A dynamic shift in employee recruitment and retention is underway for the life science industry as the Great Resignation continues into 2022. The Great Resignation refers to changes in resignation patterns following the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, employees have reevaluated their career goals, leading to an increasing number of individuals walking away from traditional careers.

During the Great Resignation, millions of employees quit their jobs, changed, or even left their careers. In 2021, 47.8 million people left their jobs. Over 4.5 million employees quit their jobs in March 2022 alone for reasons other than retirement. Healthcare has lost 20% of its workforce in the past two years, and 30% of nurses have left the field, according to an American Hospital Association (AHA) survey.

Employees quit for the following reasons during the Great Resignation:

1. An inadequate salary

2. A lack of advancement opportunities 

3. Feeling disrespected at work

4. Issues surrounding childcare

With the Great Resignation becoming the Great Renegotiation, the power dynamic has shifted from employers to employees. Employers must adapt their working environment and benefits to attract top talent. Life science organizations must create opportunities for employees to grow and feel valued, as many employees cited a lack of advancement as the reason for their departure.

Medical affairs specialists, in particular, require opportunities to evolve with their profession in a hybrid, digital environment. For hybrid medical affairs teams to effectively interact with multiple stakeholders, they need development opportunities to generate and disseminate insightful data.1 As the life science industry rapidly evolves, life science organizations need to ensure their medical affairs teams possess these new capabilities.

The Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA) offers educational opportunities to help life science organizations retain top talent. Medical affairs teams can earn board certifications and continue their education through the ACMA. Providing employees the opportunity to become certified is an excellent way for them to refine their skills and upskill within their current roles. The ACMA’s professional development opportunities energize medical affairs teams and ensure all members are growing and evolving.

What is Upskilling? 

Upskilling involves learning new skills in a specific subject to improve an employee's skills and relevance within an organization. In an industry of increasing regulatory requirements, complex therapies, and omnichannel communication, medical affairs specialists need consistent educational opportunities to ensure the organization meets its stakeholders' needs efficiently and effectively. Upskilling opportunities enable employees to achieve greater productivity, fulfillment, and confidence.

A recent Gallup poll revealed that 87% of Millennials consider professional growth opportunities essential and can influence whether they stay with a company. By 2025, millennials will account for 75% of the workforce. Aside from upskilling opportunities, Millennials prioritize the following when seeking employment:

• Mission-driven brands 

• Empathetic leadership

• Flattened hierarchy

• Flexible work 

Life science organizations should consider these factors when recruiting highly qualified candidates if they expect to attract and retain them. In today's world of global communication, Millennials have more discretion when selecting employers. Increasing workplace globalization also requires that organizations offer similar training opportunities for team members, ensuring effective collaboration. 

By offering medical affairs teams the opportunity to upskill collectively, the ACMA ensures every team member has a similar level of knowledge and can work together harmoniously to achieve the organization's goals. Microlearning programs are an effective way to upskill and improve employee engagement, leading to better employee retention. 

What is Microlearning?

Microlearning is acquiring knowledge or skills in small “bite-sized” learning units.2 Microlearning unfolds information step-by-step and can easily be accessed on the go, facilitating learners' access to information whenever and wherever they want. Microlearning offers many benefits, including:

• increasing the speed of learning.

• ensuring all medical affairs members are trained equally.

• promoting lifelong learning.

• Providing consistency across departments.

• improving learner motivation and confidence.

• allowing learners to retain new skills and concepts easily.

• enabling learners to learn at their own pace.

• encouraging active participation.

Engaging employees in microlearning throughout the day promotes curiosity and skill development. Microlearning benefits employees and employers since this style of learning increases employee engagement, promotes upskilling, and improves information retention. Providing microlearning opportunities cultivates a culture of learning, ensuring an organization's continuous improvement.

Some examples of microlearning are short videos, infographics, social media, and podcasts. ACMA's educational offerings are available via audio, ensuring field medical affairs teams have consistent access to learning opportunities. Microlearning opportunities include ACMA's specialized medical affairs certificates, which are available in mobile and tablet-friendly formats. The following is a list of the specialty certifications: 

• Diversity in Clinical Trials

• The Regulatory Affairs Expert Program (RAEP)

• Clinical Development Expert Program (CDEP)

• Pharmacoeconomics (HEOR)

• Compliance in Pharmaceuticals

• Medical Devices

• Diagnostics

Future medical affairs leaders must demonstrate a mindset of growth, innovation, and openness.1 Through microlearning opportunities, the ACMA fosters this mindset and builds future medical affairs leaders. The ACMA’s Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist Program (BCMAS™) empowers employees, allowing them to distinguish themselves among their peers and setting industry standards.

Why Board Certify Your Team in Medical Affairs (BCMAS)?

1. Upskilling and reskilling medical affairs organizations to enhance employee retention.

2. Attracting talent for critical job functions.

3. Driving and scaling learning engagement for hybrid workforces globally with BCMASTM, which customizes content according to the region of the globe.

4. Ensuring learners obtain critical knowledge and skills at the right time for on-the-job success.

5. Harnessing data-driven insights and analytics to maximize learning outcomes for your medical affairs teams.

Why the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA)?

• First and only accredited organization by IACET/ANSI, ICE in the medical affairs/MSL space

• Unparalleled resources designed to help you level-set U.S and Global medical affairs team with instant access to educational content 

• Excellent support and staff ensuring BCMAS implementation is successful

• Research supports BCMAS' ability to increase knowledge by 80% (p-value .0001)

• ACMA collaborates with over 200+ pharmaceutical companies

• The FDA supports ACMA standards

References 

1. Bedenkov A, Rajadhyaksha V, Beekman M, et al. Developing Medical Affairs Leaders Who Create the Future. Pharmaceut Med. 2020;34(5):301-307. doi:10.1007/s40290-020-00351-y.

2. De Gagne JC, Park HK, Hall K, Woodward A, Yamane S, Kim SS. Microlearning in Health Professions Education: Scoping Review. JMIR Med Educ. 2019;5(2):e13997. Published 2019 Jul 23. doi:10.2196/13997.