Interview Questions Flashcards
Tell me about yourself.
Hello, My name is Candice and I have over 5 years of monitoring experience. I began my career in clinical research as a study coordinator at Winship Cancer center in 2017. At Winship I was dedicated to Oncology trials in phases I and II. While working as a research coordinator I was presented with and opportunity at Syneos. Syneos was hiring CRAs with minimal experience or study coordinator experience. I applied and was hired as a CRA I. I went through an intense training program where I preformed observational monitoring visits for each of the visit types. I did their two-week in-house training in North Carolina and then completed my training with their online course. After completing my training I began to co-monitor for a while before finally being signed off by a Senior CRA. In all, training took me about four months to complete before I could begin working independently. Since becoming a monitor I have worked in several therapeutic areas including: Oncology, CNS, Infectious Disease, Medical Device and Respiratory. I have also worked on the following indications and phases: Leukemia, Breast Cancer, Parkinson’s, and Bipolar Disorder phases I, II, and III clinical Trials.
Describe a challenging situation you experienced as a CRA. Was there a resolution?
was onsite performing a monitoring visit. This site had screened
a lot of subjects but only randomized a few. The site had an 8% screen fail rate. I
finished SDV and the monitoring visit according to my CMP and I had some time
left in the day, so I decided to review the data of Screen failed patients. When
reviewing the patient data, I could not identify why the patient was not eligible for
participation. I spoke with the CRC and she mentioned the patient was screen failed
because the patient was taking Flexeril, a muscle relaxant. Although the protocol
mention muscle relaxant is exclusive/prohibited, the sponsor had sent a protocol
clarification letter mentioning that the exclusion criteria only applied to smooth
muscle relaxant. Based on that, the subject was eligible. The site mentioned there
were 5 subjects who were screen failed because they were on flexeril.
I immediately called my CTL and escalated to the Medical Monitor. The Sponsor
was notified, and the sponsor allowed the site to rescreen the patients and the
patients were later enrolled. I retrained the site and documented the actions in my trip report.
Why are you looking for a new monitoring opportunity?
I am looking more for something that fits in with my future. My goal in the next five to ten years is to become a project manager and I feel my current company does not provide me that opportunity. I want to push myself as a Clinical Research Associate by learning from the best and becoming the best myself. I feel a way to do that is by moving to a company where my input carries more value. A place where I can find a balance that can teach me and allow me to be myself in the way I push forward in my career path.
Are you saying that your current company does not have opportunity for growth?
No, I am not saying that at all. I would like to move to a company where I am happy, they lack the communication skills that I desire and it makes me less motivated to push myself forward in the way that I want my career to proceed.
What Therapeutic Areas have you worked in?
I have worked in CNS, Oncology, Infectious Disease, Medical Device, and Respiratory.