About Clinical Research Associates
Clinical Research Associates help design and monitor the clinical trials that test new medicines on people. Trials are necessary to gather information about how medicines behave in both healthy volunteers and patients.
"We're the regulators of the pharmaceutical industry, making sure that new medicines behave as they're supposed to do, with no nasty surprises!"
What does the job involve?
Clinical Research Associates (CRAs) write documents called 'protocols' showing exactly how we intend to test new medicines on people in a clinical trial. These documents have to be extremely detailed and include all potentially relevant information such as medicine storage conditions or the age of the people tested. Once a trial is underway, CRAs then monitor it to make sure the data collected is accurate and reliable.
What kind of qualifications do I need?
You will need a science background, usually a degree in a relevant subject such as human biology or a nursing qualification. Personal skills required include confidence, leadership and good time management and organisational skills. You'll also need to be well-motivated and able to work independently.
What kind of career opportunities will I enjoy?
The more experienced you are, the more responsibility you will have. For example, you may start by monitoring a number of studies, progress to managing a trial and end up by managing several trials at the same time, often in different countries. Later you might choose to move to a scientific advisory role or oversee all the trials for a particular medicine. If you want, you can obtain further qualifications such as a certificate or MSc/Diploma in Clinical Research.
Where can I work
Typically, CRAs work in pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations and hospitals throughout the world. At AstraZeneca, CRAs work at all research and development sites.
Where can I find out more?
Check out our website
www.astrazeneca.co.uk
Other websites you might find useful are
www.instituteofclinicalresearch.org and
www.abpi.org.uk
