As a student doing his MD in Pharmacology who aspires to enter the industry after completing the course, I have always been keen on exploring options to learn and grow in this field.
I will be sharing my opinions on how one can prepare to develop the necessary skills to land a role in the industry using the resources I have obtained.
Personally, even before joining the MD Pharmacology course, I had decided that I wanted to get into the industry. The glamour of the corporate world appealed to me, and I was not inclined towards the other clinical fields. Only after joining the course and meeting fellow peers did I realize there are various roles one can pursue after finishing this course.
Here are a few examples of the fields in which one can land a role: Medical Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Medical writing, scientific writing, Market Access, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical development, and many more.
I would like the residents to explore each field by connecting with the experts in the field via LinkedIn, conferences, workshops, etc. This will help them understand the field of their interest.
As my interest was in medical affairs, I will expand on this topic in this article.
Understanding the Role of Medical Affairs:
Medical affairs/ Medical Advisor professionals play a crucial role in the pharmaceutical industry by ensuring the scientific accuracy of promotional materials, educating healthcare providers about new treatments according to your therapy area, managing clinical trials, and post-market surveillance.
The job profile varies with each company you join, but the overall gist is that their main role is to act as a bridge between the company and the medical community.
To excel at this role, you must have a complete understanding of your subject and develop soft skills during your residency, which I shall elaborate on below.
Just Starting Out: Beginner Skillsets
Starting with the basics, it is essential to establish your core pharmacology to understand and effectively communicate scientific knowledge. Sections like General Pharmacology, Systemic pharmacology, Preclinical Pharmacology, and Applied pharmacology must be familiarized.
The following books can be referred to as being proficient in the above topics – Goodman Gilman, KD Tripathi, Sharma S and Vogel HJ (for preclinical)
Along with studying core pharmacology, attending and presenting in Journal Clubs and seminars is essential. These two activities are crucial as you will be updated on recent advances, learn how to dissect and communicate scientific literature, and improve your presentation skills.
The above activities will be mandatory for every MD Pharmacology resident, and they will also include writing your thesis, making a poster or paper, attending practicals pertaining to experimental pharmacology, collecting ADRs, and teaching undergraduate students.
Now, the question arises on how to differentiate yourself from the others. More than 1,000 MD Pharmacology doctors graduate every year and might be competing for the role of your choice in the industry. So, you need to develop the novelty factor, which will later provide you with the freedom to choose the role of your choice.
Mastering the Craft: Pro Skillsets
To get a stronghold of your subject and develop a deeper understanding, the following activities around applied aspects must be done regularly; a few examples are:
- Involvement in clinical trials to familiarize drafting Protocols, Case record forms, and Informed consent forms.
- Medical writing – Publications, posters and abstracts
- Critical appraisals
- Causality association
- Working with the ethics committee to understand guidelines and regulations.
- Drafting an application for an Investigational New Drug (IND) and New Drug Discovery (NDD)
For those who are already familiar with the role of medical affairs, you must have encountered the term “soft skills,” which is often emphasized time and again. These are how you can effectively communicate, work as a team, and solve problems.
Examples of these skills are – Project management, Critical thinking, analytical thinking, conflict management, and networking.
Always watch for conferences, workshops, and webinars; they will help you connect with different peers and experts in the field, and you will have an idea of how to develop these skills.
Getting easy exposure to all the above is possible if you land an internship in an industry during residency; this will help you understand how things work as you will be actively involved and shadowing medical affairs personnel. There are various programs like PHARMASTEER for AstraZeneca and BIOCAMP for Novartis, which take in interns after a set of evaluations.
Final thoughts:
For all those wanting to land in the industry, first understand the different roles and responsibilities. Then, identify which aspects of each role interest you. This will help you decide which roles to pursue based on your personal interests and preferences.
I am currently doing my internship for two months at AstraZeneca. The glamour of the corporate world that I had dreamed of is true, but it also comes with its own set of hurdles and challenges. Every role has its own pros and cons, and hence, it’s important to know what to choose based on what you enjoy and what you are willing to work for.
