Funding secured to develop new Clinician Researcher Postgraduate qualification

Newcastle Health Innovation Partners (NHIP) is  delighted to announce Newcastle University has been selected as a provider of the prestigious NIHR-AoMRC Clinician Researcher Credentials Postgraduate Certificate which focuses on the practical elements of clinical research.

The programme, consisting of online taught modules and experiential learning tailored to the needs of the participants, is being developed in collaboration with partners in the NHS, the NIHR Clinical Research Network North East and North Cumbria, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, and NIHR, and will be embedded in Newcastle Health Innovation Partners.

This Postgraduate Certificate qualification, which is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), will help to bridge the gap in existing, predominantly theoretical, training opportunities. It will provide clinicians with the necessary knowledge, skills and confidence to begin to contribute to, and develop towards leading, clinical research locally.

The development of the programme will be led by Newcastle University’s Dr Richard McQuade, Director of Education, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, and Professor Marieke Emonts-le Clercq (NUTH and Newcastle University), Professor Paediatric Infectious Diseases. They will build on the pioneering and innovative Clinical Research Postgraduate Programmes currently offered by Newcastle University to offer flexible clinical research training for busy medical and allied health care professionals reflective of the diverse workforce in clinical research.

Dr Richard McQuade said: “We see this as an exciting opportunity to marry our education expertise with the clinical talents of our health care professionals. Our aim is to develop a programme that really will lead to enhanced delivery of clinical research.”

Professor Dave Jones, Chair of the NHIP Education and Training Group, said: “We are thrilled to have supported the successful bid for funding to bring clinical research education opportunities to clinicians across the North East and North Cumbria. This was a competitive national process and the successful outcome is a testament to the strong, collaborative approach of NHIP partners, particularly Newcastle University and the regional NIHR Clinical Research Network, illustrating the added value of NHIP in securing funding for this qualification and coordinating our joined up approach.”

The programme benefits from input and tutoring from active academic and NHS clinical researchers, and research design staff to ensure high quality and relevant content.

Online modules will focus on ‘Integrity and Leadership in Research for Health and Healthcare’ ensuring high standards and regulations are followed, and ‘Doing Clinical Research Well’, detailing methodology and research design.

These modules will be complemented by a ‘Research Practice Experience’ module where participants will be embedded in ongoing clinical research via the NIHR Clinical Research Network North East and North Cumbria.

The first cohort is expected to start in September 2022. Further details on this will be shared when the programme opens for registration.  To stay informed about this please pre-register your interest via this link

Find out more about the NIHR and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges PGCert competition here.