3 Simple Ways To Become A Better Clinical Researcher
By John R. Nocero, Ph.D., and Andrea L. Bordonaro, MAT
Workforce and patient engagement issues captured attendees’ attention at the Association of Clinical Research Professionals 2024 Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA, on May 4. Most notable was incorporating the principles of best engagement practices into the training of clinical research professionals.
“Clinical trials continue to be complex, even for those of us who have been involved in them for many years, and not just in terms of how do we involve the patients but how do we prepare the professionals to engage them?” said Erika Stevens, MA, FACRP, former chair of the ACRP Board of Trustees and director of clinical research experience and faculty lecturer for the MS Clinical Research Management Track at Rutgers Health.
Exactly.
Preparation in this context means learning. Life revolves around learning at school, our jobs, and even the things we do for fun. But we often don’t progress in any of these areas at the rate we’d like.1 Sadly, this causes us to give up on ourselves and our pursuits prematurely, or we accept the fact that we always will be mediocre in our classes, careers, and hobbies. On a recent episode of the Art of Manliness podcast, Scott Young, author of Get Better at Anything: 12 Maxims for Mastery, shared three key factors for learning.
Seeing, Doing, And Listening To Become Better CRPs
Young argues that there are three key factors to learning: seeing, doing, and listening. Let’s explore each of them in depth.
Seeing
Most of what we know comes from other people. Think about it — how to behave at the dinner table, how to kiss, how to greet someone, and how to drive all come from interactions with others. Human learning is highly embedded in social interaction. Since the very early stages of our lives, we have formed memories and acquired knowledge from others. Yet, within cognitive science and neuroscience, human learning is mainly studied in isolation.2 A significant component of human learning lies in the ability to act on and interact with the surrounding environment. So, the ease of learning from others determines, to a large extent, how quickly we can improve.
Doing
Secondly, mastery requires deliberate practice. According to Clear,3 deliberate practice refers to a special type of practice that is purposeful and systematic. While regular practice might include mindless repetitions, deliberate practice requires focused attention and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance. Clear cites Joe DiMaggio as an example of a natural hitter.
As the story goes, a journalist was interviewing DiMaggio at his home and asked him what it felt like to be such a “natural hitter.” Without saying a word, he dragged the reporter downstairs. In the shadows of the basement, DiMaggio picked up a bat and began to repeat a series of practice swings. Before each swing, he would call out a particular pitch such as “fastball, low and away” or “slider, inside” and adjust his approach accordingly. Once he finished the routine, DiMaggio set the bat down, picked up a piece of chalk, and scratched a tally mark on the wall. Then he flicked on the lights to reveal thousands of tally marks covering the basement walls. Supposedly, DiMaggio then looked at the journalist and said, “Don’t you ever tell me that I’m a natural hitter again.” Our brains are fantastic effort-saving machines, which can be both a tremendous advantage and a curse.
Listening
Finally, progress requires constant adjustment based on not just the red stroke of a teacher’s pen but the results of hands-on experience. Feedback is also necessary for thriving in the workplace. It helps people flex and grow into new skills, capabilities, and roles, creates more positive and productive relationships, and helps to reach goals and drive business value. People want feedback if they are on the receiving end. Gino (2022) notes that workplace surveys consistently show that employees crave better information about how they could improve their performance but most say they don’t get it I (Blanding 2022). A recent Gallup poll found only 26% of employees strongly believe that the feedback they receive helps them perform better. A McKinsey survey of 12,000 managers indicated they consider “candid, insightful feedback critical to career development.” Another survey found 72% of respondents rated managers providing critical feedback as important for them in career development, while another found that only 5% of managers provide this feedback (Blanding, 2022).
When we’re able to learn from the example of other people, practice extensively ourselves, and get reliable feedback, rapid progress results. How do we do it?
Putting The Three Into Clinical Practice
To see, we need to group clinical researchers together during orientation and then keep them together through the duration of work, no matter their job titles. Clinical research coordinator with the research assistant. Clinical research coordinator with the principal investigator. Sub-investigator and all roles in between. These CRPs — these learners — need to practice team-building skills and to be accountable to the group as well as to themselves.
And isn’t this what clinical research is — a team sport? The CRC coordinates the visit with the research assistant to perform vital signs and then calls in the PI to perform the physical exam and adverse event assessment. By working effectively together, CRPs of all stripes can become better critical thinkers with a deeper understanding of research protocols and foster positive interpersonal relationships.
Whatever a person’s role, they need to repeat tasks and hone skills time after time. Perform informed consent on everyone: colleagues, family, and pets. (Although it is highly unlikely that Trixie can sign her name on the informed consent document, she may be able to make her bark on it.) Go to the laboratory and practice drawing blood. Take EKGS. Be like DiMaggio with his batting, and fill out that case report form again, again, and again. Be deliberate and focus on effectiveness, rather than just going through the motions. And with protocols getting tighter and tighter under competitive enrollment, make enrollment goals the priority. It becomes about taking action and making course corrections based on feedback.
Speaking of feedback, let’s put this one on the managers. In our fast-paced clinical research world, being clear and brief is gold. No one has the time or the attention span (thanks, TikTok) for long-winded explanations. Here’s how to keep it crisp: Take a 10-minute walking meeting, stick to the point, use simple language, and ask for feedback to ensure comprehension. Clear communication cuts through the noise. It makes sure your ideas are heard and acted on.
So, there you have it. Three techniques your research team can use together – see, do, and listen. Imagine your team a few months from now, learning from one another to be more cohesive and have better relationships — and hopefully all without GCP violations or protocol deviations.
References:
- Workforce and Patient Engagement Issues Capture Attention at ACRP 2024
McKay B. & McKay K. (2024). Podcast #989: How to Get Better At Anything - De Felice Sara, Hamilton Antonia F. de C., Ponari Marta and Vigliocco Gabriella (2023).
Learning from others is good, with others is better: the role of social interaction in human acquisition of new knowledge, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 37820210357 http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0357 - Clear J. (2024). “Deliberate Practices. What It is and How to Use it.” Retrieved from Deliberate
Practice: What It Is, What It’s Not, and How to Use It (jamesclear.com) - Blanding M. (2022). Why People Crave Feedback—and Why We’re Afraid to Give It. Retrieved from Why People Crave Feedback—and Why We’re Afraid to Give It - HBS Working Knowledge
About The Authors:
John R. Nocero, Ph.D., and Andrea L. Bordonaro, MAT, blog on LinkedIn as “The Q-Kids,” discussing everything related to clinical research education, inspiration, and professional connection.
John is the director of compliance and clinical operations at Segal Trials in Miami Lakes, FL, responsible for all things clinical research quality, regulatory, education, training, and compliance. He has worked in clinical research since 2003 and is inspired by the Irish professional wrestler Becky Lynch, whose personal and professional story centers on achievement, tenacity, grit, and overcoming adversity. He spends his time in offices and gyms between Miami, FL, and Columbus, OH.
Andrea has been teaching first grade in the Willoughby-Eastlake School System for 25 years. She teaches in the very same classroom that she attended as a first grader. She earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from John Carroll University and a master’s degree in the art of teaching and education from Marygrove College. She lives in Willoughby, OH.