Research Education Core

PROJECT SUMMARY (Research Education Core) Historically, training programs have not prepared researchers to directly engage in rapid, iterative learning within a health care system that promotes practice informed by evidence and evidence informed by practice. Yet, embedding researchers within the walls, teams, and priorities of health systems encourages dialogue

between researchers, clinicians, and administrators, and increases the responsiveness of research to the needs of practice without sacrificing scientific rigor. The LHS E-STaR of the North (LEaRN) Research Education Core (REC) will develop scientists capable of strengthening the rigor and application of research

evidence and of improving the implementation of innovative practices in health care organizations. The LEaRN REC will leverage and expand the infrastructure established under the Minnesota Learning Health System K12 Mentored Career Development Program (MN-LHS) to train a diverse group of LHS scientists who embed

themselves into health care operations and bring value to decision-making processes by conducting rigorous research responsive to the needs of clinical practices and patients. The MN-LHS has been exceptionally successful, training 14 LHS scientists (clinicians, clinician investigators, and doctoral-level scholars) from five

healthcare delivery systems and representing primary care, subspecialties, nursing, pharmacy, anthropology, sociology, engineering, biostatistics, and epidemiology. Substantial institutional support will accelerate the creation of a community of LHS scientists, ensure that the scientists are exposed to a wider range of questions

emerging from clinical practice, and offer diverse opportunities for authentic embeddedness. The LHS scientists emerging from the LEaRN Center REC will be prepared to balance the demand for rapidly generated, practical evidence with the rigors of peer-review and scientific standards, rapidly translating

research to improve clinical practice and patient outcomes. The overarching goals of the LEaRN REC are to provide 1) tailored educational experiences that leverage an existing, robust educational infrastructure, 2) a novel competency-based curricula, and 3) health system partners that will serve as learning “labs” for LHS

research, offering unrivaled expertise in training embedded clinical scientists using patient-centered LHS philosophies and methods. The goals of the LEaRN REC will be achieved by pursuing three aims: leverage and expand our MN-LHS program, identifying and educating a new generation of embedded LHS scholars for

independent research careers in patient-centered and community engaged research (Aim 1); enhance the diversity of LHS scientists, their science, and their mentors (Aim 2); and cultivate engagement opportunities to ensure the LEaRN REC is responsive to the needs of patients, communities, and health systems (Aim 3). The

LEaRN REC will address current gaps in LHS training by supporting research projects designed with system leaders, patients, and community members. The REC will recruit and train a new generation of deeply embedded, actively engaged scientists who can leverage state-of-the-art methods for rapid-cycle research to

improve health outcomes of our most vulnerable populations.