This grant proposal will support an ongoing process at Baylor College of Medicine to create a multidisciplinary didactic program for our students to gain the critical information and necessary tools to conduct high quality and original clinical investigation. The curriculum will replace a variety of curricula which have been taught annually in a number of sections and departments. The new curriculum will assure a uniform and high quality educational experience for our students, improve the efficiency of our faculty, and permit the establishment of uniform educational standards for students involved (or interested) in clinical investigation. The curriculum will be managed through a new program entitled the "Clinical Science Training Program" (CSTP), a Program Director (P.I. for this grant) and an advisory committee. The Program Director is responsible for implementation, operation, evaluation and continuous improvement of the CSTP. A key component of this proposal is our use of didactic materials using, in part, existing resources at the School. Teaching materials for the two basic core courses will be presented from a digitized platform. Lectures will be recorded, transcribed, edited and re-recorded and, in time, will be made available over our server as an adjunctive part of the curriculum. This will provide a complete and detailed overview of the content taught (not just proposed curriculum), permitting evaluation of the quality, integrity, sequence, level of complexity and absence of inappropriate redundancy of the Program. Such information will be invaluable in evaluating and changing curriculum and the Program over time. Initial student recruitment will be directed at our junior faculty and clinical research fellows but aspects of the curriculum will be open to any graduate level student interested in clinical investigation. To attract students to the program, several levels of credentialing will be offered through the Graduate School of BioMedical Sciences (and provides opportunities for interested basic science Ph.D. candidates to gain knowledge of clinical investigation). This proposal provides: 1. An overview of the clinical research and didactic resources at Baylor College of Medicine and our affiliate organizations (Hospitals and Institutions of Higher Education); 2. A view of our new strategic plan adopted in 1996 which specifically facilitates the expansion of clinical investigation; and 3. The implementation (structure, function, faculty, and curriculum) and the ongoing assessment and quality improvement processes of the Clinical Scientist Training Program (CSTP). The awarding of this grant will dramatically accelerate our implementation of this program.

K30HL004107

1999-06-01

2005-05-31