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When I was asked to start the cerification process 10 years ago by my boss. I had been working in research for about 5-6 years. I didn't know anything at all about ACRP. I contacted another clinical research nurse I knew because I knew she had been working on getting "certified". I asked her the best organization to get certification through and she immediately said,"ACRP".
I went to a class by ACRP to help me in learning about the certification process. My boss was telling all of the research staff that we all needed to be certified because it showed competency in our field .She said it would also let sponsors know not only were we competent in the field, but that certification would help us in our career and raise our salaries. She said the sponsors would be "more likely" use our site for future studies if we showed that everyone at our site was ACRP certified.
I became the first clinical research nurse ACRP certified at my site and another nurse later became ACRP certified after she had completed her 2 years of research experience.
I will say that certification has introduced me to colleagues in my field and has increased my knowledge about research in general. I have been able to attend 2 of the global conferences and learned so much from each of the sessions.
Being certified also has kept me connected to the ACRP network and when I have a question, a lot of times I will go in the ACRP community and ask my colleagues their opinion. I have been able to share advice to the other staff at my site because of what I have learned through ACRP. I would recommend certification to anyone in the research field because it does show competence in research and it also shows your commitment to the field.
I try and attend the chapter events close to my city, since we don't currently have a chapter in the upstate of SC. I have been to several events in Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA to increase my knowledge and to help me in getting educational credits for certification.
I do think the physicians at our site show us more respect now that we are ACRP certified and often ask us for advice when they have a research question. They know that certification makes a big difference in our knowledge base. They refer new residents to us to assist them with their resident research projects.
I would recommend every person in research either get certification as a research coordinator (CCRC), a research associate (CCRA) or a physician that participates in research (CPI).
I am also proud that I am ACRP certified because it is the only certification right now that has been recognized as an accredited certification in research by the governing bodies. That means a lot as far as marketability, professionalism, and respect from others in the medical and scientific field.
It makes me feel good that I have persevered with almost 10 years of certification.
I went to a class by ACRP to help me in learning about the certification process. My boss was telling all of the research staff that we all needed to be certified because it showed competency in our field .She said it would also let sponsors know not only were we competent in the field, but that certification would help us in our career and raise our salaries. She said the sponsors would be "more likely" use our site for future studies if we showed that everyone at our site was ACRP certified.
I became the first clinical research nurse ACRP certified at my site and another nurse later became ACRP certified after she had completed her 2 years of research experience.
I will say that certification has introduced me to colleagues in my field and has increased my knowledge about research in general. I have been able to attend 2 of the global conferences and learned so much from each of the sessions.
Being certified also has kept me connected to the ACRP network and when I have a question, a lot of times I will go in the ACRP community and ask my colleagues their opinion. I have been able to share advice to the other staff at my site because of what I have learned through ACRP. I would recommend certification to anyone in the research field because it does show competence in research and it also shows your commitment to the field.
I try and attend the chapter events close to my city, since we don't currently have a chapter in the upstate of SC. I have been to several events in Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA to increase my knowledge and to help me in getting educational credits for certification.
I do think the physicians at our site show us more respect now that we are ACRP certified and often ask us for advice when they have a research question. They know that certification makes a big difference in our knowledge base. They refer new residents to us to assist them with their resident research projects.
I would recommend every person in research either get certification as a research coordinator (CCRC), a research associate (CCRA) or a physician that participates in research (CPI).
I am also proud that I am ACRP certified because it is the only certification right now that has been recognized as an accredited certification in research by the governing bodies. That means a lot as far as marketability, professionalism, and respect from others in the medical and scientific field.
It makes me feel good that I have persevered with almost 10 years of certification.
