Consultant Series: Q&A with Sarah Hollywood 16 Jul 2020
Q&A with Sarah Hollywood - A PharmaMedic Consultant
In this second article in our consultant Q&A series, we sat down with Sarah Hollywood, to learn about her experiences working on medical affairs projects with PharmaMedic. If you’re thinking of taking the plunge into medical or regulatory affairs consultancy, read the article for Sarah’s account of life as a PharmaMedic consultant.
How long have you worked with PharmaMedic?
I’ve worked with PharmaMedic for just over a year now alongside Malcolm. I’d enjoyed working with him previously on some independent projects. I took the opportunity even though I was quite busy at the time with various other consulting activities. However, I felt the engagements were very manageable, and would fit in well to my portfolio. I only recently started consulting and was still finding my feet to an extent so working with PharmaMedic as a next step was perfect.
What do you enjoy about working with PharmaMedic
First of all, the work is very flexible. It’s also genuine consultancy work whereas sometimes when working directly for a company you get pulled into activities you wouldn’t typically do as a consultant. It’s very fast-paced and dynamic, and projects might run for as little as six weeks. It’s also valuable working alongside other consultants like Malcolm, who are experts in their fields and who I can call on for advice. I work with great clients who are a pleasure to work with, and even though I tend to work virtually – even before COVID- I’ve been able to build up strong relationships with them.
The clients are very realistic in their timelines and always give me context of the ‘big picture’ of the work we are doing. Working with PharmaMedic is straightforward from an administration perspective too. Each month, I submit my invoice to Ana, the operations manager, and she takes care of everything for me.
What would you say to someone who might be thinking of becoming a PharmaMedic consultant?
Work-life balance is so crucial as is trust and independence. These are all attributes of working with PharmaMedic. As a consultant, you can pick and choose which projects you want to be involved in, depending on your capacity. But what attracted me most to working alongside PharmaMedic was Malcolm himself – he is a great colleague and professional.
How would you describe the culture of PhamaMedic?
In my experience, PharmaMedic is professional, personable always available. If anyone reading is thinking about joining PharmaMedic as a consultant, I would say go for it, as they’re a great company.
About Sarah Hollywood
Sarah is a UK registered Pharmacist with 10 years’ experience in the Pharmaceutical Industry in Medical Affairs and Quality Assurance. Sarah is currently working as a Medical Advisor and Final Signatory and has a wealth of experience in medical affairs across a multitude of therapeutic areas including respiratory, dermatology, cardiology and immuno-oncology.
She has extensive experience as a Final Signatory and skilled at delivering engaging medical education that influences the behaviour of HCPs to improve patient outcomes.
Sarah likes to spend time running, long walks with her dog and travelling.