FDA scientists reveal their true feelings about their workplace

It’s hard out there for a scientist.

Especially if you’re an FDA scientist. But things may be improving.

In 2006, and again in 2011, the Union of Concerned Scientists surveyed about 1,000 FDA scientists to take the pulse on scientific integrity at the agency.

The consensus: Not great, but maybe getting a little better.

The bad news is fairly ominous. More than half of the scientists said that agency decisions were excessively influenced by political interests. Forty percent said business interests guided too many decisions.

Even worse, one in three respondents said they had firsthand experience of interference in their work during the past year.

On the plus side, a higher percentage of the respondents in 2011 said they had confidence in the future of the FDA. And a higher percentage also said they thought their supervisors would back them up if they were to take a potentially controversial position.

Even so, many of the respondents said they feared retribution if they shared their concerns about the agency.

Looks like scientific integrity at the FDA still has a long way to go when so many staff scientists are as guarded and apprehensive as CIA agents.

Sources:
“FDA Scientist Survey Shows Progress, But Problems Remain” Union of Concerned Scientists, 3/7/12, ucsusa.org