Clinical research coordinators get S$35m boost from MOH

Singapore

THE Health Ministry (MOH) has pumped S$35 million to fund the salaries of 100 clinical research coordinators (CRCs) for the next five years and the implementation of national training and certification programmes to ensure a steady flow of qualified CRCs.

Announcing this at the Singapore Clinical Research Institute (SCRI) third annual scientific symposium on Tuesday, Senior Minister of State for Health Lam Pin Min said the CRCs play important roles in supporting doctors and scientists in carrying out quality clinical research that meets international standards.

"(They) would need to work with the patients during patient screening, explain the trial procedures and details to the patients during recruitment and keep proper documentation of the patients' and trial information. They play a key role in ensuring good patient recruitment, which is critical to the success of clinical trials. We see the importance in nurturing and developing this group of professionals," he said.

Salaries of CRCs were previously provided by the research grants allocated for that particular clinical trial. With the additional funding from MOH, CRCs are able to concentrate on the types of clinical research areas they want to hone their skills in.

Current challenges CRCs face include newly recruited ones with only a life sciences background and no prior experience working in a hospital or with doctors and nurses and who are not familiar with medical terms; and the increasing complexities of trials on precision medicine, which focuses on tailoring medicines for different patient groups.

Dr Lam also launched Singapore's first national training platform for CRCs, the SCRI Academy, at the symposium, held at the Conrad Centennial Hotel. It is a virtual training academy, which will house the training efforts for CRCs. The first programme under the academy is slated to start by March 2018.

"The programme trains existing CRCs with less than one year experience through hands-on practice and classroom exercises. SCRI will also work with Workforce Singapore (WSG) on a professional conversion programme targeting mid-career switchers with no clinical research background," Dr Lam said.

The curriculum of the virtual academy is a combination of hands-on practical and theoretical classroom programmes, which converts theory into practice.

The Level 1 programme, slated to start in March next year, is targeted at CRCs with less than a year's experience. It includes a nursing module and good clinical practice guidelines used in clinical trials. In the long term, the SCRI academy will provide an enhanced training framework to support the advancement of CRC careers.

CEO of SCRI Teoh Yee Leong said: "Clinical research is important as it helps the doctors search for better value treatment for our patients and CRCs play a critical role in the successful completion of clinical trials.

"SCRI Academy, together with our public healthcare partners, hope to continue upgrading the skills and career of the CRCs to ultimately deliver better healthcare to our patients."