Work-Based Clinical Research Placement draft

Program Overview

This work-based clinical research placement program allows students to actively participate in ongoing research projects, gaining practical experience and developing critical thinking skills. Through a reflective portfolio and mentor assessment, students demonstrate their understanding of clinical research principles, ethical considerations, and their future aspirations in the field. The program contributes 15 credits and awards a certificate upon completion.

Program Outline

Outline:

Course Content:

The activities undertaken during the placement will be determined individually by each student in consultation with their assigned research team. Students will actively participate in the team's ongoing research activities as appropriate. They will maintain a reflective journal and develop a portfolio documenting and analyzing their experiences within the research environment. University-based group tutorials held before, during, and following the placement will facilitate action plan creation, knowledge sharing, and reflective progress assessment.

Module Description:

The module's objectives and learning outcomes will be further refined by each student, in collaboration with their university tutor and external research mentor, to establish specific, personalized aims and objectives aligned with their specific research placement. Upon successful program completion, students will have achieved the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge and Understanding:

• Demonstrate mastery of specific learning objectives defined by the student, their module leader, and the external research mentor.
• Possess a comprehensive and critical grasp of the clinical research area in which they're involved, evidenced by a clear and concise explanation of the rationale underpinning the research project during the placement.
• Comprehend and critically appraise the factors that contribute to and shape effective clinical research in practice.

Skills:

• Design and oversee the practical and scholarly aspects of the work-based placement by accessing relevant support resources as necessary.
• Leverage critical reflection practices to investigate, pinpoint, assess, and document the learning processes.
• Function autonomously, managing personal learning and development pathways to achieve deadlines set by both employers and the program.
• Cultivate analytical, evaluative, and synthesis capabilities.
• Integrate reflection practices for exploring and pinpointing learning requirements for further individual advancement.

Values and attitudes:

• Recognize the challenges and difficulties inherent in conducting real-time research within clinical contexts, displayed through a concise summary of challenges and issues encountered during research in their assigned setting and the demonstrable capability to articulate these observations throughout their placement.
• Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of social and environmental factors on service development and research through an abstract summarizing the connections between their research placement project and the broader social and environmental concerns.
• Exhibit awareness regarding duty of care within service delivery and its implications for research activities, illustrated through a synopsis outlining how the research placement project relates to duty of care and demonstrated through conduct adhering to these principles during the course of the placement.
• Uphold a commitment to the principles of good governance and ethics in healthcare and social welfare research, manifested through the formulation of an abstract summarizing the ethical and governance aspects pertinent to their research placement project, alongside their adherence to ethical research principles.

Assessment:

• Students will complete a 3000-word portfolio documenting their activities and accomplishments throughout their work-based clinical research placement.
This portfolio comprises:
• A summary and synopsis of specific tasks performed during the placement.
• A synopsis of the overall rationale and objectives of the research project engaged in during the internship.
• A critical assessment of their role as an observer and participant within the research team context.
• Discourse concerning their future aspirations for continued professional growth in the field of academic clinical research within their particular area of expertise.
• This portfolio constitutes 80% of the total assessment weightage.
• An independent work-based mentor assesses the quality of the student's performance during the placement, providing a written assessment contributing 20% to the final evaluation.

Other:

• This course contributes 15 credits towards eligible academic programs.
• Upon successful course completion, students receive a certificate.
• This course belongs to and is delivered by the School of Health & Psychological Sciences.