CRCP

I attended a conference in DC/Virginia last week for four days. The conference was for clinical research professionals - investigator sites, sponsors, CROs, and everyone else in between.

Having been "on the job" now for 7 months, it was SUCH a great learning experience. I would even go so far as to say it was the most enjoyable conference I have ever attended (granted all other conferences I have been to were academic by/in nature and enjoyable for other reasons).

I learned the ins and outs of the clinical research profession - specifically about contracting agreements/budgets for clinical trials research. The conference was set up in "tracks" with parallel sessions covering different topics: Track A - budgets, Track B - regulatory, Track C - etc .. There were many great sessions that I had wanted to attend, but they were being offered at the same time, and so I had to be very selective.

On the last day of the conference, I took a qualification exam to be a Clinical Research Contracts Professional. I just received notification that I passed my exam. The exam must have been graded on a curve, since I answered all of 8 questions (out of 20!) Actually, I answered most questions, but had to rush answering 12 of the last questions in 5 minutes. So much for pacing. It clearly showed just how much exam-writing skills I have lost since my days as a student.

Time to put all that learning to practice and build a successful (and profitable) research program.