Using Competencies to Transform Clinical Research Job Classifications

The field of clinical research has changed considerably in the past 20 years. As the work in this realm has come to embody far more than the pursuit of improved patient care, this has meant that staff supporting the research are asked to take on additional responsibilities, learn new processes, and be continuously educated on modernized policies and procedures. To address the increased responsibilities and complexities of work, Duke University School of Medicine leadership agreed that an overhaul of job descriptions for clinical research professionals was needed. A working group was created, assembling administrative leaders, human resources professionals, and clinical research subject matter experts. The Clinical Research Professionals Working Group (CRPWG) aimed to simplify the number of job classifications at Duke from approximately 80 to 12 and utilize a competency-based approach to professionalize the clinical research professionals working environment. The Joint Task Force for Clinical Trials Competency (JTFCTC) developed draft competencies that were used as the foundation to develop a tool that helped define job descriptions and map incumbent employees into the new jobs. Almost 600 employees were mapped using the competency-based tool. This paper describes the processes used to develop the competency-based tool and map incumbents, and provides the results and lessons learned of the mapping. A strong workforce of clinical research professionals will enable higher quality research and ultimately lead to better patient care and health outcomes.