Part of my job is to send out email communications to the staff and campus regarding updates to Sponsor and University policy. It is important that I can explain complex policies in a clear and concise manner. Additionally, I maintain our website, were I need to also communicate policies and procedures in a clear and concise manner. I also do virtual and in-person training for our staff and the campus. In my prior position in Office of Sponsored Research, I needed to email with faculty and sponsors.

Communication is a key part of clinical scientists. Half of the job is sitting in on meetings and influencing the team. The other half is communicating via email, publications, etc.

It is important to understand who your audience is and adjust your communication style to match their needs. For example, I was scheduled to meet two physicians at a hospital during their lunchtime. It was my first time meeting them and getting to know them. They came in one at a time. One of the physicians wanted to talk about what-ifs situations and asked about data we had on those topics. With the second physician, I was able to share new clinical trial data and answer specific questions she on using our product with a patient. The last person I met during this meeting was a newly graduated medical assistant who walked in and was very eager to learn something new! I had to quickly identify the topic I thought would be most interesting and useful for her. We chatted for some time and left information for her to take home and review. She was very happy.

Simplifying user feedback into insights so we can then translate that into something we build. Helping folks who are the closest to the problem drawback and see overarching problem areas requires communication skills around insightful questioning and facilitation.