Clinical Research Coordinator/Diagnostic Technician?

College Majors Science Majors
1

<p>I'm a biology major whose looking into possible career paths. I feel as though I really want to work in a hospital but don't want to go the premed route and am not sure yet whether I want to be a physician assistant. I want a career where I can pursue research but also interact with patients. I came across a website talking about clinical research coordinators and and it sounded like something I would be interested in. The only thing I can't seem to find out is whether or not they have much interaction with patients. </p>

<p>Does anyone know much about this careers or have any other ideas of careers that might fit into what I'm looking for? </p>

<p>Edit: I also looked into diagnostic technician and felt like that would be perfect due to my interest in neuroscience. I would be interacting with patients but not have the full responsibility and time commitment as a doctor. I like that technology is involved. But more research showed that you really only need an associates and the pay isn't that high. Are there opportunities for undergrads to go into this field and make a little bit more money?</p>

2

<p>As a technician, you’d be doing grunt work. If you are really interested in neuroscience, you would probably find the job disappointing or frustrating because you would have a lot of opportunities for critical thinking/neurosciencey stuff. (That’s totally a word, right?)</p>

3

<p>Do you know whether clinical researchers get to work with patients and such? Do they do experiments on the patients?</p>

4

<p>People doing clinical research can interact with patients, if you’re studying something where that is common. There are many different kinds of research, so if you are seriously consider research, it would be best for you to get as much experience as possible so that you can find out if it’s right for you and to find out what area you are most interested in. You’ll likely need at least a Master’s, if not a PhD. Depending on what research you do, you may need to be on a team with an MD.</p>