2009 SCDM Annual Conference

Top Five Reasons to Attend the SCDM Annual Conference
You won’t want to miss the 2009 SCDM Annual Conference, October 4-6 in Seattle. Here are the top five reasons to go:

1. Variety With sessions covering Best Query Writing Practices, eClinical/eHealth Initiatives and everything in between, the SCDM Annual Conference provides the complete educational experience you’re seeking. This year’s 50+ presentations were selected from more than 225, ensuring quality and diverse sessions.
2. Learn from Industry Experts Sessions are led by leaders in clinical data management. Representatives from the Food and Drug Administration, CDISC and the Metrics Champion Consortium will share their knowledge and insights.
3. More Bang for Your Buck With a possible 17 hours of instruction, the SCDM Annual Conference is a tremendous value. Register by September 25 and pay only $800. For those looking for more, check out our pre-conference tutorials, half-day sessions that cover topics in-depth – choose from CDISC, coding or lab data.
4. Networking The SCDM Annual Conference brings together more than 600 professionals in clinical data management. Our exhibit hall, networking breakfasts and evening socials offer opportunities to strengthen existing relationships or meet new contacts.
5. Fun Your registration fee includes a ticket to the Space Needle and access to the Data Driven Innovation Award reception at the Experience Music Project, an interactive museum chronicling the history of rock-n-roll, its roots in earlier genres and its impact on popular music today.

Don’t Delay
Only four weeks remain until the 2009 SCDM Annual Conference in Seattle.

Register soon to avoid late registration penalties and ensure your choice of hotel accommodations.

This year’s meeting headquarters is the Westin Seattle. SCDM has a limited number of rooms reserved for meeting attendees. When making your reservation, please identify that that you are attending the SCDM Annual Conference to get the best rate.

Interact with us
Become a fan of SCDM on Facebook to view photos and videos from the Annual Conference. New albums will be uploaded before and throughout the meeting.

You can also follow SCDM_DataDriven on Twitter for instant updates on the Annual Conference. Are you tweeting the meeting? Use #SCDM09 to tag your posts.

 Want to Create a Study Group for the CCDM® Exam?

Join SCDM's Free Webinar on September 22 and Find Out How

A study group can help you and your colleagues prepare for the CCDM® exam. Joshua Cox and Grant Rempe from Quintiles will be sharing the secrets of their study group success during a 90-minute webinar, September 22 at 11 a.m. CDT. Josh and Grant helped two groups at Quintiles prepare for the CCDM® exam and they will describe how they formed groups that were engaged, sustainable and successful – all through creative facilitation techniques and resources that are readily available from the SCDM Web site.

Most people learn best by participating in groups that meet regularly and appeal to many learning styles.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn how you can do it too. A question and answer period will follow the presentation. Mark your calendar – more details to follow soon.

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 Online Learning….what's that?

Recently, we’ve received a number of questions related to online learning. SCDM’s Director of Education, Sharon Kayne Chaplock, addresses one of them here.

Many professional development providers are coming out with “online learning” opportunities. What exactly does that term mean and what do SCDM’s opportunities look like?

There are many programs being offered now under the “online learning” banner. This all-encompassing term, however, can refer to any educational offering that is supported by the Internet. Examples are courses delivered through webinars, webcasts, learning management systems and video conferencing. They are all accessed through a computer or sometimes even a mobile device.

SCDM has an established track record of online learning in the form of webinars, starting in 2006. This year, SCDM is going beyond the familiar 90-minute lecture/Q&A webinar sessions by adding four asynchronous online courses. The first, Data Management Plans, was offered this summer. It was hosted by Moodle, an open-source learning management system that provides a comprehensive learning experience. The response has been phenomenal, with 20 people enrolled and four on the waiting list from locations across the globe, including Russia, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico, Canada and the United States.

The asynchronous courses are interactive and instructor facilitated, offering an opportunity for a more in-depth learning experience than webinars and include real-world application of skills with peers and experts in the field of clinical data management. Learners are not required to be online at the same time and log in from anywhere at any time, allowing them to participate from their own backyards – as long as they have an internet connection. Learners must meet deadlines for assignments, unlike self-paced programs. Course structure includes an introduction and objectives for each week’s module; resources for information content, including articles, videos, Web sites or narrated slide presentations; discussion forum postings; weekly assignments; and a final project. Students in the recent DMP course completed their final project in groups using a wiki.

SCDM’s online courses allow a great amount of flexibility to satisfy course requirements: the opportunity to engage with colleagues all over the world, direct virtual contact with the instructor and the ability to earn continuing education units. A byproduct that students tell us they were not expecting is developing greater proficiency with computer-based learning tools that are transferable to the workplace, like performing more productive searches, participating in collaborative work using tools like wikis and developing communication skills through the discussion forum.

SCDM’s online courses are filling up fast. Don’t hesitate to sign up for any of the next three being offered this fall:

• Project Management for the CDM – September 7 through October 2 – Course is full
• CRF Design – October 12 through November 6
• CRF Tracking and Communication – November 10 through December 4

Go to http://portal.scdm.org/online-courses full course descriptions and registrations. Courses close after 20 enrollments and a waiting list will be started, or a new course opened up should there be enough interest.

 2009 Webinar Schedule

For more information and registration, please click on the webinar title below.

Date	Title	Sequence
September 10 & 17	Database Validation and Surviving an Audit	Certification Sequence
September 22	Study Group 101	Certification Sequence
October 22 & 29	Patient Reported Outcomes	Career Development Sequence
November 5, 12 & 19	Project Management Toolbox	Certification Sequence

* Please read our updated Webinar Terms and Conditions

Archived Webinars

• Clinical Trials Abroad
• Data Acquisition
• Data Management & Oncology Trials
• From CDASH to SDTM Data Sets - Putting CDISC Standards to Work for You!
• Overview of Emerging and Established Standards
• Trends Shaping Clinical Data Management
• Preparing for the CCDM® Exam: an Insider’s View

For more information and to purchase these webinars please click here: http://www.scdm.org/events/webinars/archive/

 SME's Wanted

WANTED! Short-Term SCDM-GCDMP Volunteers:
Subject Matter Experts to review the next Good Clinical Data Management Practices(GCDMP) chapters scheduled for revision.

SCDM is looking for three to five Subject Matter Experts (SME's) to work on the following chapters: Systems Validation/Systems Auditing and External Data Transfers.

Requirements for SME's include:

• Three to five years of direct experience with the topic at an expert level
• Good communication skills and a good command of the English language
• Ready access to necessary authorities or resources to confirm accuracy or compliance of content according to governmental or regulatory agencies or other authoritative bodies and guidance
• Must have the available time needed to serve in the capacity of SME, estimated to be approximately 30 to 40 hours over the course of the assignment

Work will begin as soon as SME's are identified and continue until chapters are complete - approximately two to three months.

If you are interested in becoming a Subject Matter Expert for any of these chapters, please send your qualifications, CV and the chapter(s) you are interested in to Sharon Kayne Chaplock at schaplock@scdm.org.

 CCDM® Industry Rewards Program

SCDM rewards the following companies for their commitment to excellence through their support of the CCDM® program.

Industry Master — 100% of CDMs are CCDM®s

• Cleveland Clinic Vascular Surgery Academic Coordinating Center
• McDougall Scientific Ltd.
• ClinForce LLC
• Kestrel Consultants, Inc.
• TOLERX
• Shannon Labout, CCDM

Industry Champion — 50% of CDMs are CCDM®s

• Cetero Research

Industry Leader — 25% of CDMs are CCDM®s

• Covidien
• Duke Clinical Research Institute
• Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Innovative Analytics
• BioClinica, Inc.
• ResearchPoint

Partner Level — 10% of CDMs are CCDM®s

• Roxaane Research Limited
• PharmaNet Development Group

 Get to Know the CCDM®

SCDM is proud to introduce Ellen Loonan Goldberg, CCDM, as a recipient of the Certified Clinical Data Manager designation. Ellen is Director of Electronic Clinical Data Systems with Writeresult, a division of 3C Company in Basking Ridge, NJ.

Q:	Why did you become certified?
A:	I felt that certification would help me find the right position when I was searching for a new position earlier this year. I became certified because I felt it would demonstrate to prospective employers and clients that I could and would manage clinical data properly.
Q:	What challenges did you have taking and studying for the exam?
A:	I wasn’t sure of the best approach to take to study for the exam; I hadn’t taken an exam in years. Having over 20 years of clinical data management experience was a huge plus in adding to my confidence to take the exam. I found the wording of the questions to be challenging.

Q:	How has being certified benefited you?
A:	I am currently employed by Writeresult, a division of 3C Company, a CRO specializing in digital pen technology. I was hired prior to becoming certified. I manage DM activities and assist my company in contracting for additional DM work by establishing solid client relationships. I feel that my certification encourages prospective clients to use our services; it gives them the confidence that we will use the best DM industry practices for their studies.
Q:	What materials did you use to study for the exam?
A:	I read through the GCDMP to review the language that was used, and to ensure that I could distinguish between best practices and other practices in studying for the exam. I also used my past experience to respond to the exam questions. I found the sample questions online very helpful.
Q:	Can you provide helpful hints for those interested in taking the certification exam?
A:	Be confident. Know your material. Review the sample questions several times to acquaint yourself with question wording and types of questions that are asked. Ensure that you’ve read and follow the GCDMP; that is my bible.
Q:	Any additional comments you would like to provide?
A:	I would encourage data managers and other data management professionals to study for and to take the certification exam. When I’ve hired data managers in past positions, I was very interested in interviewing and hiring CCDMs.

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 SCDM welcomed these NEW members in July 2009!

Alba Leticia Aguirre, MD Ramesh Bapat, BSc Sanjay Bhardwaj Andres Busette, BS Cosmas Collins, BSC Patrick Compton, MPH Daniel Durkes, BS Peggy Fellegy Julie Fox, BA Mark Gandara, BS Clare Geiger, RN Ashley Hughes, MS Benjamin Jackson Roxanne Johnson, BS Imran Khan, PhD Jaroslav Koca, MSc Tsilya Korol, BS

Stacey T. Kosarka Katherine Kwoh, BA HyunHak Lee, MS Ka Ming Lo, MPH Hamad Mahmoud, MS Kellie L. McDonald Brian Morgan, MBA Robert Musterer, MBA Haritha Nandyala, BS Ellie Nikanjam, BS Saul E. Novoa, BS Sandra S. Ortiz, MS Rahul Prakash, BS Manjula Raja, BS Rohini Rao, MA Gayatri Rau, BA Roxana Sanchez, BS

Adriana Santana, CCDM, MS Andrea Segal, MEd Tauhid Siddiqui, BS Suzanne Siminski, MS, MBA Pavlina Smekalova, MSc Summer Smith Kevin Stephenson, MS Chad Stimmler, BA, CCRP Heike Strey Erik R. Thorne, BS Prakash Velappan, MBA Sally Webster, BSN Karen Whitley, BS Zhang Yanjuan Dyuthi Yellamraju Marlene Zuniga, MS

 SCDM congratulates the following member for entering
her 10th year of membership in July 2009!

Rachel Dillman

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