writer at Educational Resources Systems Inc., and an alumna of the M.H.Sc. Medical Genomics program at the University of Toronto. She completed her four-month MedGen capstone practicum in Genome Analysis at McMaster University and learned from this experience that she enjoyed science communication the most, pushing her to redirect her focus toward a career in medical writing. Prior to joining the writing team at Educational Resource Systems Inc. in October of 2022, Patrycja was a Medical Writer at IC Axon – learn more about her experiences here, check out Wojcik’s Capstones to Careers feature from 2021!

Reflecting on her headspace at the time of graduating the Medical Genomics master’s program, Pat notes: “looking back on it now, I think I would have preferred to take a bit of a break between graduating and starting a full-time job.” Wojcik continued, “With school, you always have assignments following you around. With work, […] it took me a while to learn that the moment five o’clock hits, I have nothing to worry about until nine o’clock the next morning.” She feels fortunate to have an amazing manager at ERS who really takes the time to address her needs proactively. Wojcik emphasized open communication, providing a recent example of how she video chatted with her manager to join a client call; because of the string lines of communication at ERS, she felt confident connecting with the client directly to receive information firsthand and avoid miscommunications.

Although still in the onboarding stages of her new role, Patrycja finds the work environment at ERS to be welcoming and collaboration-focused: “There is a great sense of camaraderie and teamwork. Everyone’s helpful whenever I have questions - so it’s very much team-oriented, which I really enjoy.” Wojcik’s role at ERS is very research-focused. She mentioned her “strong passion for writing and research” as the driving force behind her medical writing work. Typically working with biotechnology companies and pharmaceutical clients, Patrycja’s projects often involve designing workshops for new drug launches or creating training materials for sales representatives. She notes, “completing a project for a big biotech company is a really great feeling.” From handling the project outline, to communicating with the client, to designing the modules, her role is very involved: “building a project from the ground up or being part of a project that’s a new launch is exciting. As a writer, that project becomes kind of like your little baby.”

For prospective students considering the Medical Genomics master’s program, its non-thesis-based structure and variety of courses offered were the main motivators cited by Patrycja. She gave special mention to the practicum placement at the end of the program’s second year, saying how she’s “seen it work well with business students and engineering students [who] get really great networks and job offers out of [their placements].” Pat offers the following advice: “If you want to work in a position for a year and get experience, and then decided it’s not for you, that’s okay too!” She emphasizes following your curiosity.

We are grateful to have caught up with Patrycja and wish her all the best at ERS moving forward.