Future-proofing the clinical research enterprise begins with the professionals who power it, although they have long struggled with overlooked professional identities and contributions, inconsistent job classifications, and persistent turnover. Despite a widely accepted competency framework and innovative approaches to training, hiring, onboarding, and retention being available, clear pathways into roles across diverse site, sponsor, and contract research organization settings remain elusive. Apprenticeships offer a proven, competency-based answer: industries across the economy use them to develop high-quality early talent and build durable pipelines. This session describes how a taskforce network enabled two academic medical centers to co-create two distinct but aligned employer-based apprenticeship models, leveraging the complementary strengths of each. Now in years two and three, both models point toward a more resilient future for early-talent development.
Speakers:
Michelle Jenkerson, RN, BS, CCRC, RRT, CPFT, Associate Director, Center for Clinical Studies, Workforce Development, Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences, Washington University Medicine
Denise Snyder, MS, RD, FACRP, Associate Dean for Clinical Research, Duke University School of Medicine
Sharleen Traynor, PhD, MPH, ACRP-CP, Program Director, Clinical Trials Research Associate Program, Durham Technical Community College