The ACMA is a globally accredited & recognized organization, they have offices in the U.S., India, Europe, South America and the UAE. We are going to break down the pros and cons of each. New Data From Trials of Evolocumab, Olpasiran Show Promise for Cardiovascular Disease Care, Pharmacy Focus: Public Health Matters - Motivational Interviewing, Avadel Seeks FDA Approval for Sodium Oxybate to Treat Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, Independent Rx Forum - Preparing for DIR Fee Changes, COVID-19 Vaccination During Pregnancy Found to Protect Infants Against Infection, Hospital Admission, Study: Remote Dietary Intervention May Reduce Chronic Fatigue for Lymphoma Survivors. I had the opportunity to Unfortunately, the MSL Society doesnt have any preparatory content to help learners prepare for the MSL-BC exam. Hi. Your email address will not be published. ProctorU is utilized by both organizations for proctoring of the exam and both are completed under timed conditions following an identity verification process. ", Lubna El-Najjar The CompTIA A+ certification requires two exams. Medical Affairs Career? Consists of 140 multiple-choice questions. Accreditation Council for Medical AffairsStandard of Excellence #BCMAS medicalaffairsspecialist. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. 5 Myth Busters: MSL Board Certification - Medical Affairs Both are official board certifications, not certificate programs meaning the idea isnt to simply learn about being an MSL the goal is to prove you know what the credential specifically implies, BCMAS leaning towards overall medical affairs (MA) and MSL-BC focusing on the MSL career specifically. orgAccreditation Council for Medical AffairsBe in the Know with ACMAs in the news and newsworthy shares. And theres certainly no programs offering board certification. MSLs need to keep their ears to the ground and listening to Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and their needs, which can drive clinical development strategies. More and more medical affairs professionals sign up to undergo the certification process each month. The ACMA provides training and certification programs for the pharmaceutical & healthcare industries. (1) completing 20 hours of continuing education credits approved by the ACMA or (2) by ACMA seems a-bit move valid and trustworthy in my opinion. you didnt think were possible.. The Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist is quickly becoming the industry standard for medical affairs professionals to attain. Tel: +1 (201) 688-2230 However, after careful investigation it appears the BCMAS is the only accredited board certification while MSL-BC does not appear to be accredited though nearly 2 dozen respected leaders in medical affairs were apart of the credentialing examination collaboration process (if you are attached to the organization and have more complete information please dont hesitate to reach out for a correction as this specific point was hard to ascertain). Never allow a serious crisis go to waste. So said former Mayor of Chicago and White House Chief of We cannot control how people decide to leverage their certification. But the BCMAS program appeals to younger professionals for very concrete reasons. 10. You're either a spammer, or a sheep. I very much agree that awareness of the discipline as a whole (of medical affairs) leads to higher levels of contribution. Bachelors Degree or higher from a regionally or nationally accredited educational institution (a copy of the candidates highest degree or transcript must be provided at the time of registration). is grabbing the attention of politicians and policymakers. BCMAS MENA | Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs I view them as a way to develop and solidify already gained experience. With this credential, your organization substantiates its commitment to quality care and improved patient outcomes. Listen Now! The MSL-BC contains only an exam and has no preparatory content or material to help individuals prepare. Several Advisory board meetings held with Medical Affairs leaders and subject matter experts. That positive relationship can now be yours in your pharmaceutical medical affairs career. See previous posts: https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalScienceLiaison/comments/cfurwp/is_a_bcmas_a_good_idea_if_you_have_no_previous/, https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalScienceLiaison/comments/diiyry/is_the_bcmas_worth_it/, https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalScienceLiaison/comments/cnlgqp/how_many_of_you_are_board_certified_by_acma_is/. in our pharmacy industry. The MSL-BC credential is still very new, and it remains to be seen how widely adopted it becomes. Content is always updated to reflect new business practices, technologies, market challenges and regulatory changes. Very good article! For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. One way MSL professionals can stand out is by becoming board certified MSL professionals. Yes, we have more time on our hands right now! The BCMAS program will expand your knowledge and advance your medical science liaison career. Loved it! Nonquantifiables can be extremely important in business terms, but as hinted in the previous section, senior managers tend to focus on the money; often they are less interested in the nonquantifiables. 1. Current professionals working within clinical research organizations (CROs). Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Is this certification respected and recognized? A quick search on LinkedIn shows just how widely used the credential is among pharmaceutical industry professionals. Does it give you an advantage when applying? so what makes BCMAS so special that you think it's worth thousands of dollars when there are high quality comprehensive free online courses from places like NIH lol? So BCMAS applies to several roles in pharma-not just MSL jobs. A quick search of Linked In will show a splattering of the newly developed MSL-BC professionals while a similar inquiry will find a larger number of those with the BCMAS credential many of whom are in more leadership medical affairs positions (the larger number no doubt due to the fact that BCMAS is for all of MA not specifically MSLs and has been around for an extended period of time comparatively). Recertification Option 2 : Retaking and passing the board exam Medical Director of Astellas Pharma Philippines. The Medical Science Liaison Society (MSLS) is an organization dedicated to advancing the global MSL profession. Perfect time to get board certified. which reflect their status as thought leaders within the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Hughes achieved the Board-Certified Medical Affairs Specialist (BCMAS) certification from ACMA in May of 2021 and believes that it will open new doors and provide her with more in-depth industry training that is needed to excel in the medical affairs career path. 6 Best Whole-House Surge Protectors of 2023 | Are Whole-House Surge A yearly membership to ACMA is approximately 2/3 the cost of MSLS ($200 vs. $290), but the outward appearance is that MSLS is a more active society and the membership includes the newly published digital MSL Journal. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. I have been getting mixed reviews when asking and thought to ask this community. Please contact us for more information, or view the scholarships information page. Additionally, we use PayPal, so you can always use PayPal credit if you qualify. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Wow, those are pretty serious allegations to put out there. It never hurts to continue learning. We connect MSLs to the global medical affairs community, and give them the tools and resources they need to advance in their medical science liaison career paths. I thought it was interesting considering an acquaintance of mine (a former-MSL now in a non-field MedAffairs role) mentioned he didn't know anyone that cared for that certification. A community for all things affiliated with the Medical Science Liaison (MSL) profession. Does anyone know about this combination? Reem El Barrani, B. Pharm, MSc Clin. Pharm, BCMAS BCMAS was worth it! Is A Bcmas Worth It For Msl Career | Bd Jobs Today Additionally, they also have a dedicated team of advisors to help MSLs every step of the way. ACMA Podcast is focused on establishing benchmarks of excellence in training for the This demonstrates the prestigious connotation associated with the BCMAS mark. It would be nice if these questions were available before the exam to help you prepare. Board certifying medical affairs and medical science liaison professionals is critical to ensure ethical practices, compliance excellence, and public trust at this crucial time. BCMAS is a Board Certification accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training /American National Standards Institute (IACET/ANSI). MSL Society is a smaller non-profit organization, so they dont have the bandwidth to provide as much US & global support as the ACMA. Industry professionals provide a review of the BCMAS program. None of the posting mention it in required or preferred qualifications. Regardless of where you are in your MSL career, obtaining an MSL certification can help advance your MSL career and distinguish you among other MSL candidates when applying for a new MSL job or getting that promotion from MSL to MSL Manager or MSL Director. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. an accreditor of medical affairs professionals and pharmaceutical sales representatives The other challenge is if you have a higher chance of failing; you are then paying twice for the exam which eventually adds up and make it very similar in pricing to BCMAS (which allows 4 exam retakes in the initial cost). Comment document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a3cb49ddf8da07e17af6d699a0ebe2fc" );document.getElementById("ae49f29f56").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I spoke to one of their members on their website chat and he was down to earth, he showed me the benefits of the program along with some benefits you attain after completing the program. Please select your appropriate region below to learn more about becoming certified today! Given the requirement facing most CPAs that they complete an average of 40 hours of continuing professional education per year, combined with the flexibility inherent in technologybased training delivery, multimedia continuing professional education courses would seem to hold a definite allure for CPAs. All Rights Reserved. It's always a challenge to transition from academia to industry. But a MSL position is not right for everyone. A BCMAS certification is recognized around the world. MSL-BC requires this be accomplished every 3 years while BCMAS has an every 5 year requirement. Have completed at least a bachelors degree and have 2 years relevant professional experience (ie., pharmaceutical industry experience, clinical and/or research experience). Staff, Rahm Emanuel, in response to the global financial crisis of 2007/2008. I'm leaning towards the former. Obviously don't take my word, do your own research but just my take on the topic. You do not need prior industry experience but you do need to have a pharmd/phd/md/do etc. The BCMAS program is a perfect resource for industry professionals, transitioning academics or anyone seeking to gain and demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of healthcare landscapes, therapeutic development and regulatory infrastructure. ACMA and The Medical Science Liaison Society (MSLS) have different board certification credentials and the question becomes which is the right one for each MSL. within the medical community and serve as liaisons between HCPs and their company. Medical Affairs, talks about the organizations certification process. The remaining 15 items serve as pretest questions, and do not affect your final score. This means that as an MSL, you will consistently reach out to people with the intent to educate them about your company and its products. While the exam consists of 140 multiple-choice questions, of these, 125 questions will be used to calculate your test score. Being board certified in any healthcare related career has proven to be impactful. Several years ago many did not believe that it would be possible to have a certification that broadly sweeps small and large organizations and everything in between including all therapeutic areas. They constantly blast promotions about this certification and how important it will be without much substantiation. Yeah, I'm sure they'll legitimately take your money and give you some extra letters after your name. I wanted to work in medical affairs as a Medical Science Liaison (MSL) in the pharmaceutical Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This demonstrates the prestigious connotation associated with the BCMAS mark. accredited college, university or institution. No existing program, to my knowledge, covers the spectrum of Medical Affairs and related topics like ACMAs 20 learning modules. While MSLs are not sales representatives, they ARE proactive educators. clinical medicine, and experts from the pharmaceutical industry. The ACMA has Live 24/7 Chat support feature. Johnson & Johnson Medical Science Liaison Jamie M. Dettler-Leonard, PhD, BCMAS from provides her review of the BCMAS program on the Pharmacy Podcast Network discussing why BCMAS was worth pursuing. It features data and insights from policymakers, industry and academic leaders, and patient advocates working to ensure equity, trust, and excellence in Medical Affairs professional engagements. My comment continued: I agree with the article, the ACMA module content and exam are not necessarily for entry level professionals. Copyright 2022 - BDJobsToday.org.