Saori Hirota

Saori Hirota is a former nurse who made a pivotal change in her career after having her first child. She was looking for something that would allow her to work from home and discovered that writing for the medical industry would be a perfect mix of her previous experience and her new professional path.

Leveraging her nursing experience, she started as a writer and realized the high demand for articles specialized in the medical field and decided to focus her career in this area. She decided to start her own medical writing service, Medipen, to fulfill this market need. At Medipen, she currently coordinates and trains aspiring medical writers. 

Hirota saw the rise of enterprise AI adoption and was eager to learn how she could use AI to enhance her own business and stand out in the digital marketplace. She learned about IBM SkillsBuild while attending a webinar hosted by Freelance Association Japan. Because the courses were online, Hirota was able to hone her technology skills from home.  

Hirota completed multiple IBM SkillsBuild courses on prompt engineering, AI modeling, automation, generative AI, strategic management and web design. These courses taught her new ways to enhance her life with AI. By using automation, for example, she can offload time-consuming administrative tasks, giving her more time to focus on strategic work. She also uses AI transcription software to record interviews, so she can focus on writing new articles. 

Medipen’s business inquiries increased with time. This growth motivated Saori to explore new tools to help her manage her new workload.  She decided to take another IBM SkillsBuild course, Build Your Own Chatbot, that was being offered through an adult summer project initiative. “AI frees up time to focus on tasks that genuinely require my attention. For example, AI transcription of interview recordings allows me to focus on writing other articles. AI assistants also respond to questions from trainee writers, giving me more time for guidance and reviews,” she explains.

Applying what she learned and the new skills she gained, Saori has been able to do just that. Using IBM watsonx Assistant, she built and deployed her own virtual assistant for the Medipen website. Her clients can now access the information they need instantly, easily submit consultation and inquiry requests, and use an additional self-service tool to provide feedback. The virtual assistant also serves as an internal resource for medical writers to request projects or participate in Medipen Labo, a community for writers to connect and collaborate. 

In total, she completed eight IBM SkillsBuild courses, ranging from generative AI to strategic management. “IBM SkillsBuild is an excellent way to broaden your expertise and discover your full potential. Starting with small steps—like completing a course or building a virtual assistant—can lead to substantial outcomes. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so I encourage others to take that first step and explore new possibilities,” Hirota says. 

As she runs Medipen —and now also being a mom—Hirota spends most of her days directing writing projects, mentoring aspiring medical writers and enjoying quality time with her family.

The technical experience she gained through IBM SkillsBuild also gave her the confidence to join a Clinical AI Human Resources Development Program. She hopes to deepen her AI knowledge and develop a unique skillset that will help advance her career and, perhaps, inspire her to create something new.