So, you dreamed of being a doctor when you were a child. You wanted to help people and save lives, until some overpowering passion took over you and changed your interests almost compulsively. Or perhaps, philanthropic feelings could not supress the squeamish feelings you experienced at the sight of blood. In any case, the dream was lost and you have moved on to try out other career options. Yet, the desire to save lives lingers on strong within you. While it might be too late to re-take the medical school route or go through formal education, you do not necessarily have to be a doctor or part of the medical field to improve the quality of life experienced by others. If you have the intent and willingness to give back to mankind, then that’s more than enough.

Volunteering For clinical Trials

Clinical trials or drug trials is one of the many ways that you can contribute to the medical field. Without volunteers to help out in the process of developing new drugs, the doctors would not be able to study new treatments and assess their effectiveness. For diseases like Alzheimers, for instance, where sure shot cures are still a faint hope in the medical world, new drugs designed by pharmeceutical companies need to be trial tested to make sure that the provide effective treatment for these diseases.

Why Volunteers Are Essential

While the pharmeceutical companies do their part in coming up with new and improved drugs that have the potential to control, if not eradicate certain conditions that still haven’t been effaced, without people willing to volunteer to participate in trials involving these drugs, progress is not possible.

Safety First

While you might have misgiving about getting involved with drugs that are yet to be licensed, it is always crucial to remember that no matter what kind of a trial it is, your safety is of prime concern to the doctors and professionals involved in the trials. While a faint risk factor always remains, like with everything else in life, none of the many successful treatments that are in practice today would have been possible without these trials.

If helping people and seeing the world rid itself of diseases is one of your many dreams, drug trial participation is an effective way to give back to the society. It is not only of immense importance to the medical world and the general population, but also gives you that satisfaction of having done your bit to have changed the world for good.

This article was written by Nick Davison, of Covance clinical trial unit in Leeds.