In the past few years, I noticed that more and more Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs) put credentials on their names to let people know that they are board-certified Medical Science Liaisons. And then a question suddenly popped into my head, and I started thinking if it is that important to be a board-certified Medical Science Liaison? So I did some research online, and here’s what I found.
Board Certification for MSLs is becoming a trend.
Many MSL job openings in LinkedIn show that more and more companies prefer the applicant is board certified in medical affairs. Because of this, it looks like having a board certification is another way to stand out for an MSL role or within medical affairs in general.
BCMAS™ matters as per MSL Managers
After talking to all sorts of Medical Science Liaison managers, I learned that becoming a Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist or BCMAS professional will surely give an applicant an edge during the interview. Since BCMAS shows its willingness to develop professionally as a Medical Science Liaison and goes above and beyond, the organization that provides BCMAS is the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs.
The official MSL certification is the Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist (BCMAS) program.
After spending a bit of time on Google, I found out that many organizations claim the ability to give people Medical Science Liaison “certification” or “board certification.” I found the only one that stood out from the rest of them, which offers a board certification that was both recognized by regulators like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA). ACMA is one of the institutions that offer MSL certifications. They offer the Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist (BCMAS) program, the most extensive and the first globally-recognized official MSL Board Certification. It’s even mentioned on Wikipedia. Also, I found out that over 250+ pharmaceutical and biotech companies implemented BCMAS for their medical affairs and MSL teams.
Ways to Promote your Board Certification as an MSL
To promote your MSL Board Certification, put it on LinkedIn or let the company you are currently working with showcase it in your acknowledgments section. In addition, they know that you earned your certification. Since many pharmaceutical companies have sites where they publish company news, especially employee’s achievements, it is more likely that they’ll celebrate your win by posting it there. ACMA also offers a badge that you can add to your social media profile and portfolio. In this way, you can flaunt your certification to employers and other organizations.
Final Words
Becoming a Board Certified Medical Science Liaison has come a long way, and the only way to earn this certification officially is by taking the Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist (BCMAS) program. Don’t forget to make sure that you are taking it with a legitimate, trusted organization such as the ACMA when you take this program.
The cost of BCMAS is $1999, and it will usually take you about 40 hours to complete with 6 months access for individuals and a year for teams. Pre/post quiz modules will prepare you to come to the exam well tested. The BCMAS Exam will be given online with a proctor when it comes to the examination.
Again, be careful of phony certifications like the MSL-BC and BC-MLS cert programs which are not known in the pharmaceutical industry. Keep in mind that continuous compliance demand growth and elevated skill sets for MSLs will continue to grow as more specialized drugs and devices come to market.