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Simple, Everyday Monitoring Tips for CRAs
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Comments (12)

Walker in New York, New York

20 months ago

I'd like to start a post for experienced monitors to discuss those simple every tips that make our life on the road and in the workplace easier.

It seems like all this forum is anymore is a bunch of misspelled grammatically-incorrect posts of people saying, "I have no clinical research experience, but I want to skip all the steps and get a CRA job right away.". Let's take the forum back!

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MaxIne in Lombard, Illinois

20 months ago

Here's a tip I learned the hard way- never trust cheap luggage. Don't get a $100 suitcase at JCP and expect it to last you.

I highly recommend TUMI and B&R luggage. It's costly, but it won't leave you wishing you had duct tape to put your samsonite back together.

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Karl in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

20 months ago

For new CRAs:

Travel — a lot of travel — is a fact of life for CRAs, so it can be good to show that you’re aware and willing to handle this job requirement on your resume. But don’t say you “love to travel”or you’ll come off as someone expecting their job to be an endless vacation. Traveling to clinical sites isn’t at all glamorous. So instead, write something like:
- Ready and willing to accommodate frequent local, domestic or international business travel.

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Maurene in Oak Park, Illinois

20 months ago

When you are monitoring in a huge hospital you aren't familiar with where it seems like a labyrinth- put a post it on your door so when you leave, you can be sure which room is yours.

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James in Seattle, Washington

20 months ago

This is an excellent idea. The CRA topic is overrun with people asking very basic questions who's answers can be found after a 10 second google search. Post everything you guys can think of, please!

One quick question - what is the single best way to learn the most important FDA/GCP/ICH stuff?

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Karl in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

20 months ago

Hi James,

Although the FDA regs and ICH GCP can be seen online for free, I bought a spiral bound book from Barnett for around $13. It's nice to have it in a nice compact size and spiral bound for frequent travel.

The regulations are not easy to learn- but thankfully if you have your little spiral bound notebook with you, you can just look things up when you need to. When I read each regulation, I asked myself, "What do I do at each monitoring visit to make sure the site is compliant with this regulation?" It's about your day-to-day practices- not memorization. I also went through and tabbed important sections and highlighted common finding your see often during monitoring visits.

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James in Seattle, Washington

20 months ago

Perfect, that's the book I just bought for my class!

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Mather in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

18 months ago

Hey guys-

Who CRO do you think provides the best technology to help in monitoring? What are different CROs offering to their people (blackberry, iphone, ipad, new vs. used laptops, etc.)

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Martina

16 months ago

Always let someone know if you are overextended. If you say you can't do a visit, your team will help out and it'll get done. Be honest about what you can and cannot do and trust your team!

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Paris Garcia in San Francisco, California

15 months ago

What course are you taking which requires this book?

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Paris Garcia in San Francisco, California

15 months ago

James in Seattle, Washington said: Perfect, that's the book I just bought for my class!

What course are you taking that requires this book?

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Randy in Saint Peters, Missouri

14 months ago

I love the Epocrates iPhone/iPad app. It does metric conversions, BMI calculations and has an up to date listing of all drugs, indications, dosages and routes.

That and the date wheel app make my life easier everyday.

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