Five-year review of an international clinical research-training program

Abstract

The exponential increase in clinical research has profoundly changed medical sciences. Evidence that has accumulated in the past three decades from clinical trials has led to the proposal that clinical care should not be based solely on clinical expertise and patient values, and should integrate robust data from systematic research. As a consequence, clinical research has become more complex and methods have become more rigorous, and evidence is usually not easily translated into clinical practice. Therefore, the instruction of clinical research methods for scientists and clinicians must adapt to this new reality. To address this challenge, a global distance-learning clinical research-training program was developed, based on collaborative learning, the pedagogical goal of which was to develop critical thinking skills in clinical research. We describe and analyze the challenges and possible solutions of this course after 5 years of experience (2008–2012) with this program. Through evaluation by students and faculty, we identified and reviewed the following challenges of our program: 1) student engagement and motivation, 2) impact of heterogeneous audience on learning, 3) learning in large groups, 4) enhancing group learning, 5) enhancing social presence, 6) dropouts, 7) quality control, and 8) course management. We discuss these issues and potential alternatives with regard to our research and background.

Do educational interventions aimed at nurses to support the implementation of evidence-based practice improve patient outcomes? A systematic review

“…However, the effective implementation of EBP in routine care is often challenged by various barriers, including lack of time, lack of cultural and organisational support, competing priorities, and workloads . Secondly, the clinical environment is complex, and although nurses may have adequate EBP knowledge (Suemoto et al, 2015) it may not always be possible to successfully translate scientific evidence into nursing practice. Measuring or evaluating whether this change has been implemented is complex as it is difficult to attribute changes in patient care or outcomes to the EBP intervention itself and little is known about how best to measure these changes.…”

E-learning programs in oncology: a nationwide experience from 2005 to 2014

“…E-learning, also called computer-based learning, online learning or web-based learning, is a ubiquitously used technology in higher education [1–3]. E-learning comprises internet-based, interactive and asynchronous teaching and learning tools.…”

Development of the distance education course Principles and Practice of Clinical Research: 9 years of experience in the Dominican Republic

“…PPCR participant characteristics were first analyzed in 2015 by its staff (Suemoto et al, 2015). The results suggested points for its improvement to be explored subsequently.…”

“…However, they also highlight that these results depend on the level of education and the student's abilities. Therefore, they suggest taking into account other characteristics to affirm these considerations such as learning style, gender, level of commitment, satisfaction, and attitude (Pei & Wu, 2019;Robinson & Hullinger, 2008;Terrell & Dringus, 2000;Johnson et al, 2000;Dahalan et al, 2012).…”