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Spotting the 4 Red Flags of a Self-Awareness Gap

Self-awareness is a surprisingly critical skill in the workplace. Without it, defense professionals often have trouble navigating the environment effectively. In a worst-case scenario, individuals who lack self-awareness are incredibly disruptive and extremely damaging to morale. Many defense professionals assume that they’re highly self-aware. However, it’s easy to miss details about how you come across. Plus, even if you’re incredibly self-aware, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll encounter individuals who lack self-awareness throughout your career. As a result, it’s critical to know how to spot a self-awareness gap, both in yourself and others. If you’re a defense professional who wants to be the best possible coworker, here are the four red flags that need to be on your radar. Recognizing Narcissism in the Workplace One warning sign of a self-awareness gap in the workplace is conversational narcissism. Usually, the clearest indicator of this is that every discussion involving a person always ends up steered ......

Supply Chain Management in Pharma: Ensuring Efficient Drug Distribution

In recent years, many industries have been plagued by supply chain challenges. In the pharmaceutical industry, delays and obstacles are especially problematic. They can slow the production and distribution of critical medications, and the lack of availability of a treatment can put the population at risk. As a life science professional, understanding supply chain management in pharma is beneficial. Here’s what you need to know about what it takes to ensure efficient drug distribution. Core Concepts of Supply Chain Management The pharmaceutical supply chain is relatively straightforward. It begins with drug manufacturing, a process that includes the creation, extraction, purification, and processing of materials to create medications. That’s followed by packaging, including the designing and creation of containers, labels, and supporting materials that are distributed. Next is the wholesale or repackaging phase. This part of the process prepares the drugs for the healthcare market. For example, it can include repackaging medications in consumer-level ......

The Importance of Continuous Learning in Defense Careers: Staying Current and Relevant

As a defense professional, continuous learning is essential for your career. When defense professionals remain current, they ensure their long-term relevancy. Additionally, staying ahead of the curve helps employees in this sector to advance more quickly, as it allows them to bring something to the table that isn’t broadly available in the workforce. There are also additional benefits to acquiring new knowledge and skills as a defense professional. Here’s a look at what your defense career has to gain if you embrace continuous learning. Enhances Strategic Thinking In the defense sector, strategic thinking is critical for success. Continuous learning plays a significant role in how effective a defense professional is in this area. By being aware of emerging trends, new technologies, and evolving best practices, it’s possible to incorporate them into the decision-making process. Essentially, it ensures that new approaches aren’t overlooked when planning or problem-solving, allowing defense organizations to leverage more options ......

Navigating the Big Stay: How to Keep Your Life Science Career on Track

Following the pandemic, many life science professionals re-evaluated their lives, particularly when it came to their employment. Starting in 2021 and throughout 2022, professionals in a wide array of sectors began voluntarily leaving their positions. The sheer volume of people shifting around led to a period that was dubbed “the Great Resignation,” a period that also came with other changes, including rising pay rates. However, the landscape for life science professionals is changing once more. Now, the workforce is shifting to a paradigm that’s being referred to as “the Big Stay.” Quit rates are dropping significantly, and workforce participation is on the rise. Further, the number of available positions is on the decline, and pay increases for changing jobs are shrinking. As a life science professional, knowing how to navigate the Big Stay is critical for keeping your career on track. If you want to prepare, here’s what you need to know. What ......

The Future of Defense: Trends and Predictions for the Next Decade

With the new year on the horizon, trends are emerging that could reshape the defense sector not just during the upcoming year but well into the future. Remaining on top of what’s on the horizon is beneficial for defense professionals and candidates. It allows them to prepare in advance, such as by acquiring related skills that will prove valuable in the future. If you want to make sure that you’re ready for the future of defense, here are some trends and predictions for the next decade that should be on every defense candidate’s radar. The Evolution of Military Technology Trends Military technology evolves regularly, and many advances are harnessed by the military far earlier than most people would expect. Countries have to remain current as a means of ensuring national security and overall readiness. From a combat perspective, weapon advances are often the most straightforward example. Whether it’s increasingly capable ground vehicles, firearms, ......

Enhancing RNA Vaccines: MIT’s Breakthrough for Stronger Immune Response

A team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has recently had a breakthrough. As a result of their research into RNA vaccines, the researchers have identified a potential pathway for a stronger immune response, increasing the effectiveness of the vaccine. Plus, the breakthrough could achieve an improved immune response with a lower dosage, all while avoiding the need for adjuvants. The work done by the scientists from MIT is largely considered revolutionary, and it could completely update how RNA vaccines are developed moving forward. Here’s what you need to know about MIT’s breakthrough. Redefining RNA Vaccines RNA vaccines use an RNA strand that’s encoded with a bacterial or viral protein, referred to as an antigen. After successful delivery, the RNA strand is translated into proteins, making it detectable by a person’s immune system. In turn, that leads to the creation of antibodies and T cells, preparing the person’s body to ......

Women in Defense: Breaking Barriers and Advancing Careers

Women in defense have been breaking barriers in recent years, and it’s a beneficial trend not just for women but the Department of Defense (DOD) as a whole. Women are a critical component of an effective fighting force and workforce, but they’ve often faced obstacles that limited their access to certain opportunities. Today, that landscape is changing, and it’s creating new avenues for professional growth and career advancement. Here’s a look at women in defense, including the role they play, how various initiatives are opening doors, and pathways for advancing the careers of women in defense. Women's Role in the Defense Industry Women play a critical role in the defense industry, and their role has only grown since the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) initiative. The DOD adopted a framework modeled after the broader WPS initiatives designed by the United Nations. While women have long been part of the defense ......

Decoding Drug Development Trends

Today, the pharmaceutical industry continues to play a critical role in the improvement of human health and well-being. Organizations operating in the sector aim to find innovative solutions to treat and even eradicate diseases and conditions, all while striving to improve patient outcomes among those who fall ill or experience injury. To make developments possible, pharmaceutical companies dedicate funds and effort toward research and development (R&D). Just as change is common in all sectors, trends around drug development do shift over time. For those interested in decoding drug development trends, here’s a look at the state of R&D in the world of pharmaceuticals. Examining the Growth of Pharmaceutical R&D While growth over the past year was relatively flat when compared to the year prior, that isn’t reflective of the long-term trend. Over the past few decades, the pharmaceutical industry has experienced a significant amount of growth. Along with being spurred by growing interest ......

Coping with Stress and Building Well-Being

Many military service members and Department of Defense (DOD) employees face unique stressors over the course of their careers. Often, their experiences have the potential to harm their well-being, and some even experience mental health struggles, substance use disorders (SUDs), and other challenges as a result. Fortunately, many employers are taking proactive steps to help defense professionals effectively manage stress and improve their well-being. Additionally, there are things that defense professionals can do on their own that yield positive results. Whether you’re trying to cope with stress or a stress-related condition or want to ensure your ongoing well-being even in the face of adversity, here’s what you need to know. PTSD and Depression in Service Members Service members and veterans may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression for a variety of reasons. Combat exposure is a potential contributor in both cases, and it’s one of the most widely recognized factors. However, extended ......

Laboratory Automation in Reference Labs: Revolutionizing Diagnostics and Careers

Reference labs play a critical role in the healthcare industry, and they’re often quick to adopt cutting-edge solutions designed to improve accuracy and enhance efficiency. Today, new developments are revolutionizing how reference labs operate. Laboratory automation is fundamentally altering the world of diagnostics, as well as changing how the careers of life science professionals unfold. By understanding laboratory automation in reference labs, it’s easier for life science professionals to plan for the future of their careers. Here’s an overview of the impact of laboratory automation and what it means for life science workers. The Rise of Total Laboratory Automation (TLA) Total laboratory automation (TLA) is a significant leap forward, creating substantial opportunities for productivity enhancement and efficiency gains. With this approach, it’s possible to create a unified technology-forward workflow that keeps manual intervention to an absolute minimum. Plus, it often offers greater accuracy than traditional methods by increasing precision and minimizing human error. ......