Your Clinical Lens, The Clarity Funnel, Stop Waiting For Inspiration & More

Konnichiwa, Doctor & Writers,

Welcome to the 13th edition of the newsletter.

This week, we're exploring how to transform your expertise into written content that educates, engages, and empowers your audience.

Today at a Glance

Question: What's Your Clinical Lens?

Quote: On The Power of Refinement

Framework: The Clarity Funnel

Idea: Don’t Wait For Inspiration

Video: Bridging Medicine and Literature

Question: What's Your Clinical Lens? 

You have a unique viewpoint shaped by your experiences in clinical practice.

Think of this as your “clinical lens”. These are the insights you've gained from years of patient interactions, diagnoses, and treatments that those outside the medical field cannot access.

This week, ask yourself:

What's my clinical lens?

It could be the look in your patient's eyes when they hear a diagnosis or even a deep appreciation you have for the resilience and strength of the human spirit.

Whatever it may be, remember that it’s your personal connection to the practice of medicine, and it’s what sets you apart. However, that connection only comes to life once you get comfortable observing your lens, describing it in words, and sharing it with the world.

So, find that perspective.

Highlight it and let it guide your writing.

The world needs to hear your experiences, in your voice, filtered through your unique clinical lens.

Quote: On Daring To Simplify

The lesson: You’re surrounded by complexity in your day-to-day work. However, the real skill lies in distilling these complexities into something anyone can understand. It takes time and effort to refine your thoughts into concise and impactful words. Rather than overloading your writing with unnecessary information, focus on readability and keep each sentence crystal clear. Simplifying isn’t about saying less, it’s about making the complex memorable.

Framework: The Clarity Funnel

Let’s dive a bit deeper into clarity.

One of the biggest challenges with writing is keeping things simple. When explaining complex topics, many doctors hide the true meaning behind their words with long winding sentences, boring ideas, and worst of all, hashtags or emojis. And that’s where this week’s framework comes in: The Clarity Funnel.

It’s a straightforward method to help you eliminate distractions and be certain that your writing is clear and easy to understand:

1. Start Broad:

Start by collecting everything that comes to mind on your topic and create a rough first draft. Don’t filter—just let the ideas flow. Pull from your notes, favorite articles, or videos. The key is to get comfortable making a mess without worrying about style or structure.

2. Filter for Relevance:

Once you have your rough draft, it’s time to identify and filter out what’s unnecessary. As you read, ask yourself, Does this support my main point? If it doesn’t, cut it. You should only keep the ideas that directly contribute to your core message. This is a great way to break through the habit of over-explaining or going into unrelated details.

3. Sharpen The Axe

Finally, refine the remaining content. Break long sentences into shorter ones. Simplify complicated language. Read your work out loud and look for any discrepancies as you speak. Your goal is to make sure each sentence is easy to understand, relates to your main point, and directly contributes to the reader’s understanding. Once you’re done refining, ask a colleague or non-expert to read your work. If they understand your message easily, you’ve hit the mark.

Idea: Don’t Wait for Inspiration

If you’re waiting for inspiration, you’ll be waiting forever.

Inspiration comes after you write, not before. It’s much like waiting for the perfect conditions to go for a run. If you keep standing by, you’ll never end up leaving the house.

The trick is simple: don’t wait for inspiration, and instead, create it.

Build the habit of writing without expectation. Write even when you’re not “feeling it.” Write even when you have no specific topic in mind. Write even if you have just a few minutes before bed or during your commute. What you put on the page doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to exist. Because once the words flow, the ideas will soon follow.

Video: Bridging Medicine and Literature 

Here’s an 8-minute video that exemplifies all five of this week’s ideas in a heart-rending fashion.

The late Dr. Paul Kalanithi, author of the best-selling When Breath Becomes Air, walks us through his unique perspective on time as he transforms from doctor to patient. 

Keep tissues handy.

Alright, that's all for this week. 

Remember: clear thinking becomes clear writing.

Keep it simple. Keep it human.

If you have any thoughts, questions, or topics you'd like to see covered in future editions, just hit reply. We're here to help.

Happy writing!

— Adi and Pranav