Hospital training program increases awareness of Good Clinical Practice (GCP).

Objectives: To develop an in-house training program of Good Clinical Practice (GCP) for the whole clinical team and to evaluate the effect of the program on the personnel's knowledge on GCP.
Background: GCP is a set of ethical and scientific quality requirements to which clinical trials must adhere. Since it is included in the legislation of the member states of European Union, it represents a challenge for research, and therefore more GCP training is needed.
Methods: At the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation, Tampere University Hospital, Finland, we developed an in-house GCP training program for the whole department, including nurses. Before the training department staff was sent a questionnaire about their knowledge of and attitudes towards GCP as well as their perception of GCP compliance of studies being carried out at the Department. The subjects completed the questionnaire again after the training.
Results: Almost all, 95%, of the nurses and 50% of the physicians participated in the entire program. The program was found to increase positive attitudes towards GCP.
Conclusion: A simple in-house training program is easy to implement and may help to improve GCP compliance.
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