Marika
Name: Marika Location: Uppsala, Sweden
Degree in: Medical Science (Master)
Earned degree at: Uppsala University
Completed traineeship: December 2005
Why did you join CRAcademy?
When I was finished with my university studies in 2004, I wanted to start working with clinical trials. During my second last semester I was enrolled in a class called Clinical Drug Development, studying the basics fundamentals of clinical research. I found it very interesting and wanted to pursue working within this field. However, it was quite difficult to get job opportunities when I had no practical work experience. CRAcademy was a great opportunity to get work experience within a short period of time, making me a more attractive candidate on the job market. A traineeship at a leading pharmaceutical company is also an excellent way to establish important contacs in the industry.
How would you describe your role now?
I work as a Clinical Project Assistant at the same pharmaceutical company where I did my traineeship. I am currently involved in 6 multinational studies and work as an assistant on a Nordic level (for Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland).
What do you like most about the job?
It is a challenging role where you have to be very flexible and yet detail-orientated. It is fun and interesting since I get to work with many different people, communicating with study team members in different countries. I also think it is a great way to get more experienced for a future role as a CRA.
What other career options did you consider?
My goal is to become a CRA within a year. I can also consider working as a project leader in the future.
What was the most helpful for you from CRAcademy?
The most helpful part was that I got to see so many aspects of clinical research. I spent a lot of time monitoring and also helping the CRA at the office, but I also did tasks for the project leaders and assistants. I also spent some time at the regulatory department. It was very helpful for me when I started working as an assistant that I already had gained some experience from the different roles: CRA, PL and TA.
What was the most challenging about CRAcademy?
The most difficult part was to fit all of the assignments into the limited time period. Planning the activities was hard due to the fact that in almost all tasks I was depending on someone else since I did not have the authority to do things on my own. Looking back, it would have been good to have an ongoing smaller “project on the side” throughout the traineeship to work on in between when there was a time gap between assignments.
