groups » Training and Career Development » Support staff GCP training

We recently held a GCP training for support staff - 46 drivers who are attached to clinical research studies having realized that they interact with participants when ferrying them to the clinic or transporting staff to community meetings without knowing the basic information regarding research.There questions were very informative and the gathering was timely as a point to vent and get informed. Let me know how others have handled this critical group of research teams.

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  • mamulla Moses 24 Jun 2011

    I also recommend this course and they also have one on ethics. Here is the link

  • Kimbute Omari Kimbute 23 Jun 2011

    Hi Mainga,
    AMANET are providing a very good free online GCP course.

  • hmainga hmainga 23 Jun 2011

    GCP training is difficult to find is there a free course that I can do online?

  • jchakaya jchakaya 25 May 2011

    I think it is very important and off course challenging to have such training for such group of 'researchers' with very unique needs. I think it is time that all staff engaged in research -'actively or passively' be informed about research and the principles of GCP. It may not be as detailed and technical as that of professionals in research, however it needs to meet their immediate needs at the work place. I guess the challenge is how to assess/determine what is good and important for (their training needs)them.

    I would be keen not to impose what I think meets their needs rather than do a training need assessment before formulating the objectives and developing the course content. TNA are good tools to identify what to train participants, based on their own perceptions/feelings of their needs or challenges.

    We have managed to carry such GCP trainings for non-medical staff such as field workers(clinical and community) after doing TNA, which we then developed into training objectives and course content. May be we will need similar approach for the kind of staff like the drives etc.

    I'll be more than glad to share with or learn more from colleagues who have successfully implemented such trainings to this category. Cheers.

  • petermilo Peter Milo 25 May 2011

    Indeed Provision of training for support staff in GCP and other study specific training becomes very critical in them identifying with the study and knowing how they fit into the whole picture.In particular sessions such as the roles and responsibility of the Principal investigator and research team for which the support staff-drivers and others fall makes them understand why everyone working in a study must be qualified by training,education and experience for the role they play.Lastly delivery of tailored made trainings to support staff becomes important in assisting staff understand their study and what the project is all about and eliminates misconceptions and mis information that is likely to occur from staff members who are poorly informed.

  • onyango Christine Onyango 24 May 2011

    I would like to join this discussion on training for trials and good clinical practice. Our training is broad and I think it would be good to have some for nurses, some for field workers and so on. In particular, as a nurse working in research I think we need to up our training.

  • dralinn ALI Innocent 18 Aug 2010

    Dear Swandiga. what is your experience now? I agree that training support staff on basic ethics, GCP and protocol is necessary as you rightly mentioned on gosips and confidentiality breaches. We just finished a trial where the driver received sone kind of on the job training and as we noticed, he was very useful in attending to some participants who felt more free to approach the driver than study staff.

  • swandiga Steve Wandiga 8 Jul 2010

    We are preparing to deliver this abbreviated GCP training to the community advisory board (CAB) in 2 weeks time and will share the experience. Many a times, it is thought that you have to be a clinical research staff to undergo GCP training, this is obsolete thinking. Both directly and indirectly involved staff or persons need to understand what it means to conduct GCP compliant trials/studies.

  • Ropar Ropar 2 Jul 2010

    hi Goretti
    i would like to know what you define as direct involvement with the study. If a person is responsible for transporting participants from their home to the clinic and also responsible for transporting samples and ensuring tha those samples arrive to the area of destination safely does tha mean that they are indirectly involved? The drivers in some cases have direct involvement with participants, is that not considered direct involvement in the research.
    The research team constitutes alot of people all of different levels of engagement with the study but each of those team memebrs is important and i do agree with Daveline that the timing of training is important.
    During an Ethics training in Sout Africa, one of the Nurses mentioned that in their study oatients prefered to interact with the Driver to ask them information as pertains to the study as they considered the driver to be part of the team but more easier to reach and talk to.
    I trhink that it would be prudent if one is starting a study to include some drivers drivers in the training , GCP and basic protocol training so that they are able to provide accurate information when they do interact with the community.

  • swandiga Steve Wandiga 1 Jul 2010

    Actually you are welcome to collaborate in making the experience at your site for the support staff better. Given that they are usually not the center of action when studies kick off, this would be a recipe for rumours and confidentiality breaches. I would urge that we incorporate these important group who reside in the communities where clinical research is done.

  • gogetii Gilbert Ogetii 29 Jun 2010

    Hi all,

    First I think that training support staff is a timely initiative.Although GCP guidelines do not mention staff other than those directly involved in conducting the trial, these cadre of staff play an important role too. At our site we have not had trainings targeting this group and i think its something we can learn from you!

  • DavelineNyakundi Daveline Nyakundi 25 Jun 2010

    These support staff as well need a knowhow of what happens in the world of medical research. In pursuit of this, the content and scope should be tailor-made to suite them. General issues on research ethics need to be emphases without weighing them down on the complex issues meant for study staff. May be guidelines can be put together for such kind of a category in research? what do other think?

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