The importance of expanding current training in the responsible conduct ofresearch

Despite the growing need to teach principles of the responsible conduct of research (RCR) to those training to be biomedical researchers, no descripti ve, easily compared information about the nation's RCR programs exists. To draw some preliminary conclusions about the state of RCR education and trai ning and to gain insight into what kinds of future initiatives are needed, the authors reviewed materials describing U.S. training programs in RCR tha t had been collected by the Department of Health and Human Services in June -August 1996. In direct response to a 1990 federal policy, formal RCR training programs h ave been established at many institutions that carry out research. This pol icy requires that recipients of National Research Service Award Institution al Research Training Grants from the National Institutes of Health provide RCR training to the predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees supported by thes e grants. The authors found that two thirds of the 45 institutions represen ted in the materials provided RCR training only to those trainees whom they were required to train, although among the rest of the institutions, a few required that all trainees receive such training. The training programs st udied were quite diverse regarding who was responsible for the program (the principal investigator, the ethics faculty, etc.), what kinds of instructi on were given (lectures, seminars, small-group discussions, etc.), course c ontent, and how discipline-specific the focus was, The authors review the obstacles to effective RCR training (e.g., the needs for culture change and for sizable faculty, financial, course time, and ad ministrative resources; the need for proper evaluation of programs) and dis cuss ways to foster such programs (e.g., sharing of resources; identifying competencies; tailoring teaching to the individual institution's and depart ment's characteristics; public-private partnerships). They conclude that th e institutional efforts needed to establish widespread and effective RCR tr aining are more than justified by the result that such training will help f oster: the integrity of the research process and a solid future for the res earch enterprise.