Job Profile / Description / Responsibilities
The job of an Assistant in Clinical Research requires a genuine interest in the work more than anything else. The responsibilities of the research assistant include monitoring and initiating how a particular clinical trial progresses. For a medical experiment to be successful, good researchers are vital. They should ensure that the clinical practices and study protocols are followed carefully along with ensuring that information obtained from research is completely scientific. Since the subjects of human studies are a vital part of a majority of researches, the utilization of these has to be proper and is the responsibility of the research assistant.
As mentioned above, the clinical research industry is developing fast and India is expected to be one of the most important places in terms of development of clinical research industry. One of the reasons for this is the large population of the country. Many clinical research companies are willing to invest in India. All the trained Indian professionals seeking employment in the industry are able to communicate in English which is a genuine problem with some of the developing countries.
Requirements
Academic
A diploma or Certificate courses in the area of clinical research is necessary to get employed in the field of clinical research. Although post-graduates in related subjects like microbiology, biotechnology, chemistry etc have a better chance of getting into these courses, life-science graduates can also join the field.
Skill Sets
An ideal candidate for the job of a clinical research assistant would be someone with the required qualifications and genuine interest in the field. A research oriented person can look forward to a bright future with the job of an assistant in clinical research. They have to carefully examine the various aspects of the research so that the end results are beneficial for the entire global population.
Training
As mentioned above, there are several training institutes that provide relevant training in the field. Join a reputed organization whose training is inclusive of developing methodology, purpose and protocols in connection with a trail for designing the "Case Record Forms" that are used for the collection of data. Another important feature of the training should be negotiating and communicating with the regulating authorities and liaison with scientists and doctors for effective trails. The verification of data is an important aspect of the training as this is necessary in all the stages of the trail. A good course should be inclusive of practical training for giving the students a good exposure to what the industry actually is. A “clinical research certification” after a proper training would be helpful in getting employment with a leading organization in the industry of clinical research.
Prior Experience
Like any other field, being experienced can help you in getting promoted to higher positions like management in the clinical research field as well. One must maintain a good employment record in your career.
Employment Outlook
Career Prospects (globally)
As already told a few years of experience can fetch the candidates with higher positions in an organization. There are several fields in the industry of clinical research and as a research associate you can consider a managerial position, regulatory affairs, managing clinical data, Pharmacy vigilance etc other than working exclusively with the clinical operations.
Salaries
The standard median salary of a Clinical Research Assistant is $42, 000. The salaries associated with clinical research jobs vary depending on the organization. The payment is found to be good from the starting level itself. An average Clinical Research Assistant gets a salary which is 33% lower than average salaries for most of the other standard jobs nationwide.
Conclusion
So if you are planning to work as part of the industry of clinical research, go ahead and join a reputed institution that gives you training inclusive of all the aspects of the job. If you are a postgraduate in science and are not satisfied with the payment you get presently, a career in the industry of clinical research will be the best choice for you. Science post-graduates with the required training in the research can very easily get hired by various organizations provided they have the right attitude and skills.
