Forum

Notifications
Clear all

Discussion Topic: Course conclusion and impressions

138 Posts
133 Users
0 Likes
12 K Views
(@aohara)
Posts: 38
Eminent Member
 

Being that the only experience in industry I've had is the position I currently hold at a medical device manufacturing company, I found this course to be immensely helpful and somewhat like a roadmap. Prior to this semester, I was still quite new at my job and wasn't sure what many of the other departments did on a day to day basis. This course provided me with a much better understanding and it was great to be able to directly apply the knowledge from these lectures to my work. Additionally, the first lecture describing the difference between academia and industry career paths was something I wish I had explained to me my freshman year of college to help guide what I wanted to do in my future career- although, better late than never. So, thank you! As for the workload and assignments themselves, I felt the tasks to be fair and further my understanding of the content. The final project is interesting and I am enjoying the opportunity to get this type of experience in research and writing up a procedure. This, along with the rest of the class, I feel is very applicable to the real world setting and I appreciate the exposure. Because this course is all online, my only suggestion is to hold a synchronous meeting in the beginning of the semester to introduce everyone, maybe lay out some expectations etc. I know scheduling can get complicated but I believe this would benefit the class in connecting a bit better for additional resources later on. And also would most likely make students more likely to show up for a second meeting to discuss the final project, as we had done this semester. 

 
Posted : 27/11/2020 9:37 pm
(@sindhupriyapulagam)
Posts: 54
Trusted Member
 

I really like the way this course helped me to realize the path after my Master's. I was not aware of most of the information taught in this course 3 months ago. Now I have an idea of how the Industry is, what positions are at a good scope, and the work each person does in every step of a project. The most important thing I liked in the course is the final project which really made me feel like working with a company and get to know a lot about real work. I had a great experience with my project team and learnt a lot from each of them. I would like to say this course definitely gives a clear vision about the next steps in the future.

 
Posted : 29/11/2020 11:33 pm
(@jonwil123)
Posts: 58
Trusted Member
 

This class was extremely informational. I really enjoyed the amount of different topics we delved into. During undergrad at NJIT, I feel like the only course that really introduced me to industry-related topics was capstone, since it involved working on a project from start to finish and all its deliverables. However, it was very important for me that I took a course that further discussed these topics. I love that this course was able to guide me to a better understanding on many topics involved in medical device development. Thank you for a great semester. 

 
Posted : 30/11/2020 12:21 am
llefevre
(@llefevre)
Posts: 49
Eminent Member
 

My personal reflection is that this course really took the time to break down the many different aspects of medical device development and I appreciated the information that we received during this class. There were some things that I knew going into this course about medical devices but some of the regulatory differences between that of medicine and device development was really interesting and also the different subsections of the field including areas of project management and patent law and product testing, risk management, venture capital for investment in medical devices, all these areas are really interesting in aggregate. There's such a diversity within the field and there isn't one subset of specialties that locks you into a certain position. There are so many different possibilities for career advancement and direction whether in academia or in industry and making those delineation within this course has been really helpful in mapping out my own direction. I'm thankful for the opportunity to have learned from you Dr. Simon. Thank you for the demystifying the process!

 
Posted : 22/06/2021 6:56 pm
(@kbentleymsm-edu)
Posts: 50
Trusted Member
 
Posted by: @orleron

Well, you did it! You made it to the end of Medical Device Development. The original intent of this course was to teach you what professionals in the medical device field do in the real world if they are lucky enough to work in medical device development. I hope you have learned that and now have some idea of what is possible.

On the flip side, figuring out what you do not like is also good. Either way, you are one step closer to finding yourself.

Maybe what some of you got out of this is that you made the right decision to stay in academia, or that you want to go to pharma. That is also good. There are long and fulfilling careers in those areas too.

I am always happy to hear your impressions about this course. What did you like? What could improve?

In the meantime, connect with me on LinkedIn if you have not already.

If you are a student at a university, you may also be interested in rating me on ratemyprofessors.com, for good or ill.

For those of you who will be taking my other courses, I look forward to seeing you. For those of you moving on, I wish you well, and keep in touch.

If you want to recommend these courses to others, feel free.

Medical Device Development (this course)

Advanced Medical Device Development

Clinical Research for Medical Devices (already included in Advanced MDD)

European Medical Device Regulatory Basics (already included in Advanced MDD)

Dr. Simon, I enjoyed your course.  Prior to taking this class I don't think I ever wondered the role of a project manager or how medical devices were made, but I do find both to be quite interesting.  I am not sure if either role is particularly for me, but I have considered a position of interest.  I am certain I would have never looked into it had I not taken your course.  There are so many regulations that must be followed; it would definitely be an incredible transition from what I currently do.  I think I can speak on some of the topics in a knowledgeable manner.  I feel like you did a thorough job of explaining medical device development.  Thank you.

 
Posted : 22/06/2021 11:24 pm
(@ssbufford)
Posts: 50
Trusted Member
 

My personal reflection: I understand that this is an MSBT, but I was not exactly sure what to truly expect. The course was very informative for me. I learned a lot of fundamentals that I was not aware of, I have a greater appreciation for the whole course. I appreciate how as an instructor you provided us with the learning materials with enough time to accurately learn what was of vital importance to the course but you still introduced us to numerous process that in my opinion was broad and specific enough where we should be able to move forward and if we wanted to get a PM license we should have a foundation but still need to study. Also, that if we are going into the Biotech industry we have a more solid understanding of the device's process to move into a small venture if we wanted to. I learned a great deal and enjoyed the course. Thank you. 

 
Posted : 24/06/2021 3:36 am
jailynp26
(@jailynp26)
Posts: 50
Trusted Member
 
Posted by: @orleron

Well, you did it! You made it to the end of Medical Device Development. The original intent of this course was to teach you what professionals in the medical device field do in the real world if they are lucky enough to work in medical device development. I hope you have learned that and now have some idea of what is possible.

On the flip side, figuring out what you do not like is also good. Either way, you are one step closer to finding yourself.

Maybe what some of you got out of this is that you made the right decision to stay in academia, or that you want to go to pharma. That is also good. There are long and fulfilling careers in those areas too.

I am always happy to hear your impressions about this course. What did you like? What could improve?

In the meantime, connect with me on LinkedIn if you have not already.

If you are a student at a university, you may also be interested in rating me on ratemyprofessors.com, for good or ill.

For those of you who will be taking my other courses, I look forward to seeing you. For those of you moving on, I wish you well, and keep in touch.

If you want to recommend these courses to others, feel free.

Medical Device Development (this course)

Advanced Medical Device Development

Clinical Research for Medical Devices (already included in Advanced MDD)

European Medical Device Regulatory Basics (already included in Advanced MDD)

This course was awesome! It really made me think, and I actually learned so much about medical devices. The different classes, the side effects, the importance, the process, and even placed myself in these positions to answer these forums and discussions. I enjoyed both classes and can even picture myself in a project management position. I would say I liked the forum questions better than the discussions because they gave me more freedom. I enjoyed learning different things each week and understanding what was happening from a different perspective. I would've liked more clinical-based questions and discussions.

 
Posted : 10/10/2021 9:45 pm
(@hodafattel)
Posts: 78
Trusted Member
 

I absolutely enjoyed this class a lot. When I first registered for it, it was not what I expected because of the course description. However, it turned out to be even better than I anticipated it to be. I’m very glad I took this course as it was the only course I’ve taken in college that actually taught me some of what I need to know about the industry. I feel like I’m more knowledgeable about the roles that take place in the industry. I now know that I want to go into industry, and I also know what direction I want to go too. I definitely will be taking the course that’s offered next semester. I hope more courses like this are offered during the semester. Thank you Dr. Simon!!

 
Posted : 21/11/2021 10:30 pm
(@reginabarias)
Posts: 65
Trusted Member
 

Typically courses at school do not in depth of what actually happens in the industry. Thankfully, this course allows us to have an idea of what we are getting into, how to appropriately understand our work environment, and find where we best fit with out skillset. These types of courses are rare to come by, simply because the majority of the courses teach us how to have knowledge for a job, but never show us how to apply these skillets to a proper working environment. Also, it opened our eyes to see how many other jobs there are where we can apply our biomedical engineering assets too, not only just R&D or academia and it was interesting too see how diverse we can get with our skillset.  It also allowed for my group mates and I to understand what it is to be in a team similar to industry (with similar documents) but also collaborate with others amongst the same grouping. I think it allowed for us to gain understanding of how to work with others in similar positions, while being in different groups, and how to handle doing a project to meet a deadline appropriately. It was the first actual management course I've taken and has been one of my most beneficial courses yet. 

 
Posted : 22/11/2021 1:08 am
(@jaf22)
Posts: 83
Trusted Member
 

Honestly, this is one of the best courses offered at NJIT for younger professionals who aren't sure of what career paths may have in store for them. This definitely provides the foundation of design controls and roles within a medical device company. There are many times new hires come in with the expectation of design or test and go, but there are multiple stops in the process from the controls in place that they need to slowly learn to ensure they are following both company and international guidelines. Overall, I wish there was another course that would succeed this one for more in depth work as there is nothing more beneficial than a class with actual application. 

 
Posted : 22/11/2021 6:47 pm
(@mmd55)
Posts: 80
Trusted Member
 

Hi Dr. Simon,

At the start of the semester, in one of your very first lectures you said that this course will get you a job. At the time, I didn't think that could be true. As the class continued and I began to learn more about the medical device industry, I began applying for full-time jobs. This course showed me that engineers can work in different departments other than traditional engineering, and I decided to apply for a Regulatory Affairs Specialist position that opened up (Thanks to the lectures on the Regulatory department). I ended up getting an interview. During the interview process, the first question was always "Why regulatory affairs?" and I began to discuss this class and what I learned. I talked about what regulatory people do, why its very important for medical device companies, and why it was exciting. Every single interviewer was impressed. I ended up getting the offer. This course, literally got me a job. It introduced me to the possible opportunities that exist and taught me exactly what to say to land the job.

Ultimately, I took this offer to my current employer (where I am an intern) and used it as leverage to be offered a full-time engineering position. 

For me, taking this class was the best way to gain a greater understanding of medical device companies and progress my career. I was able to take what I learned in this class and use it to get a job at a major medical device company (and then use that to get another job at a different major medical device company).

 

I really enjoyed this course and I look forward to taking more courses with you in the future!

 

Thanks,

Matt DaSilva

 
Posted : 22/11/2021 9:49 pm
(@cem34)
Posts: 39
Eminent Member
 
Posted by: @cef3

Well, Dr. Simon, when I first signed enrolled in this class, I was expecting it to be really more about medical devices and theory that goes into that. I was kind of caught of guard with how it is really more about how the medical device industry works. That being said, the class is very useful, even for someone like me who has seen some of these aspects working in pharma. I think the projects are very useful for being able to experience how the industry is to some degree. If I have any suggestions, they'd be to maybe changes the title of the course to something that reflects the industry aspect or maybe add in more relation to medical devices throughout (since a lot of what is covered here is true for pharmaceuticals as well). This is just my two cents. That being said, thank you for this interesting course and for a good semester!

This captures my sentiment exactly. I definitely was expecting something else when I first enrolled in this course. Despite us covering many different topics such as regulatory, business, and management in the medical device industry, potentially one way to better phrase the course would be "Business of Medical Device Development". Here "Business" is not singularly referencing the business aspect of medical devices, but rather the large scale business of the company as a whole. I believe this would better capture what this course is all about. As it seems for me and many others that responded before, "Medical Device Development" feels as though we will be focusing on the creation of many different medical devices from the scientific side of things.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed what I learned this semester and will take it as a useful tool to take with me if once I find a job in the industry. That being said, I would be interested in following up with similar courses in the field to further refine my knowledge and skills.

This post was modified 2 years ago by cem34
 
Posted : 25/11/2021 4:55 pm
(@tamanna)
Posts: 47
Eminent Member
 

It has been a very helpful course for me as I am coming from a pure biology background. Overall, I got to learn how an industry or a company runs and work together to develop a new product. In this case it is a medical device of class I, II or III that is either being fully developed and lunched or just modified. All the regulations and systems starting from the research and plans being accepted by the FDA to manufacturing and its post market situations have been fully pictured in this course. Each team members are dedicated to perform a very specific role within the team and each of these roles are explained in details. This kind of gave me an idea about where I want to see myself in the future and what type of background and experiences I will need to get there. I enjoyed learning about the step by step process a medical device goes through in order to get launched in the market starting from the scratch.

 
Posted : 28/11/2021 12:20 am
(@cassiem)
Posts: 78
Trusted Member
 

When I signed up for this course, I had no idea what to expect. To be completely honest, I did not understand the terms in the course description because I have not had exposure to these topics. In a way, I took a shot in the dark and made my decision based off the name of the course. I feel that the title was a bit misleading, but overall, I am glad I enrolled. Over the past couple months, I have learned a lot about my interests. Because of the different topics we covered, I feel it opened up new possibilities that I have not considered. This course helped me realize what the working world is like. Thank you, Dr. Simon, for helping me learn more about myself and prepare me for what lies ahead.

 
Posted : 28/11/2021 5:25 pm
(@naglaa-hemida)
Posts: 78
Trusted Member
 

This training has been quite beneficial in showing folks what might be expected of them in the real world. It was interesting to observe the many stages of medical device development and what is required at each level. Even if you are not a project manager, project management as a whole is something that everyone can benefit from because you may require such tools on the job. Understanding regulatory requirements can also be beneficial during the creation of a medical device or assay, as it reduces the need for frequent changes. Overall, this course was able to provide some insight into aspects that one may not always consider while designing a gadget, resulting in a better product.

 
Posted : 28/11/2021 6:37 pm
Page 8 / 10
Share: