Clinical Research Placement Review

This year has been a fantastic experience. Working in King’s Cross London provides many opportunities for social activities with colleagues and Pancras Square offers beautiful views from the offices with many nice places around to explore in your lunch break. The work itself was also very fun, insightful and rewarding. Being split over an office based and field based role was of huge attraction to me, and it delivered. I was solely responsible for whole protocols in a Clinical Trial Coordinator capacity, where I helped deliver on study milestones and provided office based support to field colleagues. As a Clinical Research Associate I was travelling to sites across the UK and Ireland, which was very exciting. On these visits, I was responsible for maintaining the scientific integrity of the trial through monitoring. Being a member of the department also has opened up many exciting travel opportunities. Including stays at hotels, department meetings at the British Library and visits to other MSD sites across the country. The colleagues treated you like a regular employee which boosted confidence and the work place environment. The offices are very modern and have very good facilities (coffee machine with a fresh milk add-on) I feel like I have developed a lot as an individual and couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

As answered in the previous question I feel like I was treated the same as other employees in the same role, and feel like a valued member of the team. Everyone within the GCTO department is lovely and multiple members praise hard-work, including the leadership team. I was fortunate enough to be invited on department and global projects, where my hard-work was acknowledged and praised also.

At the start of the year, I was unfortunate to not have a hand-over period like the other interns – and due to structural changes within the department I was manager, and study hopping. However these got ironed out in a reasonable time and I was able to adapt to the situation and thrive. I successfully overcame each obstacle with the help of the placement supervisor team as well as my current study manager. The manager team is not afraid to help with any issues, whether they are work or personal related, which is obviously a massive support. The company also has HR sessions, and company initiative events to help with physical and mental well-being.

As the work is related to clinical trials, the busyness of an office day depends on what phase and stage your study is at. Fortunately I was invited on department and global projects which allowed me to maximise my efficiency and carry on with exciting, innovative pieces of work whilst my studies were going through quiet phases. But there are always colleagues in need of help, so the workload was ideal for most interns. In addition to this, site visits were always a nice way to break-up the workload and keep the work flowing.

As said before, the responsibility given to you is just like any other employee. You are the sole Clinical Trial Coordinator responsible for your own protocols. You are expected to meet deadlines and carry out tasks just like any other employee. Regarding the Clinical Research Associate role, all tasks are carried out under supervision, which is still fantastic experience as no other placement offers experience within this role (which normally requires 2 years prior monitoring experience). Therefore I feel that the responsibility is a lot greater in this role than other similar roles at other companies – making this a very valuable placement. Although I did hope that I would be independently carrying out activities whilst monitoring sites with my mentor.

This placement is non-lab based, and therefore doesn’t assist on the laboratory side of my Biochemistry degree (hence why this score isn’t 10/10). However, this placement has given me world class knowledge on novel therapeutics and expanded my knowledge regarding Oncology and Clinical Trials, which I’m sure will help with my academic studies. This placement has developed many of my soft skills which will be invaluable for my future career, and through networking in a global company, this placement had most certainly improved my career progression. As part of a corporate company, a lot of training is involved in the placement – which is great to put on your CV. This also includes a GCP training course, which is a desirable course for a career in any job related to Clinical Research. In addition to the skills gained from GCTO, I also expanded my commercial awareness through organising visits and field visits to other business divisions and departments within the company. This has been invaluable and allowed for good links which I’m sure will assist me beyond my degree.

The office atmosphere is very relaxed. The only ‘issue’ is the office has a hot-desk policy, which I believe to be inefficient as you have to pack away your stuff at the end of the day, and move your stuff to another desk if someone is sitting in the seat you were the previous day. It isn’t as bad as I first thought it would be! Colleagues are very friendly and events are occasionally hosted during and after work time to improve physical and mental health, as well as providing social opportunities.

Very well set-up. The only spanner in the works was the move from Hoddesdon to the London office, and therefore we had to commute to Hoddesdon to help with the move when we first started – But we were compensated for that so it was completely fine. There is a HR team for the overall placement scheme, and our department has a placement scheme manager too. They provide working documents and are willing to help with uni-specific requirements too.

I believe that MSD has invested very well in me. I have had the opportunity to shadow other departments and also travel the country on company expenses which I am very fortunate for. In addition to this I have bi-weekly 1:1s with my study manager, which I am grateful for my managers time invested. In addition to this, we are invited on training courses and have access to MSDs corporate learning environment as well as invitations to teleconference learning events.

Prospects within the company itself are very bright – as a large global pharmaceutical company (5th largest in the world) MSD has positions across all business divisions, offering many opportunities to explore other careers. Regarding GCTO, there is no formal return plan for previous interns which is a shame; however, the director and other senior members of the department relish the opportunity to stay in contact and discuss future job opportunities.

Yes. In total there were 8 interns within the London office, and we all got on very well and four of us lived together. Hot desking allows us to integrate with other members of the department that are office based, and events like the department meetings allow for us to meet with field based colleagues. We also had a department Christmas party which was fantastic. A running club was also set-up every Tuesday after work.

Expensive – But that is living in London. I’d say the pay grade is of the upper end of what pharmaceutical companies normally offer so that does help. Rent is very expensive but you can be tactical about where you stay, especially house sharing etc. Travel is also expensive as it is not easy to keep a car with you, and London underground is convenient, but expensive. Buying a travel card is preferable. I would also suggest living on the Victoria line as trains come every minute, it’s the most reliable line and you can get to KX very easily. Rent - >£550ppm (excluding bills etc) Pint - £5

Very good. Obviously being in London there are plenty of bars, and using the app ‘Drinki’ you can get one free drink after work each day. The clubs are also known for being good; however like all of London, it is just straight up expensive. On an intern wage you aren’t able to utilise the full social side of London – But you can still have the occasional great night, and many nice social opportunities after work.

As part of the placement scheme you can carry out volunteering, which provides a service to the community as well as allowing you to add something extra to your CV. In addition to this the global team occasionally come down and were always very kind to the interns, even taking us out for meals and providing us the opportunity to present and then network with them. As said before, the office based colleagues set-up a running club.