A clinical research associate is a person who monitors clinical trials. A clinical research associate has the option to work either with any sponsor company or can work for no fixed employer. Some other functions of a clinical research associate involves establishing a connection with doctors, monitoring the trials, collecting the data regarding the effect of drug, confirming the accuracy of drug, making reports, making regular visits, interacting well with research investigators, and many more. Their main job is to interact with people and to make sure that the rights, safety, well being, and health of each human being is protected. Apart from this they also have to ensure the accuracy, quality, and honesty of the scientific data that is collected during trials. The other duties involved are checking the documentation of each study participant, making sure that all the side effects and negative physical responses are properly reported and filed, etc.
There are several responsibilities of a clinical research associate. Their responsibilities include developing and writing the methodology, designing data collection forms, writing visiting reports, and discussing the results of a survey with a medical statistician. To become a successful clinical research associate it becomes necessary to develop a sense of where the attention is required to be paid and on which activity. This study helps to understand where the problem is most likely to occur during the conduct of the study.
The majority of clinical research associates require a bachelor in Arts or Sciences with majors in life sciences or in inorganic science. There are few of them that will accept a degree in nursing or some related field. Along with this experience also plays a vital role mainly in management and collection, a fair understanding of laboratory safety and security procedures, experimental development, and many more.
The CRA should have expert knowledge on safe laboratory procedures. A person aspiring to become a clinical research associate requires having very good written as well as oral communication skills. They should have team spirit and should get easily adjusted to new team and team members. Clinical research associate people should be well disciplined, should have full confidence in them and should practice good and fair clinical practice. Their most important function is to manage and supervise the complete process of all four clinical trials, conducted by doctors, physicians. For becoming a clinical research associate a person must be a graduate.
The person seeking career as clinical research associate gets a job in various companies like medical research organization and other medical related fields. This person can also get jobs in drug development industry, as an auditor of clinical trials, as a manager of a clinical project, pharmaceuticals industry, and data manager.
The person desiring to become a clinical research associate should undergo a clinical research program to get good practical knowledge. There are online programs available to provide training on becoming a clinical research associate. So by opting for these training your skills and be improved and you will be eligible for growth in this career.
The salaries of clinical research associate can vary between $28,000 to $33,000.Salaries of people who have five years of experience range from $38,000 to $45,000.Salaries can also depend on different companies. The clinical research associate working individually without being associated with any company can earn up to $60,000. The average salary of a senior clinical research associate is around $80,000.
Clinical Research Associates are generally involved with research design, data collection and analysis and development of the research findings. Career prospects of a clinical research associate consist of either a clinical investigator or a site coordinator.
It is little difficult for a person without prior experience to get these jobs directly but there are many companies who are willing to recruit new people. Many companies require candidates having experience ranging from 2 to 5 years. Clinical research associates require experience with data management and data collection.
In the future the clinical research field has great capability for strong growth. It plays a vital role in society and it is the reason behind the launching of a new drug in the market safely. Due to this reason their pay package is significantly high. Select this career option and make yourself a career today!
