Education and Training

In the Department of Health White Paper :‘Making a Difference’ (1999), the Government firmly identified the need to deliver a ‘modern career framework for NHS staff, to help provide more satisfying and rewarding careers’. The establishment of The National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) will endorse the creation of a career structure within clinical research. The NCRNs aim, to provide the NHS infrastructure to support prospective trials of cancer treatment, will potentially increase the national workforce supporting cancer research by approximately three hundred. Principally, delivery of clearly defined funding streams will lead to increased job security and the ability to progress and develop professionally by the implementation of comprehensive training and education programmes.

The Research Society of the RCN, Joyce Kenkre, Professor of Primary Care, School of Care Sciences, University of Glamorgan and David Foxcroft, Professor of Health Care, School of Health Care, Oxford Brookes University, have identified five potential career pathways for those wishing to pursue a career in research:

• Clinical Practice Pathway
• Clinical Research Pathway
• Support and Management Pathway
• Academic Pathway
• Pharmaceutical Pathway

Each pathway outlines the role, knowledge, skills and expertise required by nurses and clinical trial practitioners operating at different levels within each setting and links in with the Governments commitment to base career progression on responsibilities and competence. The pathways have been deliberately constructed in this uniform manner to illustrate the potential to develop and plan a career to enable individuals to transfer their knowledge skills and expertise across roles and settings.

The National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) will be seen to add layers to the career pathway, by the introduction and development of new and novel roles. The Network Manager, Research Training Link Personnel, and the Clinical Trials Officer will be integrated into the existing infrastructure and undergo robust evaluation, ensuring the NCRNs commitment to the delivery of the highest standard of patient care in accordance with the Research Governance Framework and other governing legislation.