The Clinical Research Leadership Council (CRLC) Education Work group was chartered in December of 2019 with the goal to serve as representative body for providing guidance and feedback on research staff education. Their scope is to support the CRLC in development of best practices for research education for all divisional and UCM staff. The CRLC conducted a Research Professional Education Needs Assessment survey in July 2021. This survey provided valuable insights into how satisfied and knowledgeable staff are with the current clinical research education offerings available, and an important benchmark from which we can improve.
We received a total of 131 unique responses to the survey, with 48 (37%) principal investigators (PIs), 30 (23%) managers of research staff, and 53 (40%) research staff. When asked if the “current level of institutional support meets your present clinical research educational needs?”, The majority of PIs and managers similarly disagreed or strongly disagreed (55% and 57%, respectively) and the majority of staff agreed or strongly agreed (62%). This finding may indicate the different needs of staff for education depending on roles, years of experience working in research, and need for training beyond the required research modules.
The Research Professional Education Needs Assessment survey assessed the training and education needs, awareness of current educational offerings, and preferences for methods of receiving training. PIs, managers, and staff were all similarly very aware of the Good Clinical Practice and CITI training available (required training modules for research staff). Across all roles, respondents stated a need for additional training support: more time (67%), resource list of available professional development options (54%), funds for education and training (48%) and mentoring (40%). To view additional results and data from the survey, click here.
The CRLC Education and Training workgroup actively welcomes new members in community to participate in the monthly meetings and join the CRLC and Research Community slack channels. Join the SLACK channel Research Community.
To participate in future Clinical Research Leadership Council Education and Training Workgroup meetings or slack channel(s), please contact James Lynch at jlynch@bsd.uchicago.edu.
To learn more about current research training offerings within the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM), please visit the ITM education website.
To learn more about current research training offerings within the Office of Clinical Research (OCR), please visit the OCR education website.
