Greater gulf coast regional translational workforce development: Assessment and action plan

Area of Science:

• Translational Science
• Workforce Development
• Clinical Research Management

Background:

• Translating basic research into clinical applications requires a specialized workforce.
• The demand for product development and clinical trial professionals exceeds supply.
• Academic medical institutions face challenges in retaining this critical talent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the job growth and turnover rates of the bridge and clinical research professional (B+CRP) workforce.
• To compare pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic workforce dynamics.
• To establish a baseline for workforce instability and inform retention strategies.

Main Methods:

• Two academic medical institutions in the Houston-Galveston region were studied.
• Job growth and turnover data for B+CRP roles were analyzed from 2017 to 2022.
• Workforce trends were compared before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Main Results:

• B+CRP specific jobs saw a 1.2 to 2.3-fold increase between 2017 and 2022.
• Workforce turnover rates increased 1.5 to 2-fold after the pandemic's onset.
• Unlike other research staff, B+CRP workforce instability persisted through 2022.

Conclusions:

• The B+CRP workforce is experiencing significant and unresolved instability.
• This instability poses a risk to the translation of research into clinical practice.
• A regional alliance has been formed to address the shortage and enhance the B+CRP candidate pool.