Different Roads, Same Destination: Launching Regional Training Centres

Abstract

The four Regional Training Centres (RTCs) founded by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research have used their regional context and resources to develop an innovative approach to reach their common goal of increasing capacity in applied health and nursing services research in Canada. As this overview explains, experiential learning features prominently in all four RTCs with the involvement of healthcare decision-makers and organizations. An interdisciplinary conceptual and methodological approach has been emphasized, resulting in both a regional and a national network of faculty, researchers , healthcare decision-makers and graduate students who are committed to the field of applied health and nursing services research. Faculty, decision-makers and students have gained a deeper understanding of how to achieve knowledge translation and exchange within the context of applied health and nursing services research to promote evidence-informed decision-making. Résumé Fondés par la Fondation canadienne de la recherche sur les services de santé et les Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada, les quatre Centres régionaux de formation (CRF) ont utilisé leur contexte régional et leurs ressources pour élaborer une approche novatrice afin d' atteindre un objectif commun : accroître la capacité en recherche appliquée en services de santé et de soins infirmiers au Canada. Tel qu' énoncé dans le présent aperçu, l' apprentissage par l' expérience occupe une place prioritaire dans les quatre CRF en raison de la collaboration des décideurs et des organismes du secteur des soins de santé. Une approche conceptuelle et méthod-ologique interdisciplinaire a été privilégiée, créant ainsi un réseau régional et national de membres de corps professoraux, de chercheurs, de décideurs en matière de soins de santé et d' étudiants des cycles supérieurs qui se consacrent au domaine de la recherche appliquée en services de santé et de soins infirmiers. Cette approche permet aux corps professoraux, aux décideurs et aux étudiants de mieux comprendre comment réaliser l' application et l' échange des connaissances dans le domaine de la recherche appliquée en services de santé et de soins infirmiers afin de favoriser la prise de décisions éclairée par des preuves.

To Boldly Go: A Partnership Enterprise to Produce Applied Health and Nursing Services Researchers in Canada

“…These requirements have differentiated the RTCs from existing graduate education programs. See Brachman et al (2008) for a detailed description outlining how these regional training programs were launched and are currently operating. Morrison et al (2008) describe how the RTCs give students exclusive access to regional health services and policy networks and underline graduates' belief that this training experience has facilitated new methodological approaches and innovative research ideas.…”

University Collaboration in Delivering Applied Health and Nursing Services Research Training

“…The training centres are described in detail elsewhere in this journal (Brachman et al 2008). Each of the RTCs comprises a number of universities that collaborate to deliver the educational offerings at a graduate level.…”

A Foot in Both Camps: Graduate Voices at the Interface of Applied Health Services Research, Policy and Decision-making

“…She says it was an opportunity for face-to-face connections with "students and faculty members who have common interests in the area [in which] you're doing your thesis or your research or policy work." (Brachman et al, 2008) These conferences afford students a chance to get a handle on healthcare issues nationally, too. "We [had the opportunity] to network nationally and learn about the experiences of students from different RTCs and the health service policy research that was being done outside our own province," says Kristin.…”