Hire study coordinators that fit your work culture
Hire study coordinators that fit your work culture
An honest disclosure at interview
Most work environments contain at least one example of clashing personalities or a problematic worker attitude. But this is not an issue for at least one clinical research site because the site director makes a point of weeding out potential personality issues early on.
Preventing personality clashes begins with the interview process.
"You have to have a thick skin to work here, and if someone is too thin-skinned, we say, 'This is not a good environment for you,'" says Karriem S. Watson, MD, MS, CCRC, director of clinical research and development in the department of neurosurgery and a research specialist in health sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Since the department's principal investigators are neurosurgeons who have little time and are detail-oriented, their often brusque manner might be off-putting to some employees.
Watson looks for study coordinators who can understand this style and not take it personally.
"I ask potential employees how comfortable they are working in an environment in which they would have little time with the doctors," he says. "The neurosurgeons work early and late, and I want to know how flexible a person is to work these kinds of hours."
The key is to be honest about the work environment.
"I'm very upfront and will say to a study coordinator applicant, 'You may have a monitor who wants one hour with the neurosurgeon, and you have in reality 10 minutes available for the surgeon to speak with the monitor between surgeries. How are you going to get both the monitor and surgeon what they need?'" Watson explains.
"I want to hear them problem solve, be strategic," he adds.
Finally, Watson lets study coordinator candidates know that the principal investigator is the boss of the study, and it's the study coordinator's job to put the study participant's interests first.
"I sometimes do study coordinator work myself, so I understand what their needs are," Watson says.
Most work environments contain at least one example of clashing personalities or a problematic worker attitude.Subscribe Now for Access
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