Clinical Research Scientist Review

I enjoyed my placement very much. At the beginning the training was overwhelming and it was not until I was given my project to manage that the training made sense. When I did begin managing my project it was far different to what I expected managing a clinical trial to involve, there was a lot to do, however I had a great team who were very supportive and I learnt so much. It is definitely a career that I want to pursue.

Everyone was very supportive and treated me like an equal member of staff. Although everyone knew that I was a placement student I was not treated any differently. I was given responsibility and accountability just like everyone else and really felt like I was part of the team.

My manager was incredibly supportive. We had regular meetings to assess how I waas getting on and opportunities to discuss any issues that I had. I did not ever feel that I could not ask my manager any questions or ask for assistance when I was stuck.

I had alot of work to keep me busy. The first couple of months was alot of training and not much hands on work. However once I had my own study to manage I did have a lot of work to keep me busy. There were less busy days which was great, becaus it allowed for catching up with things that may have bben missed. I had a very good balance.

I was given my own study to manage, which was a big responsibitlity. It gave me full understanding of setting up and managing a clinical study.

I have learnt alot about time management and working towards deadlines. I was also able to attend presentation courses and use what I had learnt to give presentations to my team and other members of the company. These I know will be beneficial in my final year, when I have to present my dissertation and for interviews for potential jobs.

It was a very nice and comfortable atmosphere to work in. Everyone got on pretty well. There were quiet times when everyone was busy, as well as times when everyone/few individulas wanted to have a chat, but it was never too distracting if you were not involved in the conversation.

When I started I was given training that would be relevant to what the job entailed. The project that I was given was given to me when i had completed a sufficient amount of training and had observed a couple of other studies, so I was not overwhelmed.

My manager was fantastic. I was told that although they had a plan of what I would be doing on my placement, if there was anything that I wanted to learn more about and if there was opportunity to do anything else I could. I was able to visit different sites, attend various trainings and meetings to get a fuller understanding of the company as a whole, not just from my department perspective.

Very good. Experience is a highly sought after pre-requisite. While on my placement I met a number of staff who had previously been placement students.

On my placement there was only 2 of us, which was not as many as other GSK sites. This however did nt affect how much I enjoyed my placement as I was living with a friend. This may be a concern for future student - perhaps advise looking for student shared housing, becasue that city (Cambridge) is pretty much a student city.

I think that because it is a student city things are subsidised so overall not that bad.

There are not that many places to choose from. I came from London so the choices seemed limited in comparisson, however you make the most of the places available. Also there are alot of students out and about, so it is not so quiet, but certain places get really packed because of lack of choice.

Not too much, you make your own activities.