As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape Medical Affairs and the Medical Science Liaison (MSL) profession, one question is becoming increasingly important across the industry:
Can someone effectively train MSLs without ever having worked as an MSL or led an MSL team?
Part of what prompted this article was the growing number of individuals on LinkedIn and other social media platforms advertising MSL consulting, coaching, and training services despite having little or no actual MSL or Medical Affairs experience, which raises important questions about credibility, expertise, and the future quality of MSL training.
This discussion has become even more relevant as AI tools now allow virtually anyone to rapidly create training content, slide decks, workshop materials, and even simulated case studies. While AI has undoubtedly improved efficiency and accessibility, it has also introduced a growing concern across many professions: AI-generated “expertise” without real-world experience.
Recently, I conducted a LinkedIn poll asking members of the MSL and Medical Affairs community to understand if this is a concern (Table 1).
Table 1: Importance of Prior MSL/MSL Leadership Experience for Training Facilitators. “While attending an MSL training program at your company, how important is it that the facilitator has prior MSL/MSL leadership experience?”
| Survey Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Very Important | 92% |
| Not Important | 7% |
| Total Responses | 219 |
These results suggest a strong consensus across the profession that experience matters.
The MSL role is one of the most nuanced, complex, and relationship-driven positions within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostics, and medical device industries. While scientific knowledge is essential, to be successful, MSLs must navigate difficult key opinion leader (KOL) interactions, communicate scientific information in high-pressure environments, manage compliance boundaries, interpret nonverbal communication, respond to unexpected objections, and build long-term trust with healthcare professionals. These are skills that are difficult to fully understand through AI-generated content alone.
Those with direct MSL or Medical Affairs experience are often better equipped to discuss situations involving KOL engagement, field medical strategy, stakeholder dynamics, and the realities of navigating complex Medical Affairs environments. These insights are valuable components of training programs because they reflect practical experience that AI cannot replicate.
Importantly, this is not simply a theoretical preference within the MSL profession. There are meaningful practical implications for both KOLs and MSLs themselves. One often overlooked concern is compliance. Individuals who have never worked as an MSL or MSL leader may understand the role only superficially and base their knowledge on articles they have read, social media posts, AI-generated content, or conversations with others. However, understanding what MSLs do is very different from having personally navigated the legal, regulatory, and compliance complexities of the role. An inexperienced trainer may unintentionally provide advice that is inaccurate, non-compliant, or even potentially dangerous from a regulatory perspective.
For example, recommendations regarding scientific exchange, off-label discussions, interactions with KOLs, documentation practices, medical conference activities, speaker programs, or collaboration with commercial teams often require a nuanced understanding of company policies, industry regulations, and real-world role-specific best practices. Advice that appears reasonable on paper may pose significant medical-legal, regulatory compliance, or reputational risks for an organization if applied incorrectly in the field. The wrong guidance provided during training can have serious ramifications not only for the MSL but also for the company itself.
Simply reading about the MSL role, interviewing a few MSLs, or relying on AI-generated summaries is not enough. The nuances matter.
The complexity of the role becomes even more apparent when examining the breadth of activities MSLs perform globally. According to the 2025 MSL Salary and Compensation Survey conducted annually by the MSL Society, which included 1,100 MSL professionals from 44 countries, MSLs are responsible for a remarkably diverse set of activities.¹
Table 2: Activities Performed by MSLs Globally. “Which of the following activities do you participate in? (select all that apply).”
| Activity | Percentage | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Attending medical conferences (and other conference support) | 98% | 811 |
| KOL relationship management | 98% | 808 |
| Educating KOLs & other Health Care Professionals | 97% | 798 |
| Delivering scientific presentations | 95% | 784 |
| Gathering Insights | 91% | 752 |
| Responding to Medical Information Requests (MIR) | 79% | 650 |
| Competitive intelligence gathering | 78% | 644 |
| Supporting investigator-led research (IITs, ISTs, etc.) | 72% | 596 |
| Training and supporting sales force | 71% | 588 |
| Mentoring/Training new MSLs | 70% | 576 |
| Supporting Advisory Boards | 68% | 563 |
| Providing input for Medical Strategy | 66% | 549 |
| Supporting and coordinating company-sponsored research/trials | 66% | 548 |
| Tools Development (slides, training materials, etc.) | 60% | 499 |
| Identifying and training speakers | 57% | 468 |
| Material Review (publications, educational materials, slides, etc.) | 51% | 424 |
| Medical publications | 26% | 215 |
| Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities | 23% | 190 |
| HEOR presentations or research | 12% | 102 |
| Managed Care Activities | 9% | 71 |
| Other | 2% | 15 |
This survey illustrates why experience matters. The MSL role extends beyond scientific presentations and KOL engagements. It encompasses strategic planning, clinical research support, compliant interactions, speaker development, advisory boards, publications, medical information responses, and cross-functional collaboration, among others. Someone who has never performed these various activities will likely struggle to appreciate the complexities, challenges, and compliance considerations associated with them.
From the KOL perspective, interactions with MSLs often impact scientific understanding, awareness of emerging clinical data, patient management considerations, and participation in research initiatives. KOLs expect MSLs to communicate with confidence, accuracy, credibility, and contextual understanding. When MSLs are trained by individuals lacking experience in field medical affairs, there is a risk that training becomes overly scripted, superficial, or disconnected from the realities of scientific exchange.
KOLs can often recognize when conversations lack depth or practical understanding. This can undermine trust, reduce the quality of engagements, and ultimately weaken long-term scientific relationships among KOLs, other health care professionals (HCPs), and Medical Affairs initiatives.
From the MSL perspective, practical training matters because field medical interactions are rarely predictable. MSLs frequently encounter difficult questions, emotionally charged discussions, skeptical KOLs and HCPs, compliance-sensitive situations, and complex scientific discussions that require judgment developed through experience. Individuals who have personally navigated these situations are better equipped to prepare MSLs for the realities of the role rather than simply teaching generalized AI-produced content.
This becomes even more important when considering what KOLs themselves value most from MSLs.² In a survey of 245 KOLs across 29 specialties in the United States, they identified scientific expertise and meaningful scientific exchange as the primary value that MSLs bring to clinical practice.²
Table 3: What KOLs Value Most from Medical Science Liaisons. “What Do MSLs Provide That Is Most Valuable to You and/or Your Practice?”
| Valuable Activity | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Scientific updates on new/existing drugs and devices | 49% |
| Clinical trial data | 22% |
| Drug/device development updates | 12% |
| Safety information related to use | 7% |
| Research opportunities (clinical trial involvement) | 5% |
| Speaking/participation opportunities | 3% |
| Other | 1% |
This data reinforces that the MSL role is fundamentally built on credibility, scientific depth, trust, and value-added engagements. If companies want MSLs to engage KOLs effectively, the individuals training them should have direct experience navigating the same conversations and challenges.
Artificial intelligence has a role in MSL training. AI can help streamline preparation, organize information, summarize literature, generate discussion prompts, and support training development.³ However, there is also growing concern around overreliance on what many now refer to as “AI slop,” meaning general low-quality, superficial, or inaccurate AI-generated content that creates the impression of expertise without sufficient depth, context, or practical understanding.
This becomes particularly concerning when individuals with limited or no experience in field medical affairs rely heavily on AI-generated content without the expertise to critically evaluate its accuracy, nuance, or applicability. AI systems can generate convincing language, but they often produce inaccurate scientific interpretations, unrealistic scenarios, generalized MSL-KOL dynamics, or recommendations that fail to reflect the realities of compliance and current medical affairs practices.
Without direct experience, it can be difficult to distinguish quality educational content from polished yet fundamentally flawed material. This creates several risks:
- Training programs may unintentionally teach unrealistic approaches to KOL engagement.
- MSLs may receive guidance that is inconsistent with regulatory or compliance expectations.
- Scientific discussions may lose depth and contextual relevance.
- Organizations may unintentionally weaken scientific credibility with external stakeholders.
- KOL trust and long-term relationship quality may decline.
- Companies may face unnecessary legal, compliance, or reputational risks resulting from poor training practices.
AI may generate a training slide on handling difficult KOL interactions. But can it truly teach someone how to recover from a challenging scientific discussion with a frustrated KOL? Can it replicate the emotional intelligence required to manage a tense interaction during a medical conference? Can it explain the subtle organizational dynamics among medical affairs, commercial, and external stakeholders, based on years of direct experience?
This issue extends beyond training quality alone. It ultimately impacts KOL relationships, scientific credibility, patient outcomes, compliance risk, and the overall strategic effectiveness of medical affairs organizations. Findings from multiple publications consistently reinforce the importance of scientific integrity, meaningful scientific exchange, practical judgment, emotional intelligence, and direct experience in medical affairs in the evolving healthcare landscape.³⁻⁵ Direct MSL and MSL leadership experience still provides the practical judgment, contextual understanding, and credibility that many MSLs and KOLs clearly value.
According to the MSL community, that difference matters.
References
- MSL Society. (2025). Global MSL Salary and Compensation Survey. MSL Society Research Report. www.themsls.org
- MSL Society. (2020). 2020 United States KOL survey: What healthcare professionals value most from Medical Science Liaisons. MSL Society Research Report. www.themsls.org
- Dyer S J, Shannon E, Kraemer J (April 16, 2026) Perceptions, Utilization, and Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Medical Science Liaisons: A Global Cross-Sectional Survey of Medical Affairs Professionals. Cureus 18(4): e107157. doi:10.7759/cureus.107157
- Dyer S, Hyder C, Kraemer J. Challenges of Key Performance Indicators and Metrics for Measuring Medical Science Liaison Performance: Insights from a Global Survey. Pharmacy. 2025; 13(2):51. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy13020051
- Dyer S J, Ingebretsen R, Kraemer J (May 22, 2026) Alternative Clinical Careers for Physicians: A Mentor-Focused Study of Medical Science Liaison Career Awareness During a Wilderness Medicine Program in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France. Cureus 18(5): e109427. doi:10.7759/cureus.109427
About the author:
Samuel Dyer, MD, PhD
Dr. Samuel Dyer is the CEO of the Medical Science Liaison Society and has over 26 years of international MSL experience. During his career, he has managed MSL teams and operations in over sixty countries across the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand. He has facilitated the successful launch of pharmaceutical and medical device products for both Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies and small biotechnology companies.
Dr. Dyer has coached, interviewed, and reviewed the CVs of countless aspiring MSLs. His insights and guidance have resulted in hundreds of aspiring MSLs successfully breaking into their first roles.
While leading the MSL Society, he has conducted MSL training programs for over 85 pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies in more than 15 countries. Dr. Dyer has also written extensively on the Medical Science Liaison profession, including numerous published articles, benchmark studies, and reports. He has been the keynote speaker and moderated numerous international conferences on various MSL–related topics, including creating teams, management, MSL training, proper utilization of MSLs, global trends, and the KPIs and metrics used to measure MSL performance. Dr. Dyer has also served as a resource and consultant on a number of MSL–related projects for several organizations, including McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company.
Dr. Dyer has an MD from Washington University (Health & Science) School of Medicine, a PhD in Health Sciences from Touro University, a Master’s degree in Tropical Biology (where he studied in the Amazon) from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of the State of New York. Dr. Dyer also completed a certificate program for Executive Leadership and Strategy in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology at the Harvard Business School.
Dr. Dyer is the author of the multi-award-winning and Amazon #1 Best Seller “The Medical Science Liaison Career Guide: How to Break into Your First Role.” The book is the first and only step-by-step guide on how to break into the MSL career (www.themslbook.com). He is also the author of the Medical Science Liaison Job Application Tracking & Interview Self-Evaluation Journal, which is available on Amazon.
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