This past week I had an individual contact me through LinkedIn asking to be considered for some of our open Clinical Research Associate positions. His foundations were terrific but he met none of the qualifications of our industry CRA positions.
The rub…he didn’t understand that he was extremely underqualified.
Are our Clinical Research Associate candidates confused?
His inquiry made me wonder – is there confusion when it comes to the role of a CRA? We often see sites and academic institutions call their patient-facing research coordinators Clinical Research Associates. In addition, we are seeing Sponsors and CROs move further away from using the CRA title, using terms like Clinical Site Managers, Site Relationship and Excellence Partners, and Clinical Site Ambassadors.
Maybe it is time to help better define roles within our industry – starting with that of an Industry CRA. Our team held a round table to discuss the topic as well as provide some valuable insight for those of you who are seeking a CRA role. We hope this is helpful and want to hear your thoughts!
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How are CRC’s to get a CRA position, if no one will hire them to gain experience. I was in that situation for 10 years before I got a CRA role. Now it’s 8 years as a Senior CRA. My daughter is a CRC and is looking to make a move like I did, How does she do that?
Anita, I love your question and agree – it has been a challenge to break into the business. We have started to become aware of companies that are offering entry level CRA positions as well as internships. Syneos has an outstanding program, as an example. We are hopeful to begin bringing more awareness to those types of opportunities as we become aware of them.
Angela
I really do agree with you on every level and you guys hit the mark.
I’m really looking for entry-level companies to train and give the required training. I really want to have that quality and grow with a company at whatever level paid or unpaid internships. I’m a trained Dentist from Nigeria and passionately interested in improving health of the human resechers.
Stephen, you raise a strong point…one that the industry seems to be working hard to address. Gaining entry into the CRA role has become more and more of a challenge. We have become aware there are some companies that hire entry level. Syneos has a terrific training program. You can also reach out to Novella (although part of IQVIA, Novella did have a great reputation for hiring entry level) and Medpace. I am sure there are others but we don’t have a catalogue of them. Best wishes!