The Real Reason Medical Professionals Struggle with Thesis Writing

You can prescribe a complex medication regimen without blinking. You’ve mastered the Latin abbreviations, calculated renal dosing adjustments in seconds, and have turned prescription pads (or, let’s be real, e-prescriptions) into an art form. But sit down to write the conclusion of your thesis? Suddenly, your brain short-circuits. You’re staring at the blinking cursor like it’s taunting you. And all you can think is: Why is this so hard?

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone.

Many of us in healthcare—whether doctors, pharmacists, or medical researchers—can navigate dense clinical cases, write SOAP notes like seasoned professionals, and craft treatment plans that impress even the grumpiest consultants. But when it comes to writing the last few paragraphs of our academic thesis? We freeze.

This article dives deep into why writing prescriptions is second nature, while writing a thesis conclusion feels like pulling teeth. We’ll explore the psychological, academic, and emotional reasons behind this paradox—and, more importantly, how to fix it.

Part I: Why Writing Prescriptions Feels Easy

Let’s start with the obvious: prescription writing is a technical skill, honed by repetition and guided by clear rules.

1. There’s a Formula

Every prescription follows a recognizable structure:

• Drug name
• Dosage form and strength
• Route
• Frequency
• Duration
• Notes or special instructions

This structure is universal, predictable, and reinforced throughout your training. You’ve practiced it hundreds, maybe thousands of times. By the time you're a medical intern or a final-year pharmacy student, it’s as automatic as breathing.

2. You’re Trained for Clarity, Not Creativity

Clinical documentation demands clarity, brevity, and zero ambiguity. There’s no room for poetic musings or emotional language in a prescription. You’re trained to write to inform, not to reflect. That’s efficient in a hospital. But it doesn’t prepare you for writing a reflective, narrative-driven conclusion.

3. You’re Confident in Your Knowledge

When writing a prescription, you’re working with familiar terrain: pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, clinical guidelines. There’s little uncertainty. You’ve made the diagnosis. You know the treatment. There’s no imposter syndrome when you’re prescribing amoxicillin for strep throat.

Thesis writing? Whole different game. The terrain is less stable. The conclusions feel subjective. The confidence you have in pharmacology doesn’t always translate to academic rhetoric.

Part II: Why Writing a Thesis Conclusion Feels Like a Nightmare

1. You’re Dealing with Abstract Thought

Prescriptions are concrete. Thesis conclusions are abstract. You’re not reporting facts—you’re interpreting them, making sense of them, and distilling meaning. That requires a shift from analytical to reflective thinking, which many clinicians find uncomfortable.

2. It’s the Final Step—And the Most Emotionally Charged

You’ve spent months (or years) on your thesis. The conclusion isn’t just a summary. It’s your final stamp. Your parting words. Your chance to justify your work and argue why it matters.

That pressure can be paralyzing.

The irony? You probably know what you want to say. You just don’t know how to say it. So you delay, overthink, rewrite the first sentence twenty times, then end up watching YouTube videos about how giraffes sleep.

3. You’re Afraid of Undermining Your Whole Thesis

This fear is common: “What if my conclusion is too weak? What if it contradicts something I said earlier? What if I leave out something important?”

Unlike prescription writing, where clarity is king and every dose is exact, a thesis conclusion lives in the grey area. It’s not about being right—it’s about being thoughtful.

And let’s face it—after weeks of pouring over data, you’re exhausted. You just want it to be done. That fatigue kills creativity.

Part III: Bridging the Gap Between Clinical Writing and Academic Writing

So how do we make writing a thesis conclusion feel less like torture and more like… well, writing a prescription?

Tip 1: Use a Structured Template

Just as a prescription has a format, so does a conclusion. Try this 5-part structure:

1. Restate the Objective – Remind the reader what your thesis aimed to explore.
2. Summarize Key Findings – In plain language, explain what you discovered.
3. Interpret the Results – What do your findings mean in the real world?
4. Address Limitations – Briefly acknowledge the flaws (no study is perfect).
5. End With Impact – Suggest future directions or clinical implications.

Here’s a clinical-to-academic translation:

• Clinical: "Take 500 mg of Drug X BID for 7 days."
• Academic: "This study demonstrated that Drug X, administered twice daily, significantly reduced symptom severity within one week. Future research should explore long-term outcomes in larger populations."

Same brain. Different language.

Tip 2: Think Like a Storyteller, Not a Scientist

Yes, your thesis is academic. But the conclusion is where you become a storyteller. You’re narrating the journey of your research: where it started, what happened, and what it all means.

Don’t just list facts—connect them. Show the reader why your research matters. How might it influence practice? What new questions does it raise?

You’re not just ending a paper. You’re handing the baton to future researchers.

Tip 3: Practice Low-Stakes Writing

To loosen up, write a casual version of your conclusion first. Pretend you’re explaining your thesis to a medical student during rounds or a colleague over coffee.

Example:

“So basically, I wanted to see if using Drug Y could reduce readmission rates for heart failure. Turns out, it helps—but only in patients under 65. I think it’s got promise, but the sample was small. Next step is a multi-center trial.”

Once you write that, it becomes much easier to translate into academic prose.

Part IV: The Mental Blocks That Sabotage You (And How to Overcome Them)

Block 1: “It Has to Be Perfect”

Perfectionism is the enemy of progress. Your conclusion doesn’t have to be the most brilliant thing ever written. It just needs to wrap things up. Aim for clarity, not cleverness.

Reframe it: Think of your conclusion like a hospital discharge summary—summarize, highlight key issues, and outline next steps.

Block 2: “I Don’t Know What to Say”

Actually, you do. You’ve done the research. The knowledge is already in your head—it just needs organizing. Start with bullet points. Don’t aim for full sentences right away.

Block 3: “I’m Too Tired to Think”

Academic burnout is real. Especially for healthcare professionals juggling clinical shifts and thesis deadlines.

Solution: Use the “Pomodoro” method. Write in 25-minute bursts. No editing. Just write. You can polish later.

Part V: Real-Life Examples (From Clinical Minds Like Yours)

Example 1: Pharmacy Graduate Thesis

Topic: Comparing bioavailability of two formulations

Conclusion (Before):
“This study concludes that Formulation A is more bioavailable than Formulation B. More studies are needed.”

Conclusion (After):
“Our results suggest that Formulation A delivers superior bioavailability in vivo compared to Formulation B. This has potential implications for clinical dosing strategies and patient adherence. However, the study’s limited scope necessitates further trials across diverse populations to validate these findings.”

Example 2: Medical Student Thesis

Topic: Early detection of sepsis in the ICU

Conclusion (Before):
“The study helped to detect sepsis early. It was useful.”

Conclusion (After):
“This study highlights the utility of integrating early biomarkers into routine ICU screening protocols to detect sepsis at earlier stages. Early detection correlates with reduced mortality and improved patient outcomes. Larger, prospective studies could help refine predictive algorithms and further reduce ICU burden.”

Part VI: Final Checklist – Is Your Conclusion Ready?

Ask yourself:

• ✅ Did I clearly restate my aim?
• ✅ Did I summarize key findings?
• ✅ Did I explain the implications?
• ✅ Did I mention limitations?
• ✅ Did I end on a strong note?

If yes—you’re done. Hit that “submit” button with the same confidence you feel when prescribing metformin to a newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetic.

Final Thoughts

You're not bad at writing thesis conclusions.

You're just a clinician trained for precision, trying to navigate a world that rewards nuance and narrative. But the skills you’ve developed in prescription writing—clarity, logic, efficiency—can be adapted to academic writing.

Writing a prescription is about solving a problem in the patient’s body. Writing a conclusion is about solving a puzzle in your reader’s mind.

Different domains. Same brain. You’ve got this.