CERs Literature Databases - Searching for data to evaluate

[Watchcat]

Which literature databases are your go-to databases for your CERs? Are there any literature databases that you don't search? If so, why not?

Which Regulatory event reporting databases are your go-to databases for your CERs? Are there any such databases that you don't search? If so, why not?

Are there other databases that you search/do not search. Why?

 

[Watchcat]

OK, so I know some of you have searched databases for CERs in recent memory. My mistake, posting on a Saturday maybe?

 

[Ronen E]

OK, so I know some of you have searched databases for CERs in recent memory. My mistake, posting on a Saturday maybe?

Perhaps if you shared your own experience it would jog others to chip in.

 

[Watchcat]

Ronen, thanks, but probably not, and not sure there would be much point, since I don't really need to know. I think I'll just note that CERs are not a good discussion topic for Elsmar, and move on to topics of more interest.

 

[Marcelo]

CERs and any other medical device topic are a good discussion topic for Elsmar, but generally the expectation is that people share their experience so we can discuss. It's difficult to answer generic questions such as the ones posed (and most of the time my impression is that, when someone posts too generic a question, it seems that they want people here to do their job, and obviously they do not get a lot of answers, if any).

 

[Watchcat]

Marcelo, perspectives and philosophies vary. I think people who are trying to get others to do their jobs ask very specific questions (because they need to do their very specific job) and those who post more general questions are just generally interested in the topic. Possibly more to the point, I think the inclination to discuss is an indicator of interest in the topic.

RonenE used the term "jog." On LinkedIn, it would be "inspire." I'm not a big fan of inspiring. Nor of jogging, in all meanings of the word.

 

[Marcelo]

Marcelo, perspectives and philosophies vary. I think people who are trying to get others to do their jobs ask very specific questions (because they need to do their very specific job) and those who post more general questions are just generally interested in the topic.

In fact, thru the years, we've had a lot of "tell me everything" questions here, so I would not say that "do my job" questions are always specific. In fact, most of the specific questions are usually experience sharing and thus invites discussion.

 

[Watchcat]

thru the years, we've had a lot of "tell me everything" questions here.

Well, not very subtle on their part, lol. And you can see why they need help. And why it probably won't be their job for much longer, which is may be the best thing for everyone involved.

Now that they've implemented anonymous postings over on the RAPS Forum, (literally "Anonymous," so you have no idea if the 6 postings by Anonymous that day are from 6 different people, or just one) what you see is an effort to be less obvious, so they post 6 different specific questions in a row, which tend to come across as a search for step-by-step instructions.

I guess what is specific and what is general is also a matter of personal perspective. There is How do you get a CE Mark, How do you put together the technical documentation to support a CE Mark, How do you do a CER, How do you do a literature search, What databases do you like/not like to search, and Do you like to search PubMed. To me that's general to specific.

Even more specific is when you ask any of these questions with reference to a specific device. In the latter case, I think they are asking about their own job. I don't always take these questions as Tell me how to do my job, though. I take a lot of them as Will you help me do my job. I'm okay with the latter...as long as they don't ask for 6 different types of help all in the same day, lol. Many jobs in regulated are very complex (RA at the top of the list, IMO), and I'm not really sure what professional forums are here for, if not to help people do these jobs.

 

[Marcelo]

I'm not really sure what professional forums are here for, if not to help people do these jobs.

Maybe the problem is how people understand "help". Elsmar motto has always been "People helping people", but over the years this has been somewhat refined by discussions and positions. For moderators and regulars, I would say that a best practice in the forum is to understand "help" as - you share your story and we people can comment on it. That's exactly what Ronen commented on.

General questions (and I do agree that it's a better of perspective, but again over the years you end up creating a framework for what is general or not) are more difficult to answer, and they lack this experience sharing part which invites discussion(and it's important to remember that people help here freely, so it really depends on how people feel and have interest and time for comments).

 

[Watchcat]

Thanks, Marcelo, helpful to know.