Larisa Pinte and Alexandru-Marian Constantin - PhD students from Cochrane Romania, the Affiliate Center of Cochrane Austria - excelled in their three-month internship at the Department of Evidence-Based Medicine and Evaluation. Among other things, they took on challenging agendas in the preparation of a systematic review for the World Health Organization (WHO) aimed at assessing the evidence on the prevention of bloodstream infections (BSI) and other infections associated with vascular catheters. The results of this review will inform the development of a WHO guideline.
The Cochrane International Mobility program enables international (knowledge) exchange and self-responsible work in the Cochrane Austria team. Larisa Pinte and Alexandru-Marian Constantin contributed with great commitment to the preparation of several reviews from April to June 2023. Pinte and Constantin have already completed their training in internal medicine and used their time at Cochrane Austria to deepen their knowledge in the preparation of systematic reviews. During their stay, they participated in typical scientific research activities of the department and in projects on direct request of scientific institutions - such as WHO or Cochrane. They were involved in systematic reviews on clinical and public health topics. In addition, they had the opportunity to use specialized software such as Covidence, DestillerSR and the GRADEpro assessment tool."From the beginning, I was involved in all steps of the systematic review, evaluating a large number of articles for both title abstract and full text screening, as well as data extraction and RoB (note: risk-of-bias tool)," Larisa Pinte said of her internship experience. She also learned valuable things in terms of project management, leadership, and team communication skills, she said. "An internship at Cochrane Austria is an experience I can only recommend to any passionate researcher," she emphasizes.
Expanding expertise
The Cochrane International Mobility Programme is a global exchange program. It aims to connect Cochrane network actors from different parts of the world. As a rule, the focus is on the production and dissemination of Cochrane reviews. This includes, for example, planning and conducting workshops or publishing Cochrane protocols and reviews.
The program offers the opportunity to learn from the clinical and methodological expertise of the host(s); it also promotes capacity building within the Cochrane organization and collaboration. The Cochrane International Mobility Programme is open to all Cochrane groups. Places are advertised on Cochrane Engage, interested parties can search for available places and contact the respective institution directly for more information.
Text: Julia Wild