The Association of Research Ethics Committees is one of the leading providers of training and education for members of Research Ethics Committees. The introduction of the research governance strategy and the increasing complexity of ethical review place great demands on research ethics committee members that in turn creates challenges for training providers. This paper presents the outcome of an audit of REC members' views about training. Findings demonstrate that REC members are not a homogenous group. Several distinct sub-groups, each with particular training needs emerged. All showed a preference for short, easily accessible events in which there were opportunities for discussion.
References
1.
Research Governance Framework for Heath and Social Care. London: Department of Health2001. Available at http://www.dh.gov.uk.
2.
Directive 2001/20/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 4th April on the approximation o laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the implementation of good ethical practice in the conduct of clinical trials on medicinal products for human use. The European Parliament, 2001. Available at http://www.eortc.be/Services.Doc/clinical-EU-directive-04-April-01.pdf.
3.
SheperdJ. A training needs analysis of qualified nurses across three health authorities. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, University of Birmingham, 1993.
4.
BowlingA. Research methods in health2nd edn. Buckingham: Open University Press2002.
5.
Differentiating Audit, Service Evaluation and Research. Ethics Consultation EGroup. Central Office of Research Ethics Committees, October 2005. Available at http://www.corec.org.uk/recs/training/docs.
EvansD. Report to the Department of Health on the training of local research ethics committees. 1992. Available at www.arec.org.uk. [AREC is grateful to Dr RH Nicholson for providing a copy of the report and to Professor Donald Evans, author of the report, for permission to publish on the AREC website.].
