Medical Affairs Associates Program

Our Associates Program is only open to medical professionals in 'good standing' with the GMC (General Medical Council), or equivalent body if you are medically trained outside of the UK.

After your payment has been received, you will receive an email containing instructions to set up your account and get immediate access to our exclusive training platform, which contains all the videos and documents you need to complete this level.

The Foundation Training videos have a total running time of about 3 hours and the post-course exercise would take you about 2 hours to complete. There is no deadline for submitting your post-course exercise, but qualification and invitation to join our Associates Program requires a successful submission.

You get a Certificate of Completion (with 3 hours of CPD points credit) after watching the Level 1 videos (please contact us to request your certificate). If you then undertake the post-course exercise and successfully complete it to an excellent standard, you will invited to join our Associates Program and be offered paid work with us.

After watching the Foundation Training videos, you need to complete and submit a post-course exercise to an excellent standard of English spelling and grammar. Alongside your submission, we will ask for your CV and General Medical Council (GMC) number (or equivalent body if you medically trained outside of the UK). You must be in 'good standing' with your associated medical council. After you have passed the post-course exercise and successful checks have been made, you will be invited to become a member of our Associates Program.

No — some of our current Associates underwent their medical training in Europe, the United States and South Africa.

No — after passing the Foundation Training and becoming an Associate, there are no ongoing costs to be involved with the Program. You will remain 'on file' as an active Associate and we will contact you when work is available.

After completing the Foundation Training, if you submit your post-course exercise to an excellent standard, you will be invited to undertake paid work as a team member in medical writing projects through the Mantra Systems Associates Program. You would become a member of an international group of doctors who undertake freelance work in your spare time with us. Initially, this will involve conducting literature reviews contributing towards production of Clinical Evaluation Reports coordinated by a lead writer. Work will be offered to you based on quality of your post-course work, experience, and alignment with your clinical field of expertise.

No — you will be offered work on a take-it-or-leave-it basis and you are always free to say yes or no. Only once you formally agree to a work block will you be under any obligation. The whole program is designed to work around your existing clinical commitments and you must not feel under any pressure to change your work pattern to accommodate it.

The amount of work offered will vary according to several parameters. The medical device market typically slows down in August and December and is busiest in January - April and in September; therefore, the concentration of work available will correlate with this pattern. We also offer work to Associates based on the quality of previous work or, in the case of those that are new, the quality of their post-course exercise. Those factors said, we currently offer a regular stream of work to our active Associates and, if they are 'in the market' for a project, they are generally not without a project to work on. Our most active Associates are offered around 5-10 projects in a year.

Time taken per project will vary according to project complexity, with more complex (and time-consuming) projects being better remunerated. It also varies a lot between individuals. However, a general rule would be 10 to 20 hours per project with typically a 4-week timeframe in which to complete the work. It's very much designed to be "do-able" around an existing clinical career.

Remuneration will be according to a fee agreed in advance of each work package. The fee will reflect (amongst other factors) the complexity of the medical device, the complexity and depth of work involved, and expected time to perform.

Completion of later levels, along with experience working on projects as a team member, will enable you to act as lead medical writer yourself, offering greater responsibility, exposure and pay. With further experience, you may be invited to undertake additional roles within the company including extended medical writing opportunities, team management and full-time opportunities.

The skills you will learn are highly relevant to broader opportunities across the industry. Completion of Level 1 will enable you to work as a freelance medical writer, for example. Completion of later levels will broaden your freelance scope and will be highly attractive to recruiters into Medical Affairs positions and other roles within the industry. You will be at a huge advantage over other candidates who do not have the same training and experience.

Under normal circumstances, a single fee will grant you lifetime access to the material, meaning that it's always there if you need to refer back to it. Access would only be withdrawn under very limited circumstances - for example, if you take up employment or develop a commercial interest in a competitor to Mantra Systems, if you share the material or your login details with someone else without suitable permission, or if you act in a manner that may, has or was intended to damage Mantra Systems' business, the wellbeing of employees or other members of the Associates Program. Access may also be withdrawn if you enter into disciplinary proceedings with regard to your medical registration or if you are removed from the medical register.

Our training courses and Associates Program are unique to Mantra Systems. There is no other company providing the option for doctors to quickly train for medical affairs work and get the opportunity to undertake work in the medical device industry, without the need to leave their existing clinical role. The only affiliation is with Beyond the Ward, which is owned and run by Mantra Systems as an alternative route into the Associates Program.