"The most interesting aspects of my position center on the opportunity
to constantly gain new scientific, medical, and policy knowledge.
Learning is not only great fun; it is also satisfying from professional
and personal standpoints." -- Stella Jones, RA Expert Live in USA
The
Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society describes this field as "vital to making safe and effective health care
products available worldwide," but this indistinct description fails to
capture the true character of this satisfying occupation. Although
regulatory affairs careers are diverse, the career paths and views of
the two regulatory professionals described below will help illuminate
the nature of regulatory affairs careers.
RA professionals come from a variety of disciplines such as law,
academic and industrial research, and medicine. RA is a promising field
for scientists searching for alternative careers because it offers a
multitude of starting jobs and opportunities for advancement.
The knowledge of the regulatory process, laws, and policies generally does
not require formal training. Ones could enter the area of
regulatory affairs from pure science backgrounds and attribute their
extensive knowledge in those other fields to years of on-the-job
training as they worked at different levels of their respective
companies.
In order to excel in regulatory
affairs, it is necessary to be knowledgeable about the latest scientific
developments and discoveries, as well as about current regulatory laws
and policies. Although maintaining a high level of expertise in so many
areas may be exceptionally demanding, that is exactly what we can enjoy.
The job may demanding multiple skills. The scientific
knowledge required in this position are
similar to those needed in other scientific jobs. Other than scientific knowledge, communication and managerial skill may also important value in this job.
Communication is crucial in regulatory affairs, as there must be a clear
and open dialog between lawmakers, the regulated companies, and
consumers, for whom the entire process was designed.
That's one of reference from USA about the RA profession, then how do we describe in Indonesia? We can use that as ideal overview then we can move step by step to reach that goal.
Further reading:
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org
Actually, this was an old idea that get on my nerve. This is my appreciation for a bunch of professional
government officers that I ever met. I could imagine how hard their way
to kept on the excellent personality that they owned. I am proud that
they are pharmacists and smart as well. Of course, our government
system is far away from perfect but from them I learnt that current
condition of Indonesia is not the dead end as long as we have strong
will to hold on good value. We still have chance to make a change.