Medical Affairs Undergraduate Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at Pfizer and have met people who I will remain in contact with after my placement. My year provided me with opportunities which I would not have experienced if I had remained at univerisity, I attened european conferences and met healthcare professionals. I will definitley consider returning to Pfizer in the future.

I felt very valued by my colleagues and was treated equally. I was included in all team meetings, both those internally held and externally. At Pfizer there is a system called OWNIT where colleagues can recognise your hard work and results, which helps to make you feel valued, as this notifies yourself and your line manager.

During my year at Pfizer I had a project manager and a line manager. I worked very closely with my project manager and had frequent meetings to support me on the projects I was leading. In terms of support from your line manager, this was less due to their time being precious.

Throughout the year the workload did vary, but this was good. At the start when I was learning the processes I was less bust, but within the first 3 months I had different projects on the go and had lots of meetings with various people across the business which meant I had lots of work going on, but rarely a time when it was all too much.

During my placement I was given more responsibility that I thought I would be at the start. Within the first 3 months, I was leading on my own project and communicating with colleagues from across the world. Towards the end I was responsible for multiple projects at the same time which I loved.

A placement year definitley helps you develop your interpersonal skills. Two of the main skills which I developed were time-management and organisation. There would be times when several projects had fast approaching deadlines, and prioritising the critical tasks was important. This will certainly help me when I return to univeristity during my final year studies.

The overal atmosphere was good, everyone is very friendly. My team worked from home a lot which at first I found challenging as it was harder to ask for guidance. However as the year progressed and I met more people, the atmosphere became better and there was always someone around to ask for help when needed.

The initial set-up of the placement from application to interviews to assessment day was very well set up. There were clear guidance and deadlines (even if they were tight). In terms of set up once you are at Pfizer, this could have been better in a sense of having a mentor.

I have the opportunity to attend a lot of training sessions, internally and externally. Pfizer is very good at providing training face-to-face as well as virtually. When I started my placement I had to complete a lot of online training sessions to learn the basic processes which Pfizer use. If there was ever a training session which I thought would be beneficial to me, I simply asked my line manager and we would discuss the possibility of me attending.

I will certainly consider returning to Pfizer in the future. One thing I have learnt about Pfizer is there are so many differen tjob opportunities. There are funtions operating which I didnt even know existed. The office in Walton Oaks is a lovely environment to work in. This year has also highlighted to me the opportunities to move around jobs within the business.

At Pfizer there were around 45 placement students, this meant it was very sociable. The majority of the undergraduates lived with other undergraudates in flats of 3/4 people. Due to there being so many of us, there was always plans for the weekends and some evenings. The location of the office isnt the best for students but becuase there were so many of us it made it a good environment.

Surrey isnt a cheap location to live, however I lived in a flat with 2 others and it was reasonably priced. In terms of socialising you are very close to London, so it isnt cheap but its also not ridiculously expensive. At the end of the day, you are earnign during your placement year so it is definitley affordable to socialise.

Surrey itself has minimal nightlife, Epsom has two clubs, which are ok for a couple of times in the year, however if you want a good night out go to London. It isnt that far away, and taxis home arent too expensive. There are a lot of pubs around Surrey which are good and bars in Reigate.

In terms of opportunities supported by Pfizer itself, this was minimal. I think there was a running club one lunchtime and maybe football but that was it. However, in the area there are lots of gyms and sports club to join if you want.