The Clinical Research Internship Portal (CRISP): Facilitating placement and onboarding of clinical research interns at Duke University

McMillan, Amanda

The Clinical Research Internship Portal (CRISP): Facilitating placement and onboarding of clinical research interns at Duke University

Background/Purpose: To address institutional requirements regarding compliance, oversight, and experiential opportunities for student interns performing clinical research activities in DUSOM and DUSON environments. Objectives: We created the Clinical Research Internship Portal (CRISP) to support intern matchmaking with clinical research teams, as well as formalized onboarding of interns, thereby allowing for more meaningful learning experiences through defined goals and expectations. Methods: In partnership with the Office of Research Contracts, we developed an affiliation agreement defining internship parameters, to be co-signed by an intern’s home institution. Internship matchmaking requests may be initiated by a student, an affiliated institution, or a Duke investigator. Requests are triaged according to the potential intern’s institutional affiliation status – unaffiliated institutions may request an agreement by contacting CRISP. If a student is from an affiliated institution, CRISP is leveraged to provide a framework and guardrails for the internship experience, including: • Guidance on and assistance with compilation of required onboarding documentation and definition of the educational goals of the internship • Required online trainings for both interns and their supervisors to ensure a successful and compliant learning experience • Tools (e.g., documentation checklist, onboarding welcome packet and learning plan, code of conduct) for intern supervisors • A 7-session professional development series for interns, offered both in-person and asynchronously • Evaluation support to gauge internship success and impact Outcomes: Launched in 2021, CRISP’s impact on the Duke research training landscape may be measured by the following metrics: • Affiliated institutions: 14 agreements in place to date • 107 student interns from 10 institutions placed across 28 departments/institutes • Improved access to clinical and research systems aligned with clinical research activities • Enhanced oversight and tracking of student interns across Duke enterprise • Expansion of portal services to include internal and external student interns CRISP has engaged invested parties within and outside of Duke to ensure robust oversight of these training opportunities and to create new pathways into our workforce. Significance/Implications/Relevance: Streamlining intern placements has lessened pain points related to the inclusion of students in our research environment, both for investigators and institutional partners. Student interns also benefit from the more structured experiences resulting from the accountability checkpoints provided by the CRISP model. Future plans include increasing the number of affiliated institutions, building partnerships with Duke CRUs and centers for routine hosting of interns, scaling up the professional development series to include additional topics and audiences, and formally evaluating the success of the portal’s offerings in achieving workforce development goals.

Date