#MedCommsDay 2023
Meet Julia Painter
Julia Painter is a Senior Account Director located in the UK. Julia has been at OPEN Health for just under 6 years.
An interview with Julia Painter, Senior Account Director
In this interview, Julia shares her passion for making a meaningful difference in patients’ lives, her experience with some impactful projects, and her approach to implementing client strategies.
What motivated you to pursue a career in Med Comms, and what keeps you engaged and excited about your work?
I joined the medical communications (Med Comms) industry straight after graduating university with a degree in biology. Honestly, I think like most people, I didn’t really know that Med Comms existed. I knew I wanted to work in human medicine and do something worthwhile that could make a difference to people’s lives. I very luckily stumbled across a Med Comms graduate scheme online and the rest is history.
I love that every day is different, the industry and therapy areas are constantly evolving, and I get to work with a group of extremely smart individuals, who I am forever learning from and who are all motivated towards the same goal of improving patient health outcomes.
Are there any projects or campaigns of which you are particularly proud?
I have worked on countless projects that I’m extremely proud of. The ones that stand out are always the ones in which you can see a real difference in how healthcare professionals’ understanding impacts their practice and, ultimately, improves patient outcomes.
Last year, we delivered a Nutrition in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) workshop for one of our clients, in collaboration with SMA Europe. All of the attendees said that the workshop enhanced their understanding of nutritional care for people with SMA, and a report is in development that details the steps the community must take to address patients’ unmet needs. I’m really excited to see the lasting difference those changes could make for people with SMA.
As a Senior Account Director, what approach do you take for implementing client strategies?
We follow the OPEN approach:
- OBSERVE — obtain information about the strategy, the audience needs, and the landscape
- PLAN — make decisions about content, channels, and the metrics for success
- ENGAGE — take action and roll out the plan
- NURTURE — refine the plan, correcting course where necessary and strengthening successes
I think the biggest challenge is clients not involving us early enough in the development of their strategies. All phases are important, but OBSERVE is really key as it informs everything else. This phase often happens before we are looped in, or not enough time is given for us to complete it thoroughly.
Can you tell us a little bit about how you build a strategic partnership with your clients?
The first step is developing chemistry, honesty, respect, and trust, all of which need to go both ways. After that, it is about showing the client that we can add value to their strategy, not just at the planning stages, but throughout the year. The wonderful thing about Med Comms is that therapy areas do not stand still; the landscape is constantly evolving, so our strategy needs to live and evolve with it.
One of my (many) role models at OPEN Health once told me that being strategic is about asking questions. We don’t need to have all the answers, it’s about asking those probing questions to discover the strategic journey that we want to take together.
What do you think is the key to a long, successful career in Med Comms?
Well, I am only 6 years into my career, so my journey is just beginning and I’m not going to pretend to know everything. I think the key is being open to change, constantly striving to learn, and always bringing everything we do back to the patient.