Clinical study coordinator Review

Overall I enjoyed my placement, there was opportunity to learn about the different teams besides my own, and I felt comfortable asking for more responsibility as I built up my skills. I did not feel like a student during my placement, but a valued member of the organisation, so I felt as if I was making a contribution to the company.

I was treated as an employee of the company, not as a student. Everyone was very welcoming and valued my opinions and ideas. I felt comfortable asking questions to my colleagues and for more guidance if I needed it. I also received guidance outside my role, in regards to my academic accomplishments and career prospects.

Overall my manager did offer me support and ensured I was settled in and was comfortable with my assignments. They set me work, and often checked in to make sure I didn't have too much on my plate. They also made sure I was aware of any conferences / events I may be interested in. However I could have had more one to one sessions and the chance for other opportunities within the organisation, so I could form a better idea as to which career path would suit me.

It varied day to day. The start of my placement was not as well structured as it could have been. I had many days where I had no set work / guidance as to how to fill my days, so I found myself reading SOP's all day. Towards the end as I became more settled, I had more deadlines to meet and so my days were more busy.

I was given as much responsibility as colleagues on my team, and I had the same expectations. Towards the end of my placement, I was given the responsibility over a project outside my team, and this really developed my skills and confidence. I was then expected to train my team in the new programme I had grown familiar with.

The soft skills I have developed from working in a professional environment, will be extremely valuable to both my degree and career. I built up skills such as organisation, keeping to deadlines, professional communication as well as my own confidence.

Very welcoming, open, bright and friendly. Open plan office so very easy to get to know people from other teams. The atmosphere was also very productive, there was always opportunities to get to know what other people were working on, and facilitated opportunities for collaboration, networking and learning more about the organisation.

The first week was quite well structured, we had set presentations and tasks to do. However after this, there wasn't much structure and my days were quite empty. Although this did give me the opportunity to have meeting with people from different teams to find out more about there position.

Everyone was very social, there was often staff events including parties, pub quizzes and after work drinks. Because there were three other placement students, this made it easier to settle in and there was often organised social events between the placement students. This also meant we could learn about each of our roles.

As it was based in central london, this meant the costs were quite high compared to other placements. This was mainly in regard to accommodation and travel. I found that other things such as food and excursions could be quite cheap if you shopped around and took advantage of the free events / student offers in london.

Yes there was a few sports teams after work, I personally took part in netball and softball. This was good for building a sense of teamwork with my colleagues and getting to know people from the organisation that I wouldn't normally run into. There was also opportunities to get involved with activities for stand up to cancer.