Western Alliance and partners develop free online education centre set to revolutionise clinical trials

A new initiative will provide everyone who conducts clinical trials across Victoria access to world-class training at no cost.

The Victorian Clinical Trials Education Centre (V-CTEC) is a not-for-profit, Victoria wide, member-based education centre that aims to make learning resources accessible to more researchers.

Investigators, coordinators, and others involved in clinical trials will be able to access a suite of evidence-based, interactive clinical trials education programs suitable for a range of learning needs through a dedicated Learning Management System (LMS).

Led by the Victorian Research Translation Centres of Monash Partners Academic Health Science Centre, Melbourne Academic Centre for Health and Western Alliance Academic Health Science Centre, and supported by the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Parkville Cancer Clinical Trials Unit, Melbourne Children’s Trials Centre and Alfred Health, this initiative is set to transform the clinical trial space.

Professor Helena Teede, Executive Director of Monash Partners said V-CTEC will go a long way towards supporting effective clinical governance.

“The recently commissioned mandatory accreditation process, outlined by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, requires health services to support effective clinical governance and improve the safety and quality of care for those involved in clinical trials.”

“Education, training and competencies are key components of achieving this, and V-CTEC will align its training offerings to support organisations in meeting these accreditation requirements,” said Professor Teede.

Professor Sir John Savill, Executive Director of Melbourne Academic Centre for Health said this initiative addressed a significant priority for many health researchers.

“V-CTEC is a ground-breaking collaborative approach to building clinical research capacity in Victoria and supporting health services implementing the National Clinical Trials Governance Framework,” said Professor Savill.

Professor Warren Payne, Executive Director of Western Alliance said this online training was crucial in regional Victoria.

“Providing this opportunity to Victoria’s rural and regional workforce, who often face greater barriers than their metropolitan counterparts in accessing affordable quality clinical trials training opportunities, is wonderful,” said Professor Payne.

Those working in the clinical trials space welcomed this initiative.

“Despite my 30 years of experience, working as a capable and effective Clinical Trial Investigator is more challenging to me than it has ever been before. I am delighted that V-CTEC is providing high quality and easy to access clinical trials education for me and for all Victorian Investigators, a first in Australia,” said Professor Mark Rosenthal, Director, Parkville Cancer Clinical Trials Unit.

“Clinical trials activity in regional and rural areas is growing significantly and it can be difficult to find experienced staff. The V-CTEC will be an invaluable resource for the regional health services in having ready access to up to date, current and new staff in relevant and high-quality clinical trial training and education,” said Carmel Goss, Clinical Trials Manager at Grampians Health.

“V-CTEC provides a go-to place for all clinical trials professionals, from novice through to the most experienced, to undertake further professional development. This initiative, developed for the Australian context and relevant to the Australian clinical trials research community is a unique and compelling collaborative endeavour,” said Ms Deborah Dell, Director Research Operations, Monash Health.

The training available through V-CTEC will be valuable for: investigators, study coordinators, research nurses and clinical trial assistants, clinical trial pharmacists, Human Research Ethics Committee and governance officers, clinical and non-clinical research staff, general staff in departments that interact with clinical trials, employees involved in clinical trials from hospitals, community health settings, universities, and any location where clinical trial research is undertaken.

Access the training

Access the Victorian Clinical Trials Education Centre (V-CTEC) LMS at: https://vctec.myopenlms.net/

Want to know more?

For more information, contact Dr Eman Nafea, Director, Victorian Clinical Trials Education Centre (V-CTEC) at eman.nafea@petermac.org