Staff Profile: Craig Mara
The Department of Family Medicine would like to introduce Craig Mara, our Faculty Research Coordinator. Craig is also standing in as our Postgraduate Academic Program Coordinator until the position is filled.
1. What do you most enjoy about your role in the Department?
Working in the Faculty Research Coordinator role is a little different each day and filled with new learning experiences. Not only am I learning about the everyday lives of family physicians and patients through working on research with them, but I have also been learning more about the curriculum and lives of residents since I have been helping them with Research and Quality improvement projects the past year. The process of building a research project is a lot of fun and with so many branches of Family Medicine, the topics are usually different from one another.
With a research project, the Faculty bring their medical expertise and I try my best to fill in the gaps using project management techniques, knowledge of the Western and Lawson research requirements, and attention to detail in technical writing for research materials. By doing this, I’ve learned a lot about what makes a team work, as a research study doesn’t happen with only medical knowledge or only project management knowledge, but instead a blending of the two areas of expertise. Continuing to learn and take on different work makes the job feel fresh each day and makes me enthusiastic to come to work and help with anything I can.
I’ve really enjoyed running some research presentations with Q&A sessions about the Western Ethics process for residents, faculty, and masters students. I’m really proud of the work and coaching I’ve done with some Adjunct Faculty members who previously had never completed research projects and are now presenting their work at conferences and working as supervisors for residents.
As the pandemic winds down, I’m also looking forward to attending some more conferences to meet and learn about the work of other researchers and see some places.
2. What has been your most memorable experience while working in the Department?
The Department of Family Medicine has really been the best place I’ve ever worked. I’ve really enjoyed helping out faculty members with the Research Ethics process as this is a huge part of the job and a major bottleneck in academic research. It’s really satisfying getting the final approval letter after initially being told you have to make 30 major revisions to the research study.
Staying connected with the faculty and colleagues in the department during the beginning of the pandemic with remote work is hopefully something that will never happen again, but for sure something I will never forget. It was great how we all adapted and kept things on track.
3. What is your greatest accomplishment?
In a way, I am in my second career and I am happy with how I navigated my journey through it. Previously I worked as a chemical project engineer, involved with large projects in automotive and pharmaceutical with my 2 previous roles. As I grew a bit more into my roles, I realized the work and career path wasn’t for me, so I looked at some continuing learning opportunities and some fields of work that sparked my interest a little more, while still being able to use my past experience in project management. I began taking a diploma in Clinical Trial Management through Western Continuing Studies while working fulltime and was able to complete the entire program over 2 years. I’m really proud of my work ethic and self-discipline while sticking with a job and working towards a diploma.
4. What do you like to do outside of work, and how do you enjoy spending your free time?
With my spare time I like to participate in things that help me keep learning and pushing myself. I run about 7 km a day and am passionate about active transportation/commuting, as you might see from the bike that sits behind me if you visit me in the office. I’m hoping to become involved with more sports medicine or exercise science research as I continue in this role. Whenever I travel, I make sure to take my running clothes with me so I can check out the cities in the morning and sneak in some exercise. Most recently, I visited Scotland and got to see Glasgow and Edinburgh extensively by doing this.
Writing and playing music on guitar has been a long time passion of mine, and sometimes you can catch me serenading the neighborhood on guitar and my partner Emily on the porch in Old South.
I also have spent the last few years getting into building a record collection. The hunt is always fun and some of the characters you meet in the community are straight out of a reality TV show like Pawn Stars or American Pickers. Never a dull moment while you hunt for records.
I read a couple hours a day and lean towards fiction. Recently, been reading John Updike’s Rabbit series, and also his longer novel ‘Couples’.
During the pandemic, I tried to become more aware and take control of my finances, so learned as much as I could about ‘couch potato’ investing and figuring out ways to make my money go further. Always up for a chat about finances even if it is boring for some.
