Six months at JensonR+
It’s been six months since Sarah Parsons, our Medical Information and Pharmacovigilance Officer joined the JensonR+ team and we thought it would be interesting to have a catch up with her and see how her work life has evolved.
The six months since I started working as a Medical Information and Pharmacovigilance Officer at JensonR+ has flown by. Looking back, I can definitely say that it’s been a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience so far.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in this role is balancing multiple responsibilities. There are many tasks that fall under my horizon, some of which are managing adverse event reports, responding to medical enquiries from healthcare professionals and reviewing the literature for safety information. It can be difficult to juggle all of these responsibilities, especially when there are tight deadlines or unexpected staffing issues arise, and even finding the time to write this very post was a challenge! Due to the legislative deadlines, the team must communicate serious safety reports to the EMA within 15 days of receipt, so this task often has to take priority over other work. As well as this, I must ensure that medical information enquiries are handled within two days, which can add some pressure if the inboxes or phone is busy.
Another challenge that I’ve encountered is navigating the complex regulations that govern the pharmaceutical industry. It can be overwhelming to try to understand and remember all of the regulations and ensure that I’m following them correctly. However, I know that it’s critical to do so in order to ensure patient safety and the medical team are very good at organising training when there is new guidance provided by the MHRA. Overtime, these regulations have become second nature, so instead I have begun to decipher all the jargon that comes with regulatory affairs, a language I was blissfully unaware of in my previous role!
I have also found communicating effectively with health care professionals or consumers to be a challenge at times. They often have complex questions about medications and treatments, and it’s important to be able to communicate clearly and effectively with them. I’m constantly working on honing my communication skills and finding ways to explain technical or specialised information in a way that’s easy for them to understand.
Despite these challenges, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to learn and grow in this role. I’ve attended training and participated in webinars to stay up to date on the latest developments and best practices in pharmacovigilance and medical information. I’ve also taken on the project of building a new medical information database and have been involved with the marketing and IT focus groups.
It’s been incredibly rewarding to work with some amazing colleagues who have helped me navigate complex issues and build my skills and I have found the overall company culture to be welcoming and encouraging of growth.
Moving forward, I know that there will be new challenges to face, but I’m excited to continue growing and developing in this role. By staying focused on learning and growth and building strong relationships with my colleagues, I know that I can continue to flourish within the company.