For medical education managers, leading a medical communications project can feel like juggling countless balls, with strategic planning, scientific accuracy, and stakeholder coordination being just a few. It isn’t easy! As an organization focused on delivering compelling medical communications programs, the team at CTC knows that in order to do so effectively, developing and honing skills in project management is key.
Whether you’re overseeing the development of CME programs, managing Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) in an advisory board, or ensuring project compliance with industry guidelines, strong project management skills are essential for success. Here are a few tips to help you out.
1. Make sure you review regulatory guidelines at the start of a project
The healthcare and medical landscapes are strictly regulated, and these regulations carry over into the medical communications realm. Before you begin your project, make sure you are aware of any regulations and guidelines in order to avoid legal and ethical issues. This can include promotional or data integrity guidelines. As a project manager, making sure that both you and everyone assigned to the project is aware of the regulatory guidelines that impact your project is key to reducing compliance risks and avoiding costly revisions or unexpected timeline extensions.
2. Define clear objectives and scope before creating your workback
When it comes to any medcomms project, you need to work with your team to set SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, and if you follow these steps, you’ll avoid common project management issues like scope creep, resource constraints and budget overruns.
- Specific: Make sure your goals are clear and focused.
- Measurable: Make sure your goals are trackable, with clear checkpoints for pulling data that can tell you how the project is progressing. Here, remember to budget!
- Achievable: Make sure your project’s goals are realistic given your resources, time, and team.
- Relevant: Make sure your goal aligns with your project’s broader business objectives, and isn’t secondary to what the project has to accomplish.
- Time-bound: Make sure your goals have a clear timeline and due date associated, so that a workback schedule can be created with an endpoint in mind.
3. Assemble the right team
A big part of project management is the building of the team. You will need to identify key roles for the project before it starts. You might need medical writers, a data strategist, or even a web designer. As you manage your project, make sure you identify and fill the roles you need with a good balance of expertise and efficiency, based on the SMART goals you set. And don’t forget - when you create the team, make sure you communicate their responsibilities clearly (including what SMART goals they are accountable for), so everyone knows the role they play in the project’s success.
4. Develop a robust workback schedule
If you don’t use them already, it’s time to start working with project management tools like Asana, Trello, or Monday.com. These are all extremely user-friendly, and they will help you create project timelines and workflow schedules that your entire team can follow. You can set up checkpoint dates, add buffer periods for approvals and revisions, and highlight important deadlines for not just one, but multiple projects, and all without overloading resources.
5. Communicate, communicate, communicate
Fostering open communication with both your faculty and your internal team is essential for keeping projects on track. Regular check-ins with your faculty ensure they are informed about progress, allow you to address any evolving needs, and help maintain alignment with the project’s goals and timeline. Equally important are internal team meetings to monitor schedules, provide necessary resources, and relay faculty feedback. When establishing communication channels, choose a cadence and platform that are both accessible and practical for everyone involved. Clear, relevant, and timely communication is the key to a well-coordinated and successful project!
6. Conduct quality control for medical accuracy
As a project manager, it’s your responsibility to uphold a high standard of accuracy in your medical communications project. Implement a structured review and approval process to catch errors before publication or go-live of your project. Leverage the expertise of medical writers and regulatory specialists to verify every detail. A rigorous quality control process not only enhances credibility but also minimizes the risk of misinformation or compliance issues.
7. Be flexible and adapt to changing priorities
In medical communications, remaining flexible and adaptable is key. It’s important to set goals for the projects and eye specific deadlines, but know that the faculty (or the industry itself!) may require changes as you develop the project. As project manager, it’s your job to keep your team adaptable. Build buffer time into your project timelines and foster a problem-solving mindset within your team. When unexpected changes arise, encourage your team to quickly assess the situation, adjust priorities, and find solutions without derailing the entire project. Above all - don’t be afraid to embrace change!
8. Work with a medical communications agency
Managing all these elements can become overwhelming. Sometimes, your time may be better spent focusing on high-level strategy and other critical activities rather than being buried in the details of project management. By partnering with a specialized medical communications agency, you can leverage their expertise, streamline the workflow, and ensure regulatory compliance—all while freeing up your own time to concentrate on the core aspects of your role. This collaboration can lead to more efficient project execution and better overall outcomes.
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