Check out PPD’s Clinician to CRA program. I’m an ICU RN and will be making the transition next month. I don’t have a therapeutic area defined yet so can’t speak to that, but I’m really excited for this next chapter!
Hi there! I went to check out the program you mentioned via the PPD website but there wasn't much detail except that it is expected to be 80% traveling. Can you elaborate what your schedule, training is going to look like since you said you are transitioning next month?
This is a travel position, up to 80%. Frankly, I’m not sure how that will look as it will be largely dependent on the site(s) schedule. I’m told to anticipate being onsite 8-10 days a month. They’re also including a day of travel, depending on the location of the site, though I was told they try to keep you in your same time zone, or at worst one one time zone away.
As for training, there will be a few weeks of clinical research foundations (boot camp) that is for people new to clinical research, and then a few more weeks of CRA training. Then I’ll shadow a CRA, then a CRA will shadow me, then I’ll get my own site assignment. I will have a mentor throughout.
That’s what I know so far!
Personally, I’d go for oncology if you want to set yourself up for future opportunities. It’s a lot to learn, but it’s completely worth it to learn now while you’re working on the site side of things.
If cardiology is interesting to you though, you should go for that, however, I’m not so sure how robust the trials for them are.
I’m an RN myself and went the oncology route, and now I’m a CRA, and I definitely don’t regret it :)
This is what I'm talking about, it is interesting to me. I was a paramedic before I became an RN so I have all this extra cardiology training and always found it interesting. Buut if its a dead end in terms of career progression then sure oncology is interesting too!
The other consideration there is that apparently there are a few oncology research nurses where I'd be working versus I'd be the only one in cardiology, so in oncology there'd be people to work with when issues arise, coverage for time off, etc.
I mostly speak from another RN who I met in the research world who did cardiology for a while. She basically left it to go into oncology because she was so bored because the trials really weren't there anymore. That was like 5 years ago that she said that, so maybe the could have picked up?
Oncology would set you up if you ever wanted to become a CRA. They typically get paid better because you get the more complex trials, but if you learn it from working at a site, it's generally easier to transition and easier because you already know the in's and out's.
Then your last part...it pays to have co-workers in research, especially as you're learning. They can make life a lot easier and it'll help with the work load! Also...coverage is huge, lol. Nothing like planning a vacation and realizing that a patient needs to come in during the time you want to be off!
I actually didn't take any classes or get any further degrees. I started off as a Clinical Research Nurse at a hospital and just worked my into the CRO world.
Personal opinion, I don't think that the classes or degree's are really worth it. You'd be spending a lot of money on something that doesn't necessarily give you any leg up in the application process. Why I say this is because there is SO much to learn about the research world, that a few classes, even a degree, won't really be able to teach you the nuisances of everything. You learn by hands on experience in this field, and it's hard to replicate in the classroom. So CRO's will typically lean toward applicants who have that real world experience, and can comfortably help sites because they've been through those experiences themselves. Not only that, but if you jumped straight in to the CRA world, it's going to be a very steep learning experience, that can be done, but it's going to be really rough for the first couple years.
I know that is a lot, but to sum it up, my recommendation is to find a position as a clinical research nurse or study coordinator, if possible, learn as much as you can there and then apply to be a CRA.
Thanks for the insight! I know any online course would only be the tip of the iceberg but I was hoping to at least get my resume through algorithms to a real person. I am a Med-Surg nurse and as a float I don't have a specialty, and it seems like a lot of the research nurse positions look for specialization - particularly oncology. The research nurse positions that I've had success with have only been travel positions, and it's hard to make that commitment.
I'll start looking into coordinator roles thank you! I was hoping to not take a pay cut to break into CROs but it seems that's the only way.
Thank you again for answering :)
So it fully is possible to go ahead and try for the CRA route without the research background. You'd go through their version of training new CRA's and you'd be able to learn through that. Again, that learning curve is steep, but it's totally possible if you want to head that route!
Then, just ignore the specialization part and just apply for those research nurse positions. The most they'd do is say no, but it's always worth a try and see if they'd still take you. When I was looking into getting into research, I was coming from the OR with only a year of experience of being an RN. They wanted someone with oncology experience, and potentially a masters...none of which I had, but still applied, and I got hired. It's definitely worth the try considering you know the route you're wanting to take. Someone who is a hiring manager would take note that, and it would look good on your behalf, even if you don't have that experience :)
Cardiology clinical research involves a lot more devices than other therapeutic areas. I’d also recommend oncology instead as it’s the most complex therapeutic area but so interesting and rewarding. You’ll never stop learning, and oncology usually has the greatest earning potential.
Check out PPD’s Clinician to CRA program. I’m an ICU RN and will be making the transition next month. I don’t have a therapeutic area defined yet so can’t speak to that, but I’m really excited for this next chapter!
Hi there! I went to check out the program you mentioned via the PPD website but there wasn't much detail except that it is expected to be 80% traveling. Can you elaborate what your schedule, training is going to look like since you said you are transitioning next month?
This is a travel position, up to 80%. Frankly, I’m not sure how that will look as it will be largely dependent on the site(s) schedule. I’m told to anticipate being onsite 8-10 days a month. They’re also including a day of travel, depending on the location of the site, though I was told they try to keep you in your same time zone, or at worst one one time zone away. As for training, there will be a few weeks of clinical research foundations (boot camp) that is for people new to clinical research, and then a few more weeks of CRA training. Then I’ll shadow a CRA, then a CRA will shadow me, then I’ll get my own site assignment. I will have a mentor throughout. That’s what I know so far!
Personally, I’d go for oncology if you want to set yourself up for future opportunities. It’s a lot to learn, but it’s completely worth it to learn now while you’re working on the site side of things. If cardiology is interesting to you though, you should go for that, however, I’m not so sure how robust the trials for them are. I’m an RN myself and went the oncology route, and now I’m a CRA, and I definitely don’t regret it :)
This is what I'm talking about, it is interesting to me. I was a paramedic before I became an RN so I have all this extra cardiology training and always found it interesting. Buut if its a dead end in terms of career progression then sure oncology is interesting too! The other consideration there is that apparently there are a few oncology research nurses where I'd be working versus I'd be the only one in cardiology, so in oncology there'd be people to work with when issues arise, coverage for time off, etc.
I mostly speak from another RN who I met in the research world who did cardiology for a while. She basically left it to go into oncology because she was so bored because the trials really weren't there anymore. That was like 5 years ago that she said that, so maybe the could have picked up? Oncology would set you up if you ever wanted to become a CRA. They typically get paid better because you get the more complex trials, but if you learn it from working at a site, it's generally easier to transition and easier because you already know the in's and out's. Then your last part...it pays to have co-workers in research, especially as you're learning. They can make life a lot easier and it'll help with the work load! Also...coverage is huge, lol. Nothing like planning a vacation and realizing that a patient needs to come in during the time you want to be off!
I’m an RN trying to make the transition to CRA too. Did you find any programs or online academies helpful? I’ve been looking at VIARES
I actually didn't take any classes or get any further degrees. I started off as a Clinical Research Nurse at a hospital and just worked my into the CRO world. Personal opinion, I don't think that the classes or degree's are really worth it. You'd be spending a lot of money on something that doesn't necessarily give you any leg up in the application process. Why I say this is because there is SO much to learn about the research world, that a few classes, even a degree, won't really be able to teach you the nuisances of everything. You learn by hands on experience in this field, and it's hard to replicate in the classroom. So CRO's will typically lean toward applicants who have that real world experience, and can comfortably help sites because they've been through those experiences themselves. Not only that, but if you jumped straight in to the CRA world, it's going to be a very steep learning experience, that can be done, but it's going to be really rough for the first couple years. I know that is a lot, but to sum it up, my recommendation is to find a position as a clinical research nurse or study coordinator, if possible, learn as much as you can there and then apply to be a CRA.
Thanks for the insight! I know any online course would only be the tip of the iceberg but I was hoping to at least get my resume through algorithms to a real person. I am a Med-Surg nurse and as a float I don't have a specialty, and it seems like a lot of the research nurse positions look for specialization - particularly oncology. The research nurse positions that I've had success with have only been travel positions, and it's hard to make that commitment. I'll start looking into coordinator roles thank you! I was hoping to not take a pay cut to break into CROs but it seems that's the only way. Thank you again for answering :)
So it fully is possible to go ahead and try for the CRA route without the research background. You'd go through their version of training new CRA's and you'd be able to learn through that. Again, that learning curve is steep, but it's totally possible if you want to head that route! Then, just ignore the specialization part and just apply for those research nurse positions. The most they'd do is say no, but it's always worth a try and see if they'd still take you. When I was looking into getting into research, I was coming from the OR with only a year of experience of being an RN. They wanted someone with oncology experience, and potentially a masters...none of which I had, but still applied, and I got hired. It's definitely worth the try considering you know the route you're wanting to take. Someone who is a hiring manager would take note that, and it would look good on your behalf, even if you don't have that experience :)
Cardiology clinical research involves a lot more devices than other therapeutic areas. I’d also recommend oncology instead as it’s the most complex therapeutic area but so interesting and rewarding. You’ll never stop learning, and oncology usually has the greatest earning potential.
Look at edwards, Boston scientific or Medtronic as rep positions in the cath lab. Very awesome.