Pharmaceutical professionals keep one foot in science and another foot in health authority regulation, both rapidly evolving fields that require consistent training to keep pace. In addition, new opportunities often entice scientists to widen their expertise to contribute to new areas of drug development, which may require an entirely new set of skills. At some point, you are likely to reach the limit of what your corporate or personal budget for training allows. This list is just what you are looking for: quality training that is either free or subsidized!
These courses are ones I have taken and felt were worth the time investment. This list is current as of February 2022.
Online Courses
Introduction to the Principles and Practice of Clinical Research, NIH
This course (IPPCR) is offered by the NIH to train new clinical investigators from September to July of each year. It covers all aspects of clinical trials including design, analysis, reporting, budgeting, regulations, and ethics. The textbook is available for about $88 (with the promo code they provide) and the course is free, self-paced, and entirely online. If you pass the final exam you will earn a certificate of completion. This course is a significant time commitment, there are about 40 lectures and most are 60-90 minutes, and you will need to allow additional time to read the assignments and study for the exam. I highly recommend going through Statistics on Khan Academy (see below) to prepare for the biostatistics in this course.
Regulatory Affairs Training Program, Duke University
This 6-week course offered by the Office of Regulatory Affairs and Quality (ORAQ) at Duke University is free and available online via WebEx. This course is not self-paced, there are 1-hour webcasts from 12-1 pm EST on Fridays. They take attendance and there is reading and homework.
ORAQ also offers free seminars on regulatory topics that you can join via WebEx.
The FDA and Prescription Drugs: Current Controversies in Context, HarvardX
This online course consists of 6 self-paced modules, which took me about 6 weeks (they estimate 8 weeks). It’s a great overview of the drug approval process and the history of the FDA. It’s presented by the Program on Regulation, Therapeutics, and Law at Harvard and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. It is free to audit, or $199 to get a certificate. It is self-paced, so you start anytime enrollment is open.
FDA training
The FDA offers free online resources, including the online courses below.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy offers free courses on Statistics and Probability, AP Statistics, and Health and Medicine that can keep you busy for months.
Explore a Career in Medical Writing
If you are completely new to medical writing, this course will provide a complete overview of the field. It’s available online through ed2go and also through a partnership with community colleges (I took it through Wake Community College for less than ed2go charges).
Online Medical Terminology Course, Des Moines University
When writing up adverse events, you need to learn a whole other language. If you are new to terms like pyrexia, dyspnoea, and tachycardia, take this brief online self-paced course on the Latin and Greek behind medical terminology. It takes about 2 hours, and is free if you don’t require a certificate.
NIH Plain Language Online Training
Government communications are required to be written in plain language, but some writers are unclear what plain language means. This free online self-paced course from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will help you understand federal requirements for plain language.
Trade organizations
The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA)
Membership to AMWA will cost you $199/year ($80 for students) but offers a lot of educational perks for medical, scientific, or regulatory writers. AMWA offers a variety of paid courses, but there are some that are free for members (search for “complimentary“), and they email out a monthly free webinar (one that is usually paid) for members as well. You also get an included subscription to the AMWA Journal and all back issues online. Membership in AMWA also includes free chapter events that are a great bargain if you live near an active chapter (if you live in NC or SC, check out @AMWACarolinas on Twitter!).
NC RAF
Membership in the North Carolina Regulatory Affairs Forum is only $40 and includes 6 seminars per year on regulatory topics that are available by WebEx. They also offer a summer workshop (at an additional very reasonable fee) to prepare for the Regulatory Affairs Certification (RAC) exam.
Podcasts
Medical Writers Speak Podcast
This podcast is provided by Emma Hitt Nichols of Nascent Medical to promote her business and her 6-week course. She has many interviews with medical writers, through listening you can learn about the many career paths available to medical writers as well as many tricks of the trade.
The Effective Statistician
This podcast, sponsored by PSI, is excellent for statisticians and those who work with statisticians, and some episodes on leadership and influence are applicable to anyone in pharma.
Peter Attia Drive
Take a whirlwind tour of the past, present, and future of cancer in episode #62 of Peter Attia’s podcast. I’ve listened to this one a few times because so much interesting detail is packed into every minute of this episode.
Publications
Pharmaceutical Technology
This free magazine will keep you up to date on news, regulatory updates, and best practices for Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC).
Pencil Points Newsletter
This is a great monthly email newsletter for medical writers full of tips, tricks, and tools.
EMWA Regulatory Writing Basics
The European Medical Writer’s Association journal published an entire issue devoted to regulatory writing in 2014, and it’s free for non-members to read.
Whitsell Innovations
WI posts videos, infographics, and handouts on regulatory and medical writing topics.
Trilogy Medical Writing
Trilogy has several publications written by expert medical writers on a variety of topics.
Emma Hitt Nichols’ book on Freelance Medical Writing
Emma broadcasts a free webinar regularly to promote her 6-week course. The course is not free, but when I attended her webinar she provided her book for free to attendees.
Know of a great cheap or free course that I should list here? Contact me through the contact link above and let me know! Happy learning!
Jenni Pickett, PhD 