by Nancy Linenkugel
Contributor
"Do you really like this stuff?" I remarked to the person next to me at a national conference for medical devices as I pointed at the program. "Do I like it? No. I don't like it. I love it!" crowed the young process engineer. "This stuff is what I live for, so I come every year and hate it if I have to miss for any reason."
"Good for you," I say, "because the regulatory industry definitely needs enthusiastic folks like you who appreciate what this is all about."
I take a closer look at the conference program I'm holding and scan the list of topics for the day ahead: Paradigm Shift for Supply Chain. Device Metrics Initiative. Quality System Requirements. When to File for Modifications to Your Cleared Device. Storing Data in the Cloud. Investigator Insights. Measurements, Metrics, and Management.
What am I doing here, you wonder? The conference planners are university colleagues also in health programs so I'm glad attend to show support. The conference is incredibly well-done, draws persons from international locations, and has global reach with respect to products and ideas.
Now you probably think that spending two and a half days buttoned up in a conference center energizing about such topics would be at the bottom of my to-do list. Right? Wrong. I hate to disappoint but I would be just the opposite.
The thought of getting out of a boring laboratory or away from tedious computer work to come to lovely Ohio's Queen City would be great. I, for one, simply don't feel called to do such regulatory-related work, but if I did, I'd enjoy coming to this conference and getting acquainted with international folks who do what I do. That's the beauty about vocation: There are many calls, many responses, and many happy returns.
[Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati Ohio.]