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92 Effectiveness of an Academic Medical Center Clinical Research Coordinator Intern Program on Learning and Workforce Expansion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2023

Shelly Orr
Affiliation:
Virginia Commonwealth University Health
Shirley Helm
Affiliation:
Virginia Commonwealth University Health
Mary Harmon
Affiliation:
Virginia Commonwealth University Health
Gerry Moeller
Affiliation:
Virginia Commonwealth University Health
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Abstract

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OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC) Intern Program was developed to increase knowledge and awareness of CRC’s vital role in conducting clinical studies. Program outcomes are to provide students with marketable skills and knowledge leading to employment within the clinical research ecosystem. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The CRC Intern Program is available to college students for health-related academic courses requiring an internship component. Didactic and experiential learning are incorporated into the program with students imbedded within well-established clinical research teams. Activities include attending IRB meetings, recruitment and enrollment, data collection and entry, and regulatory items. Students complete knowledge pre- and post-assessments (Competency Index for Clinical Research Professionals-CIRCP) via REDCap surveys to assess learner knowledge acquisition and program effectiveness. Demographic, program evaluation, and 3-month follow up survey data are analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Beginning in Spring 2022, the Intern Program has accepted 9 students with 5 completing the program, with 2 of this 5 having been offered employment as CRCs. Preliminary CIRCP assessment data indicates increased CRC knowledge upon Intern Program completion. Demographic data shows that students are mostly female and non-white (43% African American, 29% Hispanic). Additional results from the current cohort will be shared upon program completion. Of note is the development of partnerships with local colleges, including community colleges, to build awareness of the CRC career path and to provide opportunities for CRC exploration resulting in expansion and diversification of the clinical research workforce. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: There is an industry wide shortage of CRCs. Our internship program has provided an effective method to expand and diversify the CRC workforce through knowledge acquisition and application building CRC skills and competencies. Lessons learned and future plans for intern expansion will be discussed.

Type
Education, Career Development and Workforce Development
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. The Association for Clinical and Translational Science