The Lead CRA Blog: Do you know a CRA Rockstar, a Super Study Coordinator, or an excellent PM?

Tell Them About the US Clinical Researcher of The Year Competition

The US Clinical Researcher of the Year competition has been accepting nominations since March. They will continue to accept nominations until September, but why wait? Nominate someone today who works hard in Clinical Research and deserves to be recognized. There are separate categories of awards for CRAs, Study Coordinators, Project managers, and Clinical Study Teams.

http://www.usclinicalresearcher.com/

I participated as a contestant the first year of the competition so I am now happy to promote and endorse the contest this year to all of you. I made valuable networking connections, felt recognized by my peers, and had a lot of fun. It was an absolute blast and I even took home a prize! I'm lucky to have great people in my network and each year I have recommended others. In fact, I've had at least one colleague at the competition every year!

Three Steps For Nominees to Complete

Once you nominate someone they receive an invitation to complete a questionnaire and confirm their interest in the competition. The questionnaire is role-based and evaluates basic functional skills and knowledge of the regulations and guidance's related to their job.

The next stage of the competition is the "Clinical Competency Challenge: This requires candidates to respond in writing in no more than 1,000 words to three category specific competency questions and one further question, which explores the candidate’s reasons for entering the competition."

Finalists for this year's competition will be announced in October.

When I attended the finals, I was given a written challenge exercise where the topic was provided but I had to prepare a short presentation and Q&A session to a panel of judges; my presentation lasted about 20 minutes and I had less than an hour to prepare. All of the judges were pharmaceutical and CRO executives and they were attentive and supportive. I was asked interesting and thought-provoking follow-up questions and I had a lot of fun. Then, I had the rest of the day to meet my industry-peers, explore the area (it was in Philadelphia), and sweat it out in anticipation of the results.

The final phase of the competition and the much-anticipated award ceremony (black-tie/tuxedo) will be held 7 November 2013 at the Executive Briefing Center, SAS Campus, Cary, North Carolina (my hometown - they should invite me to be a judge!).

Nominate Someone Today

Go ahead and use this link to nominate that awesome Study Coordinator you loved working with, CRA rockstars (less than 4 years experience and Senior CRAs), and/or Project Managers.