The biotech and pharma sectors are booming in the hot scientific industries of today’s economy. Clinical research is an essential part of these industries. Research often relies on SAS programming, so this can be a rewarding and in demand career path. If you want to be an SAS Clinical Programmer, follow these tips.
Get the Right Education
An SAS Clinical Programmer should go to an SAS training institute and get training in the following skills:
* Analysis Dataset Development: Write SAS code to create analysis datasets from raw clinical data. Analysis dataset development is the first part of clinical trials analytics.
* Analysis Dataset Validation: Data Accuracy is of the utmost importance in clinical research. Create your own code in SAS and compare the analysis dataset you come up with to the given specifications of the ones obtained in the study to validate the study’s data.
* Report Generation: Use given analysis datasets, mock shells, and guidelines to create your own summary reports and listings to interpret the data. Make inferences from the statistics and clinical data. You will write these reports in SAS code.
* Report Validator: Same with analysis datasets, reports must be validated. Write SAS code from analysis datasets and RTF (Rich Text Format) Reports.
* Graph Generator: A graph helps to format and visually analyze your data and is particularly helpful for the regulatory officials who will read your report because they will be able to see broad trends of data from the graph. Use SAS to generate error bar graphs for the PK data endpoint and the percent change form baseline plot (formula Mean+/- SE) for lab tests.
* Dataset Merger for PK Analysis: PK (Pharmacokinetic) analysis integrates PK concentration data, usually factors such as demographics, dose administration, blood collection, and vital signs, and the datasets in a database. Create a PK analysis dataset, based on the raw PK datasets and clinical datasets, using SAS code.
Know Your Codes
Of course SAS is essential to become an SAS Clinical Programmer, but you will also need to know RTF (Rich Text Format), in which many reports are written up. To obtain this kind of job, you must be fluent in these coding languages, so as to be the greatest asset to the researchers who hire you.
Get Experience
In today’s job market, it’s not enough to have an education. Real-world experience, as through an internship, will take you far.
