This unique program consists of several components: an educational component, a resource component, and a staff-networking component. This program is intended for recent college graduates with limited clinical research experience or for those who have health care or clinical experience and are interested in research coordination. View a lecture detailing this program here.
The education component of the program provides the study coordinator apprentices with a structured training program utilizing the ICTR’s educational programs, clinical infrastructure, and expert consultative resources. The majority of the training is done during the first three months of the program. During this time the apprentices do a mixture of “classroom” work, guided mentoring and hands-on training.
The “classroom” work consists of all the required Human Subject research trainings all coordinators are required to do. The apprentices also attend the School of Nursing Fundamental of Research Coordination program (RCTP). They will complete the good clinical practice training offered through CITI along with specific training on the eIRB, Department of Transportation/International Air Transport Association (DOT/IATA, and phlebotomy. In addition, they will be acquiring the Science of Clinical Investigation (SOCI) certificate through the school of Public Health. The hands-on training will be acquired through work at the Clinical Rotation Units, shadowing experienced coordinators and being on work assignments.
SCAMP also helps to develop the community of research support staff throughout Johns Hopkins, by providing monthly educational sessions, as well as networking and problem-solving sessions open to all research staff at any of the Johns Hopkins Institutes.
The guided mentoring is intended for things you cannot specifically train for. These include a weekly one-on-one with a Senior Research Coordinator, case studies, and a series of activities and lectures to help further their education. The purpose of these activities and lectures is to give the apprentices a chance to a chance to familiarize themselves with a task they are likely to encounter in a work assignment. In the event they never experience a certain task during a work assignment, these activities and lectures provide them with the knowledge and skillset to complete the task to the level an experienced coordinator would be able to do so. The apprentices will also be receiving specific training and mentoring with the study teams they are assigned to. The goal is to get someone who is fully trained as a coordinator even though they are still in the learning stages.
Upon completion of program, apprentices take the Certified Clinical Research Profession (CCRP) certification through the Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA). After obtaining the CCRP certification, they are eligible to apply for Sr. Research Coordinator positions at Johns Hopkins or can transition into the float pool of research coordinators in the Research Coordinator Support Service (RCSS) program offered through the ICTR.