Unit: Quantitative Health Sciences
Program: Clinical and Translational Research (MS)
Degree: Master's
Date: Mon Oct 12, 2009 - 10:17:39 am

1) List your program's student learning outcomes (SLOs).

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Research: Develop and implement ethically and culturally appropriate clinical research that addresses health disparities in Asian, Pacific Islander, and Filipino populations.

  • Conduct clinical research with cultural competence.
  • Analyze and synthesize literature toliterature to ascertain state of the science in regard to selected areas of clinical research, especially health disparities in Asian, Pacific Islander, and Filipino peoples.
  • Use the Internet to access clinical research information.
  • Apply appropriate research methodologies to answer clinical research questions.
  • Demonstrate successful scientific writing skills by producing scholarly works and writing an approved clinical research proposal.
  • Make correct inferences from data.
  • Apply clinical research findings by implementing and monitoring an action plan based on relevant data.

Professionalism/ethics: Conduct ethically responsible and culturally competent clinical research

  • Demonstrate knowledge of laws, regulations, and policies related to clinical research on the development and implementation of protocols.
  • Apply ethical principles in the design and conduct of clinical research, especially with disadvantaged and underserved populations.

Culturally competent leadership and communication: Establish community- based research networks in selected area of clinical research interest

  • Communicate in a culturally competent manner with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, and professional backgrounds and with persons of all ages and lifestyle preferences.
  • Communicate effectively in writing and voicing demographic, statistical, and scientific information for professional and lay audiences.

Interdisciplinary collaboration: Work collaboratively, interdependently and effectively with other members of the clinical research team

  • Manage clinical research project, including budget.
  • Recruit and supervise necessary staff for clinical research project.
  • Demonstrate the ability to manage research team task assignments.
  • Demonstrate good interpersonal skills, including the ability to work interdependently with other clinical research team members.

Self-directed learning: Demonstrate the skills for self-directed learning

  • Be able to obtain appropriate feedback, consultation, and/or review before, during, and after a research project.
  • Conceptualize and synthesize the state of the science related to selected clinical research questions.

2) Where are your program's SLOs published?

Department Website URL:
Student Handbook. URL, if available online:
Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online:
UHM Catalog. Page Number:
Course Syllabi. URL, if available online:
Other: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~mscr/
Other:

3) Upload your program's current curriculum map(s) as a PDF.

Curriculum Map File(s) from 2009:

4) What percentage of courses have the course SLOs explicitly stated on the course syllabus, department website, or other publicly available document? (Check one)

0%
1-50%
51-80%
81-99%
100%

5) State the SLO(s) that was Assessed, Targeted, or Studied


 The student will be able to:

Research: Develop and implement ethically and culturally appropriate clinical research that addresses health disparities in Asian, Pacific Islander, and Filipino populations.

  • Conduct clinical research with cultural competence.
  • Analyze and synthesize literature toliterature to ascertain state of the science in regard to selected areas of clinical research, especially health disparities in Asian, Pacific Islander, and Filipino peoples.
  • Use the Internet to access clinical research information.
  • Apply appropriate research methodologies to answer clinical research questions.
  • Demonstrate successful scientific writing skills by producing scholarly works and writing an approved clinical research proposal.
  • Make correct inferences from data.
  • Apply clinical research findings by implementing and monitoring an action plan based on relevant data.

Professionalism/ethics: Conduct ethically responsible and culturally competent clinical research

  • Demonstrate knowledge of laws, regulations, and policies related to clinical research on the development and implementation of protocols.
  • Apply ethical principles in the design and conduct of clinical research, especially with disadvantaged and underserved populations.

Culturally competent leadership and communication: Establish community- based research networks in selected area of clinical research interest

  • Communicate in a culturally competent manner with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, and professional backgrounds and with persons of all ages and lifestyle preferences.
  • Communicate effectively in writing and voicing demographic, statistical, and scientific information for professional and lay audiences.

Interdisciplinary collaboration: Work collaboratively, interdependently and effectively with other members of the clinical research team

  • Manage clinical research project, including budget.
  • Recruit and supervise necessary staff for clinical research project.
  • Demonstrate the ability to manage research team task assignments.
  • Demonstrate good interpersonal skills, including the ability to work interdependently with other clinical research team members.

Self-directed learning: Demonstrate the skills for self-directed learning

  • Be able to obtain appropriate feedback, consultation, and/or review before, during, and after a research project.
  • Conceptualize and synthesize the state of the science related to selected clinical research questions.

6) State the Assessment Question(s) and/or Goal(s) of Assessment Activity

We wanted to determine if the students could:

Research: Develop and implement ethically and culturally appropriate clinical research that addresses health disparities in Asian, Pacific Islander, and Filipino populations.

  • Conduct clinical research with cultural competence.
  • Analyze and synthesize literature toliterature to ascertain state of the science in regard to selected areas of clinical research, especially health disparities in Asian, Pacific Islander, and Filipino peoples.
  • Use the Internet to access clinical research information.
  • Apply appropriate research methodologies to answer clinical research questions.
  • Demonstrate successful scientific writing skills by producing scholarly works and writing an approved clinical research proposal.
  • Make correct inferences from data.
  • Apply clinical research findings by implementing and monitoring an action plan based on relevant data.

Professionalism/ethics: Conduct ethically responsible and culturally competent clinical research

  • Demonstrate knowledge of laws, regulations, and policies related to clinical research on the development and implementation of protocols.
  • Apply ethical principles in the design and conduct of clinical research, especially with disadvantaged and underserved populations.

Culturally competent leadership and communication: Establish community- based research networks in selected area of clinical research interest

  • Communicate in a culturally competent manner with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, and professional backgrounds and with persons of all ages and lifestyle preferences.
  • Communicate effectively in writing and voicing demographic, statistical, and scientific information for professional and lay audiences.

Interdisciplinary collaboration: Work collaboratively, interdependently and effectively with other members of the clinical research team

  • Manage clinical research project, including budget.
  • Recruit and supervise necessary staff for clinical research project.
  • Demonstrate the ability to manage research team task assignments.
  • Demonstrate good interpersonal skills, including the ability to work interdependently with other clinical research team members.

Self-directed learning: Demonstrate the skills for self-directed learning

  • Be able to obtain appropriate feedback, consultation, and/or review before, during, and after a research project.
  • Conceptualize and synthesize the state of the science related to selected clinical research questions.

7) State the Type(s) of Evidence Gathered

Number of referred presentations

Number of articles submitted 

Number of articles published

Number of grants written

Number of grants funded

Number abstracts submitted

Number abstracts selected for presentation

Number of posters submitted

Number posters selected for presentation

8) State How the Evidence was Interpreted, Evaluated, or Analyzed

Data were compiled by an independent evaluator.  ECafe will not allow an independent evaluator to use the system so we had to evolve our own on-line system.  Data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively by the evaluator.  The analysis was discussed by the curriculum committee and the external advisory board.

9) State How Many Pieces of Evidence Were Collected

All registered students participated

10) Summarize the Actual Results

The results indicated we were achieving the student learning outcomes.  No indications were provided fro program change at this time.

11) Briefly Describe the Distribution and Discussion of Results

The results were provided to faculty and students.  The discussion occurred in a faculty meeting.

12) Describe Conclusions and Discoveries

Conclusions

SLO's are being achieved

Program changes are not needed at this is time

New SLO's for translational researchers will be reviewed this year and appropriate changes implemented

13) Use of Results/Program Modifications: State How the Program Used the Results --or-- Explain Planned Use of Results

Program changes are not needed at this is time

New SLO's for translational researchers will be reviewed this year and appropriate changes implemented

14) Reflect on the Assessment Process

NO

15) Other Important Information

New National Core Competencies in Clinical and Translational Research
Core Thematic Areas Competencies

I. CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS
  • Identify basic and preclinical studies that are potential testable clinical research hypotheses.
  • Identify research observations that could be the bases of large clinical trials.
  • Define the data that formulate research hypotheses.
  • Derive translational questions from clinical research data.
  • Prepare the background and significance sections of a research proposal.
  • Critique clinical and translational research questions using data-based literature searches.
  • Extract information from the scientific literature that yields scientific insight for research innovation.

II. LITERATURE CRITIQUE
  • Conduct a comprehensive and systematic search of the literature using informatics techniques.
  • Summarize evidence from the literature on a clinical problem.
  • Describe the mechanism of a clinical problem reviewed in a manuscript.
  • Use evidence as the basis of the critique and interpretation of results of published studies.
  • Identify potential sources of bias and variations in published studies.
  • Interpret published literature in a causal framework.
  • Identify gaps in knowledge within a research problem.

III. STUDY DESIGN
  • Formulate a well-defined clinical or translational research question to be studied in human or animal models.
  • Propose study designs for addressing a clinical or translational research question.
  • Assess the strengths and weaknesses of possible study designs for a given clinical or translational research question.
  • Design a research study protocol.
  • Identify a target population for a clinical or translational research project.
  • Identify measures to be applied to a clinical or translational research project.
  • Design a research data analysis plan.
  • Determine resources needed to implement a clinical or translational research plan.
  • Prepare an application to an IRB.

IV. RESEARCH IMPLEMENTATION
  • Compare the feasibility, efficiency, and ability to derive unbiased inferences from different clinical and translational research study designs.
  • Assess threats to internal validity in any planned or completed clinical or translational study, including selection bias, misclassification, and confounding.
  • Incorporate regulatory precepts into the design of any clinical or translational study.
  • Integrate elements of translational research into given study designs that could provide the bases for future research, such as the collection of biological specimens nested studies and the development of community-based interventions.

V. SOURCES OF ERROR
  • Describe the concepts and implications of reliability and validity of study measurements.
  • Evaluate the reliability and validity of measures.
  • Assess threats to study validity (bias) including problems with sampling, recruitment, randomization, and comparability of study groups.
  • Differentiate between the analytic problems that can be addressed with standard methods and those requiring input from biostatisticians and other scientific experts.
  • Implement quality assurance systems with control procedures for data intake, management, and monitoring for different study designs.
  • Assess data sources and data quality to answer specific clinical or translational research questions.
  • Implement quality assurance and control procedures for different study designs and analysis.

VI. STATISTICAL APPROACHES
  • Describe the role that biostatistics serves in biomedical and public health research.
  • Describe the basic principles and practical importance of random variation, systematic error, sampling error, measurement error, hypothesis testing, type I and type II errors, and confidence limits.
  • Scrutinize the assumptions behind different statistical methods and their corresponding limitations.
  • Generate simple descriptive and inferential statistics that fit the study design chosen and answer research question.
  • Compute sample size, power, and precision for comparisons of two independent samples with respect to continuous and binary outcomes.
  • Describe the uses of meta-analytic methods.
  • Defend the significance of data and safety monitoring plans.
  • Collaborate with biostatisticians in the design, conduct, and analyses of clinical and translational research.
  • Evaluate computer output containing the results of statistical procedures and graphics.
  • Explain the uses, importance, and limitations of early stopping rules in clinical trials.

VII. BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
  • Describe trends and best practices in informatics for the organization of biomedical and health information.
  • Develop protocols utilizing management of information using computer technology.
  • Describe the effects of technology on medical research, education, and patient care.
  • Describe the essential functions of the electronic health record (EHR) and the barriers to its use.
  • Explain the role that health information technology standards have on the interoperability of clinical systems, including health IT messaging.
  • Access patient information using quality checks via electronic health record systems.
  • Retrieve medical knowledge through literature searches using advanced electronic techniques.
  • Discuss the role of bioinformatics in the study design and analyses of high dimensional data in areas, such as genotypic and phenotypic genomics.
  • Collaborate with bioinformatics specialists in the design, development, and implementation of research projects.

VIII. RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH
    VIII.a. Clinical Research Ethics Competencies
  • Summarize the history of research abuses and the rationale for creating codes, regulations, and systems for protecting participants in clinical research that requires community input.
  • Critique a clinical or translational research proposal for risks to human subjects.
  • Explain the special issues that arise in research with vulnerable participants and the need for additional safeguards.
  • Determine the need for a risk-benefit ratio that is in balance with the outcomes in clinical and translational research.
  • Describe the elements of voluntary informed consent, including increasing knowledge about research, avoiding undue influence or coercion, and assuring the decision-making capacity of participants.
  • Assure the need for privacy protection throughout all phases of a study.
  • Assure the need for fairness in recruiting participants and in distributing the benefits and burdens of clinical research.
  • Adhere to IRB application procedures.
  • Explain how the structural arrangement of science and the research industry may influence the behavior of scientists and the production of scientific knowledge.
    VIII.b. Responsible Conduct of Research Competencies
  • Apply the main rules, guidelines, codes, and professional standards for the conduct of clinical and translational research.
  • Adhere to the procedures to report unprofessional behavior by colleagues who engage in misconduct in research.
  • Implement procedures for the identification, prevention, and management of financial, intellectual, and employment conflicts of interests.
  • Apply the rules and professional standards that govern the data collection, sharing, and protection throughout all phases of clinical and translational research.
  • Apply elements of voluntary informed consent, of fostering understanding of information about clinical research, and for avoiding undue influence or coercion, and taking into consideration the decision-making capacity of participants.
  • Explain the need for privacy protection and best practices for protecting privacy throughout all phases of a study.
  • Explain the need for fairness in recruiting participants and in distributing the benefits and burdens of clinical research.
  • Explain the function of the IRB.

IX. SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION
  • Communicate clinical and translational research findings to different groups of individuals, including colleagues, students, the lay public, and the media.
  • Translate the implications of clinical and translational research findings for clinical practice, advocacy, and governmental groups.
  • Write summaries of scientific information for use in the development of clinical health care policy.
  • Translate clinical and translational research findings into national health strategies or guidelines for use by the general public.
  • Explain the utility and mechanism of commercialization for clinical and translational research findings, the patent process, and technology transfer.

X. CULTURAL DIVERSITY
  • Differentiate between cultural competency and cultural sensitivity principles.
  • Recognize the demographic, geographic, and ethnographic features within communities and populations when designing a clinical study.
  • Describe the relevance of cultural and population diversity in clinical research design.
  • Describe cultural and social variation in standards of research integrity.
  • Critique studies for evidence of health disparities, such as disproportional health effects on select populations (e.g., gender, age, ethnicity, race).

XI. TRANSLATIONAL TEAMWORK
  • Build an interdisciplinary/ intradisciplinary/ multidisciplinary team that matches the objectives of the research problem.
  • Manage an interdisciplinary team of scientists.
  • Advocate for multiple points of view.
  • Clarify language differences across disciplines.
  • Demonstrate group decision-making techniques.
  • Manage conflict.
  • Manage a clinical and/or translational research study.

XII. LEADERSHIP
  • Work as a leader of a multidisciplinary research team.
  • Manage a multidisciplinary team across its fiscal, personnel, regulatory compliance and problem solving requirements.
  • Maintain skills as mentor and mentee.
  • Validate others as a mentor.
  • Foster innovation and creativity.

XIII. CROSS DISCIPLINARY TRAINING
  • Apply principles of adult learning and competency-based instruction to educational activities.
  • Provide clinical and translational science instruction to beginning scientists.
  • Incorporate adult learning principles and mentoring strategies into interactions with beginning scientists and scholars in order to engage them in clinical and translational research.
  • Develop strategies for overcoming the unique curricular challenges associated with merging scholars from diverse backgrounds.

XIV. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
  • Examine the characteristics that bind people together as a community, including social ties, common perspectives or interests, and geography.
  • Appraise the role of community engagement as a strategy for identifying community health issues, translating health research to communities and reducing health disparities.
  • Summarize the principles and practices of the spectrum of community-engaged research.
  • Analyze the ethical complexities of conducting community-engaged research.
  • Specify how cultural and linguistic competence and health literacy have an impact on the conduct of community engaged research.

16) FOR DISTANCE PROGRAMS ONLY: Explain how your program/department has adapted its assessment of student learning in the on-campus program to assess student learning in the distance education program.

NA

17) FOR DISTANCE PROGRAMS ONLY: Summarize the actual student learning assessment results that compare the achievement of students in the on-campus program to students in the distance education program.

NA