“As a doctor in clinical service, you are saving one life at a time but as a medical researcher, you’ll be saving millions of lives at one time if you produce outstanding research that greatly impacts serious medical conditions”.
Dato’ Dr. Goh Pik Pin former Director of the Clinical Research Center, Ministry of Health, Malaysia.
These words of wisdom are those of a medical doctor who became a researcher and rose to the rank of Clinical Research Center Director at the Ministry of Health. If you’re a doctor thinking of transitioning to research, these inspiring words ought to motivate you to move forward with confidence amidst a medical fraternity that frowns upon doctors making such a move.
Doctors are often seen as quitters for “taking the easy way out” when they choose to become researchers. But the stark reality is that no real pathway for career progression exists for doctors who want to be researchers in the government healthcare sector. This has caused many doctors in government healthcare to move into the private sector for career progression in the field of research.
Those who have moved out of government service to the private sector are happy with their career move. Their career feels right to for them, and they continue to derive job satisfaction. So, if you’re really interested in research, stick to your gut instinct no matter what the naysayers around you think.
Dr. Yuan Liang Woon, whose mentor was Dato’ Dr. Goh Pik Pin, completed his medical degree and went into clinical medicine for two years while obtaining his Master’s in Public Health. Upon graduation, he was made the Head of Center for Clinical Epidemiology, MOH, a move which was unprecedented for a young researcher like himself. Having served there for four years, he is presently the Real World Evidence Team Leader at Novartis, a pharma company.
Dr. Chui Fong Chong upon graduation from medical school served in clinical service for more than four years before moving into the pharma industry as a disease expert in influenza, gastroenterology, and others. Today she’s the Senior Principal Medical Director of Immunology at Hoffman La-Roche, Switzerland.
Both researchers emphasize that a great appetite for curiosity is a must for doctors who want to be researchers. You’ll need to ask the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” questions. Being curious and passionate about science will take you a long way. After all, research is undertaken to find an answer to a question.
Having a post graduate degree would be helpful as well. Dr Chong’s Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine gave her a solid foundation as a physician in clinical research and drug development. Dr. Woon’s Master’s in Public Health opened doors of work opportunity in research. His degree helped him to see things from multiple perspectives. For example, his education helped him to analyze the efficacy of a drug from multiple perspectives as well as to take into consideration the multiple causality of a phenomenon being researched.
Having an area of specialization is also a plus, says Dr. Woon. If you wish to transition to research, having an area of expertise is wise be it as a disease expert or a methodologist, or both. Research is often a collaborative effort as well. A researcher who is a disease expert might require very advanced analysis for his/her study which would invariably cause him/her to work with a statistician or a methodologist.
