About Us

CRA School – Montreal is the only provider of bilingual  international clinical research training with internships and job-placement services (Placement Assistance Til Hire; PATH program).

Our program is suitable for candidates with life science backgrounds, RN, BSc, MSc, PhD, MD, PharmD degrees, GCP professionals, corporate staff, IRB/REB members.

Our training is universally-applicable and provides the students with a solid theoretical and practical base to work in any country.

Our Mission

Our objective is to provide the knowledge and necessary tools that will facilitate access to rewarding careers in clinical research, including Clinical Research Associate (CRA), Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC), Clinical Trial Assistant (CTA), Study Start-Up Assistant (SSU) or Regulatory Affairs (RA).

Our courses provide the building blocks that lead to other fields including Data Management (DM), Clinical Project Management (CPM), Pharmacovigilance (PV)  & Medical-Science Liaison (MSL).

Roles in clinical trials

Regulatory agencies (FDA, Health Canada or other) inspect only a small portion of all studies (around 2%).  the Sponsor company or individual investigator who initiates the study are obliged by law to periodically  monitor the  quality of the data generated and ensure that the rights and safety of the study participants are protected. The physicians (PI or sub-investigators) are responsible for the evaluation of their patients and the quality of the generated data.

Data management, quality control and statistical treatment of the study data are done by the sponsor’s staff, the Clinical Research Associates (CRA), in-house Monitors, Data Managers (DM), Drug Safety Associates, Medical Advisers, Biostatisticians, Project Managers and other staff trained on the study protocol, clinical trial regulations and Sponsor’s standard operating procedures.

What is a CRA/CRC?

The field Clinical Research Associate (CRA) is a monitor who periodically visits the study sites to supervise and inspect the work of the clinical investigators and their coordinators. The CRA verifies their compliance to the protocol and the regulations, makes sure that all regulatory requirements are met and that the quality of the data is acceptable. The in-house CRA and the CTA organize all study-related activities.

The Clinical Research Coordinators (CRC) are clinical research assistants who work in medical clinics (called sites) where the studies take place. They organize all interactions with the study participants and all study-related activities at the site. The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for the patients’ care, evaluations, and the conformity of all the study conduct with the law and clinical trial regulations in force.

Target audience

Companies look for functional English and a university diploma. This guarantees that the candidate will be able to understand a research protocol when trained. Life sciences, health care, nursing, biology, biochemistry, biomedical engineering or other medical fields are preferred. Regulatory affairs jobs don’t need a recognized diploma.

For some high-level jobs, an advanced scientific degree is required. The best hiring chances are for professionals who already have some practical experience in clinical research activities. This is always the 1st hiring criterion.

International candidates

Health professionals, trained abroad, often have difficulties when they move to another country. Foreign diplomas may not be recognized and the required local practical experience is missing. 

With the exception of the clinical investigators and their nurses, all the other Clinical Research Professionals do not perform medical acts. They only handle study data, organization and documentation. Therefore they don’t need a license to practice in the country