I get what you are saying and there are definitely aspects of this job that could be considered predatory with how much is put on the CRC, but I also just don't fully agree that clinical tasks are completely out of scope for a CRC. Main jobs of a CRC are to collect and manage data for the trail and to conduct the trials day-to-day activities, which to me, includes when the protocol requires vitals, EKG, etc. Just because a task is part of what another practitioner is trained to do, that doesn't mean that it is something that shouldn't be done by a CRC that is trained to do it or can't be part of the CRC role as well. Yes there are many administrative tasks that don't involve the patient care aspects, but the definition of the CRC role is more broad than that. Respectfully, I'm not sure where you are getting your definition of what the CRC role is and why you think it is supposed to be limited to only the paperwork/regulatory side of things because I have not seen any definition like that and when I search for a sample definition on the internet, I see a lot of the opposite stating that patient care is part of the role.
I also want to add that I know my experience does not translate everywhere and my experience/clinic may not be the norm. When I started this job, I was not pre-med and no one that I have worked with here in our small research department has been pre-med or attempting to go to graduate school besides me. Many people that do the CRC role do want to advance to the CRA role and I agree with how you defined the CRA role, but I also know that a lot of people do stay in the CRC role for their careers and do that largely because of the patient involvement aspect that comes with the CRC role. I can recognize that there very likely are research programs that exploit pre-meds and don't have proper training, but I think that it should also be recognized that there are research programs that do train appropriately and people that do this for a career and that your experience and what you are describing does not define the whole role of a CRC, even if it is what you experienced personally. I'm sorry that you felt targeted and expected to do things that you felt were not the job that you signed up for or wanted. I can definitely empathize with how overwhelming and frustrating that can be.
I appreciate your input and do agree that narrative definitely matters when talking about your past experiences. I also agree there is a lot of exploitation of pre-meds in general because they will do pretty much anything to get experience and companies that offer clinical jobs to pre-meds know that. I just don't fully think that always applies to the CRC role as much as you are saying that it does. But again, that is just my experience and I know that I do not know everything.
Admittedly, I went to a formal program at the University of Florida. Considering I never actually served in the role, my experience is limited to what my training involved, which was basically a course I completed over a few months. I had been working clinically for many years, but I wanted to try and take a different direction since I didn't really know what else to do and whispers about what would eventually become COVID started to spread at the hospital I was working at.
The reason why I emphasize scope is because the training did not at all discuss
any clinical application in the CRC role, and in fact drew lines in the sand that made it seem like it would be unethical to do so. I was already coming from the clinical world, so I wasn't looking for that aspect—but I was very surprised that many interviews I went on were more about what procedures I could perform and less about Good Clinical Practice, informed consent, and the stupid amount of CITI certificates that demonstrate you can at least reference a compliance manual.
The reason why I emphasize exploitation is because the role is so often marketed and used as a nexus of all the things pre-meds want and in fact,
need to progress in their path. There are a lot of doctors out there who will survive residency and think "
that was exploitation," then turn around and think of ways to leverage that model for their own benefit. Have you ever worked for a physician who simply is never happy? Someone that expects everything to be perfect? Where, despite your effort and dedication, the attitude is uniformly "what have you done for me lately?" At a job you're underpaid at and overqualified for—but that you
need for that recommendation, or that connection, or that experience? And so, you're vulnerable, malleable. More willing to tolerate escalating boundary violations and ethically dubious situations. And so, of course, it feels easier (and more protective) to view that situation as one in which you were "unusually mature and trustworthy" or take creative license with the role description; and less "reckless and improper," because if you survived it, it's totally normal to want to take credit for doing the thing.
For what it's worth, the NIH defines it this way:
A
Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC) manages and conducts the day-to-day activities of a
clinical trial. The
Principal Investigator (PI) determines the CRC’s specific responsibilities and works closely with the CRC. In general, the CRC ensures the clinical study maintains accordance with the protocol, applicable regulations, and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and
Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements. Beyond administrative duties, responsibilities of a CRC may include acting as a liaison for the clinical site, ensuring staff are properly trained per the protocol, recruiting and/or registering participants, maintaining study guidelines, and collecting and/or reviewing the
data or review before it is entered into a study
database.
