Looking to break into first MSL role

Discussion in 'MSL Board' started by anonymous, Dec 11, 2019 at 11:11 PM.

  1. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    I have a DNP from one of the top 5 schools in the country and 10+ years of clinical practice as an NP and 1 year working for Alere in a clinical liaison role. I am looking to break into the MSL role. Would anyone mind pointing me in the right direction as to who to apply for?

    Thanks!
     

  2. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    Try applying to smaller biotech companies. Also consider getting Board Certified in Medical Affairs via the Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist Program or BCMAS from the ACMA.
     
  3. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    This is terrible advise to recommend as a first step BCMAS. That is pity ful actually. For any one who cared to give mea!ningful advise, it would be on the order of : do some informational interviews with MSLs to understand the job, by that, network! Look for companys that may be working in your area of clinical expertise where a nurse experience will be valued! My company has a couple nurses as MSLs as their clinical experience in that specific area is highly valued and they perform the MSL role excellently !!! And they're great team-players!!

    Other advise would be ensure you're leveraging and communicating on your experience from working on teams - perhaps MDTs - and of course there is the science - bone up on that.

    No amount of BCMAS crapola will make you first and foremost competitive!!!

    If you came to me telling me I should hire you because you have a BCMAS, I'll throw your application in the garbage.

    If you come to me and say, you've interviewed MSLs, you've understood the role, that you bring some portable skill sets, show me you're a great communicator and team player and you some science competencies (though no the most important, I need solid communicators and relationship builders, I can give you the science with our training program) then lets talk!
     
    Jen likes this.
  4. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

     
  5. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    I am a PhD who had no clinical experience at the time I was hired. I’ve been a very successful MSL with a large pharma company for 4 years. This is what I did and this is my advice to the dozens of MSL hopefuls that have contacted me on LinkedIn. I’ve shared this advice with my manager before and he agrees that this describes his hiring practices:

    If you’re looking to break into an MSL role, it’s best to apply to large companies with an established product rather than a small company or one that is preparing for a launch. Most large companies have the infrastructure to train newbie MSLs; small companies don’t. Look for large companies that are backfilling open positions not creating new teams. Any company hiring for a drug launch or building a new team wants MSLs who know how to be an MSL and can hit the ground running once hired. Find a company that has an opening supporting an established product with a lot of publicly available data. The more you can demonstrate you know the product (and physicians concerns about the product) and can interpret and explain the data, the better
     
  6. anonymous

    anonymous Guest


    I am a DNP and I have interviewed medical science liaison’s, I understand the role, I bring portable skill sets, I am a great communicator and team player, and have extensive experience in managing acute and chronic diseases,Can we talk!!??

     
  7. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    Dear DNP :
    I disagree with the above comment about getting Board Certification. Put it this way it won't hurt. Becoming an MSL is very competitive. For someone to say they'd throw your application in the garbage, you know that's bad advice and probably bias somehow. Take a look at this article on LinkedIn by an MSL about why this is where our field is going and why you should absolutely do it. Given the information you provided about yourself, sounds like BCMAS is a good option for you.

    Here's the link
    A Tale of 2 MSL Board Certifications: What You Should Know - Part 1
    A Tale of 2 MSL Board Certifications: What You Should Know - Part 1