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• Clinical research associate: Jennifer

Clinical research associate: Jennifer

This Case Study belongs to Clinical research associate.

After graduating with a degree in molecular biology from the University of Plymouth, Jennifer began her career in a major contract research organisation (CRO) undertaking pre-clinical laboratory work. Jennifer says ‘I almost fell into this role, as I had a background in molecular biology but wanted to work near my home town.' Jennifer describes herself as having a personal interest in oncology, and she has remained within this field throughout her career. Her job soon led to a position in clinical research as a clinical research associate (CRA). Jennifer worked as a CRA for five years before becoming a project manager with responsibility for managing trials. Jennifer now owns her own consultancy company and works as a freelance project manager and medical writer.

Jennifer believes that her molecular biology background was very useful whilst working as a CRA as her knowledge of medical terms and mathematical ability to analyse data were invaluable. However, Jennifer feels that it is not always necessary to have a degree in a scientific subject as the you can learn the disease area and terminology. She says it is more important to have organisation, teamwork and communications skills to be a CRA and states: ‘Communication skills are very important as you need to be able to communicate with members of your team and also support the people you are working with at different sites to form lasting relationships.'

For Jennifer, working as a CRA involved visiting study sites and meeting key people such as consultants and radiologists. One of the key differences from the laboratory work that she had done previously was the amount of time spent travelling and meeting people. Jennifer also had to make sure all the resources for the nurses were in place and that all standard checks and documents were in place before a trial could begin. Jennifer describes the most enjoyable parts of the job as travelling and meeting new people: ‘I was able to work in Germany and Switzerland and experience different cultures. I loved the long-standing relationships that you make with people as you tend to work with the same people as you move through your career.' She says language skills can be a real advantage when travelling to different countries.

Before entering this field and applying for jobs, Jennifer says that it is important to do your homework and really research the area you want to work in. Jennifer believes that it is important to establish a good grounding and understand the basics of drug testing before entering the field. It is important to talk to as many people working as CRAs as possible and shadow them in their work. ‘It can be hard to get a job as graduates are not aware of what it is like to work in this environment, so try to learn as much as you can from your peers when you do enter the field – always carry a notebook!.' Working as a CRA is a good introduction before specialising in the management of various trials and studies.

Case Study sourced by Eleanor Stanley of The College of Law, 11 November 2008.