Clinical Research Training
As a demonstration version of this course, it is not set up to track your progress.
Use test as your last name, and 1111 as the last four digits of your SSN to log in.
Project
Clinical Research Training at the National Institutes of Health is a 4 hour course designed to teach Principal Investigators at the NIH the following:
- To be aware of the ethical issues involved in human subjects research;
- To become familiar with the roles and responsibilities of the investigator and institution when conducting clinical research in the NIH intramural research program;
- To have an understanding of FDA oversight of clinical research; and,
- To become familiar with how developments in science and health are reported by the media and how to work effectively with reporters. It is a cross-browser, cross-platform course and features extensive data tracking and administrative reporting capabilities.
Approach
Based on live lectures given at the National Institutes of Health, d’Vinci Interactive converted the material into a Web-based course. Extensive custom graphics and animation were created to capture and hold students’ attention.
Since this course deals with the “gray areas” of research, where the rules are open to interpretation, we used this idea graphically throughout the course, creating faceless/nameless people in black, white and shades of gray.
Result
While still in its early stages of deployment, one doctor/student is quoted as saying that he dreaded taking this course because he felt it was going to be a complete waste of time. After completing it, he stated that not only was it better than he could have anticipated, it was even “enjoyable.” Another investigator noted, “Your online course for new intramural principal investigators is SUPER!!! I feel this is a valuable resource for all investigators. A super JOB!!”
d’Vinci’s Role
The d’Vinci team worked closely with a Clinical Center representative from the beginning, defining the project and how it would be structured, through to the end where we programmed a browser-based administrative backend database.
These tasks included:
For the live version of this conference, creating an on-line registration form so that course administrators could print lists to confirm who actually attended the conference and whether they had picked up the printed material.
Also for the live course we collated test results with the registration information nd provided browser-based administrative access to students’ information, including the ability to create and print custom reports.
Video was shot of the live presentations and converted to RealVideo. Our next task was to create an on-line course that launched the video lectures in RealPlayer. After viewing the video, students took the on-line test that we created.
We then took the content from the live presentations and refined it to work with our instructional goals while conforming to the desires of the presenters.
We took the revised content, created custom graphics, animation and interactions, and programmed everything using DTHML, WebDNA and Flash. This version then replaced the video-based version.
For the backend database, we provided total administrative access, editing and reporting capabilities -- all browser-based. There were four separate administrative tasks that needed to be programmed:
- Initial course registration which included searching, sorting & editing capabilities for all students.
- Tracking & storing of students’ progress through the course, thereby allowing students to proceed at their own pace.
- Scoring and reporting test scores to both the students and the administrators.
- Reporting capabilities, with search & sorting options on all aspects of the course.
Hosting, support and maintenance is all provided by d’Vinci Interactive.
Time Frame
From beginning to end, d’Vinci’s role in this project took approximately eight months.
Successful completion of this course is mandatory for all NIH Principle Investigators.