Do you work in health care? Have you considered the clinical research field? For nurses, physicians or other health care professionals who have experience and seek to transition into a new career, clinical research roles can offer the potential for growth and the ability to develop new skills. With leadership opportunities that might not be available in their current roles, moving into or advancing in clinical research may be appealing.
Previous experience is often necessary for positions in clinical research. Your education holds equal value. Earning an online clinical research master’s degree can demonstrate to hiring managers your passion for the industry, technical expertise and willingness to advance in your career or make a career change from your existing role in health care. Not only can an online Master of Science in Clinical Research Management help prepare you for the demands of overseeing and running clinical trials, it can also expose you to ethical and regulatory practices connected with the successful administration of clinical research. Alongside learning the technical aspects connected to roles in clinical research management, expanding your education with a master’s degree can help you build leadership skills to perform better in current and future roles.
Building on your experience to help you advance in the field of clinical research
Clinical research roles require compliance with regulations and laws that govern the conduct of clinical trials. These include the processes for managing or running a clinical trial, safety rules, participant privacy, and subject and materials confidentiality. National standards have been developed to address the competencies necessary for clinical researchers to achieve successful professional outcomes, and they can be mastered through clinical research management degrees.
Topics such as federal regulations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, history and ethics of human subject research, requirements of an Institutional Review Board, professional leadership skills, drug and device development, clinical trial operations and more can be explored. Courses should focus on applying learnings to research situations, scenarios, roles and responsibilities that occur in the industry and aim to enhance your current knowledge, distinguishing you among other applicants when interviewing for opportunities and preparing you to meet the demands and challenges of clinical research.
Properly monitoring clinical trials and collecting data can further include operational tasks, such as managing budgets and contracts. Clinical managers need the business acumen to consider factors like drug and device lifecycle, research and design methods, and more. They determine how these aspects work with program costs and go-to-market strategies once the studied variable receives approval to be a product for commercial sale. An online clinical research master’s degree can teach you about proper clinical research monitoring and operations so you can conduct effective trials.