Study Toolbox Part 6: Teleconferences

Throughout my QP training process teleconferences have been a regular and enjoyable way to assess my knowledge and progress towards submission.

1 to 1 teleconferences

The secret behind arranging teleconferences is your ability to network within your peers.  Networking via training courses, conferences, social media and within your company is key to identify potential candidates to arrange teleconferences with.  The ideal candidate will be one who is at a similar stage in their QP training and works in an area different from your own. Your sponsor should be able to provide you with potential contacts to get you started.

1 to 1 teleconferences give you the ability to dictate what topics are discussed and will provide less nervousness if giving incorrect answers.  My weekly chat is with a trainee QP from 'big pharma' who specialises in solid dose manufacture.  As my background is small scale sterile IMP manufacturing the contrasts are apparent and I certainly have gained great detailed knowledge into solid dose manufacturing just from these 30minute weekly sessions.  A common theme for the discussions is to talk through lists of previous viva questions & scenarios.  This provides a good insight into each other's thought processes and techniques in dealing with scenarios.  This arrangement came about after a chance meeting at a PQG seminar last year.  Therefore don't be afraid to approach people even if your introverted tendencies maybe telling you otherwise.
 

Multi person teleconferences

Multi person teleconferences are obviously harder to arrange.  If your network is large enough then this should not be too difficult to arrange yourself using popular teleconference software such as PowWowNow & free conference call.  With an increase in numbers comes an increase in opinions and diversity of relevant topics.  Occasionally you may have to listen to discussions surrounding topics that are not relevant to you.  Multi person teleconferences can be more intimidating especially if you are a new addition to the regulars and you don't want to come across as a complete fool!  Often you will find someone who 'chairs' the conference call to ensure all callers are included in the discussions and know when to move onto a different topic.  Knowing that there are multiple callers means you can take a backseat to absorb what is being discussed without having to do any preparation before hand.  This is useful for the initial few calls but to gain the most out of teleconferences you have to get involved and put your thoughts across.  You really do get out what you put in.

There are a few established teleconferences that occur regularly throughout the working week.  Alex at QPQuandary arranges 2 calls per week on Mondays and Fridays and often attracts wide range of callers most weeks.  This is coupled to an extensive email network that provides a good forum for requests and follow up discussion if particularly interesting points are raised during the call.  For me these have been an essential part to my QP training because the majority of callers are from commercial pharma so I can gain valuable information into the way commerical trainees handle scenarios and issues relevant to their practice.  Over time I have manage to contribute from alternative angles (eg NHS, small scale IMP manufacturing) which hopefully has increased the awareness of other areas of practice for callers.

Summary


Teleconferences, either 1 to 1 or multiple person, can offer a great forum for discussion surrounding new GMP updates, scenarios or just to hear someone else's point of view other than your sponsor!  In this age of email communication don't forget the faithful old telephone still has a huge part to play in your QP training journey.

Study Toolbox Part 1:  The Onion
Study Toolbox Part 2:  Introduction to Mindmaps 
Study Toolbox Part 3:  Keeping up to date 
Study Toolbox Part 4:  Training Courses
Study Toolbox Part 5:  Visits