Clinical Research - Scope and Courses of Study Clinical Research' is a valuable branch of healthcare science; it is term used to describe systematic study and processes carried out on pharmaceutical products like devices, diagnostic products, drugs, medications and treatment regimens that are used on human subjects. These products may be used to treat or relieve symptoms of disease or illness, carry out surgical procedures and treatments. A research is done to discover, study and verify the clinical and pharmacological advantages and any adverse effects of these products on humans as a means of determining their efficacy and safety in treatments. Clinical Research and Clinical Practice are two different terms - while clinical research studies evidence collected in establishing a treatment, clinical practice is the use of established treatments to control or relieve diseases and symptoms. Clinical Research covers an entire range of processes concerning a drug or medication or a device; in short, from the time any test product that is produced in the lab is introduced into the consumer market, the whole procedure has to be systematically analyzed and data collected through trials and corrections to understand and enforce safety and efficacy. For more info about Clinical research nurse job outlook click here. Animal and human trials are a part of Clinical Research. These trials are layered studies to help evaluate effectiveness of drugs and the safety of medical devices and are conducted through formal protocols that dictate: • • • • •
The kind of human patient to undergo trial When to start the trial How much treatment should be given Measures, methods and processes at every stage Overall duration of the study
Over the last few decades, clinical research has become a bustling industry worldwide. However, like every other industry, this is also plagued by challenges at every level. The areas that need concerted efforts are - lack of trained experts in science, bioethics and research methodology. Professional courses A degree in Clinical Research is offered by Health Science medical schools and universities and is slotted into three types - undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD levels. The scope of the degree is to help students evaluate and understand the new medications and drugs that are used in clinical trials with reference to health issues in populations and environmental factors. 1. The Undergraduate Degree is open to students with basic schooling in Health Sciences; duration of course study may be 3 to 4 years. 2. The Masters Degree is open to undergraduate Life Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacology students; duration of course study is 2 years.