May 27, 2020
(Klik hier voor de Nederlandstalige versie van dit bericht)
Michiel Hendriks, Senior Consultant Regulatory Affairs at DADA: “I love my job at DADA. I can really enjoy the diversity of projects and the focus on happy clients.”
Vasil Krapchev, Junior Consultant Pharmacovigilance at DADA: “The whole team, the DADA culture and the actual work in PV are simply a perfect fit for me.”
These are tidbits from a spontaneous exchange of views and thought between Michiel and Vasil. It started out with a simple question over Skype, during the Covid-19 quarantine. Michiel: “hey Vasil, how are things at home office?” What followed was an exchange of why’s: why pharma, why consultancy, and why DADA? Please feel free to read the personal view of Michiel and Vasil, consultants at DADA Consultancy B.V.
Michiel Hendriks:
- born in Groesbeek, the Netherlands, studied in Wageningen, lives in Nijmegen
- works for DADA since January 2015 as Senior Consultant Regulatory Affairs
- married, father of 3
Vasil Krapchev:
- born in Sofia, studied in Germany, graduated in Italy, lives in Poland
- works for DADA since June 2018 as Junior Consultant Pharmacovigilance
- married, father of 3
Michiel:
I have been with major pharma companies for the first 10 years of my career. In those 10 years I learned that I need diversity in my work; more than what I had at the time. And, I am attracted to the exceptional situation. Exceptional situations require thought, creativity, and allow to let go of the common ways. 5 years ago, I found that diversity in DADA, and I am glad to the diversity never ceased.
Vasil:
After 10+ years working at the university, the time for change had arrived. And I had to, like so many others, go through the process of switching from academia to industry – from digging into how the pharmaceutical industry is organised, through researching what kind of positions are most suitable for my skillset, to learning how to write a resume. And so, I do not know if you believe in the law of attraction or in karma but something special happened – as much as I found DADA, DADA found me.
As, back then, I did not know much about the day-to-day responsibilities of a Pharmacovigilance Consultant, I had to go with my gut feeling and first answer one simple question – “Will I be able to share a space and work together within this team”. I really recommend that everyone asks themselves this question before making the final decision.
Then came the details. Part of the initial job offer included two days working from home – in the Netherlands this might be normal but where I come from it has just recently started to be a real thing. Then there was the team-building workshops and the activity days, the regular visits to the Nijmegen office, the team dinners, the laughs. I go to work with a smile on my face, loving what I do and most of all with who I do it.
Michiel:
In those first 10 years of my career I also learned that I actually value working in a small scale environment. Moving from 10.000+ colleagues to DADA, where I have 40 colleagues, I see that we more freely share what moves us. Professionally, and personally. It’s more close.
“I love my job at DADA. I can really enjoy the diversity of projects and the focus on happy clients.”
Plus, I had the most exciting projects I could never have had at any previous employer! Projects often come to because the client doesn’t have the expertise, or because it is something exceptional. I feel delighted when I can provide solutions, and even more so when they exceed expectations. Happy clients are really enjoyable.
Vasil:
To be honest, the learning curve was so steep in the beginning, the first month passed in the blink of an eye. Half of it I spent in the Nijmegen office and got to know the people and the actual job.
“The whole team, the DADA culture and the actual work in PV are simply a perfect fit for me.”
Since initially I did not know what qualified as an Adverse Event, nor what PSUSA stands for, the learning process was very intense but went smoothly. Being surrounded by dedicated colleagues from 8 different countries, I could always find someone who was not getting annoyed by my layman’s questions and had time to share some knowledge over a cup of coffee or in a short skype session.
Also, I really like how the whole team is involved in the decision-making process in DADA. Recently the Pharmacovigilance Department underwent a big transformation and we all took an active part in it. Now I am a member of the Benefit Risk Management team. We write PSURs, Risk Management Plans, do Signal detection, just recently concluded two Signal evaluations. This type of investigative PV work, is what appeals to my researcher’s side. The active substances we do these for are ranging from antihistamines through antibiotics and NSAIDs, to anti-cancer therapies, which makes every day different and decreases the chance of a burn-out.
And finally, none of the tasks I do crosses any of my ethical boundaries and has actually the potential to help the patient. This adds meaning and is crucial because we are all in this journey together – trying to become better people, consultants, partners, parents.
