Cancer Genetics Professional Education in a Global Community of Practice

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R25 · $42,144 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Technological and therapeutic advances have generated an unprecedented infusion of genomic information into clinical practice, further fueling the need for a skilled workforce to navigate genomically-informed patient care. There is a continued gap between the need for, and availability of, skilled genomic cancer risk assessment (GCRA) clinicians. This R25 project continues the mission of the Clinical Cancer Genomics and Community of Practice (CCGCoP) to help address the ongoing need for clinicians competent in evidence-based cancer genomics care. The CCGCoP uses the theoretical framework of situated learning, the resources and expertise of the academic cancer center, and a distinguished faculty of widely-recognized thought leaders in a multimodal inter-professional course in GCRA for clinicians practicing in diverse communities with limited access to GCRA services. With R25 support, the CCGCoP has attained international recognition as a standard-bearer in GCRA professional education, facilitating improved patient access to GCRA services. The CCGCoP alumni represent a uniquely qualified community of clinicians across all 50 states and 32 countries. Since initiation of this continuation project period (09/20/2018 to present) the course has been successfully completed by 565 clinicians from diverse training backgrounds and practice settings. The course is delivered through a hybrid two-track model that combines distance didactics, web conferencing, and face-to-face professional development workshops. The stated aims for the continuation renewal award period (09/20/2018 through 08/31/2023) are: 1) Continue the established CCGCoP intensive course; 2) Review and update course curriculum, and map content to inter-professional GCRA competencies; 3) Evolve the collaborative learning portal and add additional academic GCRA case conference forums; 4) Update course assessment instruments and develop new competencies-based diagnostics to assess learning and impact on patient-centered outcomes. The scope of these aims remains the same. However, to prevent disruptions associated with the global COVID-19 pandemic and preserve the integrity of the course experience and learning outcomes, we had to convert the face-to-face workshop component of the course to a virtual delivery format. To accomplish this conversion we developed an online platform to support real-time interactive virtual workshops for skills and professional development activities. We submit this administrative supplement to request support to cover the costs incurred to make this conversion.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10611055
Project number
3R25CA171998-09S1
Recipient
BECKMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE/CITY OF HOPE
Principal Investigator
KATHLEEN R. BLAZER
Activity code
R25
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2022
Award amount
$42,144
Award type
3
Project period
2021-09-01 → 2022-08-31