Designatory letters in clinical research

As the clinical research industry develops at a rapid pace across the globe, so does the wide variety of qualifications and accreditations held by the professionals within it

With so many variables, how can an employer accurately compare one candidate with another? One answer, according to John Hooper, chief executive of the Institute of Clinical Research, is through the increased use of designatory letters within the industry.

He says: "I have recently had the pleasure of visiting India, one of the fastest growing and most important nations for the future of clinical research.

"I have also met colleagues in Bulgaria, France, Vienna and of course here in the UK.

"One thing they all have in common is a desire to excel, committed to becoming the best professional they can be.

"What they do not have in common is documented, objective, instantly recognisable and comparable expertise.

"With an increasingly global industry and an increasingly diverse workforce, human resource managers are faced with an ever greater variety of candidates and attendant qualifications.

"As the industry has expanded globally, so has membership of the ICR, with more and more requests for membership coming from across Europe and Asia.

"Membership confers many benefits, from training and career development opportunities to information services and networking events but we have increasingly found that our designatory letters are a major factor behind our growing membership.

"The letters denote the ICR's membership categories; varying from registered member (RICR), to professional member (MICR), to fellow (FICR) and represent an invaluable opportunity for members to instantly demonstrate their qualifications and level of expertise.

"Measured to the same standards across the globe, members using these designatory letters on business cards, stationery, marketing materials and their own CVs demonstrate that they are qualified, expert professionals.

"For example a registered member (RICR) will hold either a BSc in life sciences (or equivalent), a clinical research academic qualification, a nursing qualification, will have passed the ICR diploma exam or hold a cognate degree.

"They must also have at least one year of experience in clinical research, have committed to CPD and must abide by the ICR's professional code of conduct.

"A professional member (MICR) has similar traits but must have an additional four years in clinical research and must provide evidence of commitment to CPD on request.

"A fellow (FICR) has all the traits of an MICR but requires ten years experience in clinical research (minimum five years at senior level), must provide evidence of a minimum of two years of CPD and, if previously not a member, must have passed the professional interview by peers.

"All of those messages are instantly communicated by the designatory letters.

"The letters are not only useful for professionals to proactively demonstrate their expertise, they are also an excellent recruitment tool for the human resources manager.

"Simply noting 'RICR preferred' on a job advertisement instantly conveys the level of candidate required and helps the efficiency of the screening process.

"We urge all of our members to use their designatory letters and suggest that member and non-member companies use them in their recruitment campaigns to harness the best of the industry from across the globe".

John Hooper is chief executive of the Institute of Clinical Research (ICR).

The ICR has been in existence since 1978 and with an expanding global presence, is the largest professional clinical research body in Europe.

Its desire is to be internationally recognised as the premier organisation for clinical research, respected as a key influencer, promoting knowledge and understanding by engaging the healthcare community and the general public.

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