ONS Connect - December 2008 - (Page 15) [One nurse’s PersPective] What Makes a Community Clinical Research Program Successful? Kandie Dempsey, MS, RN, OCN®, CCRP, is the director of the cancer research/community clinical oncology program (CCOP) at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, DE. Christiana Care has been awarded the prestigious three-year National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Centers Program pilot grant to expand cancer research in community cancer centers. in the multidisciplinary disease centers, are located in private physician practices, and are readily accessible to physicians, patients, and others as needed. They routinely attend national cooperative group meetings. The quality of the clinical trials data is based on the knowledge, dedication, and skills of physician investigators placing patients on trial, as well as the quality of the research support team. Second, our community physicians are committed to offerey factors in our program’s success include institutional support, a participatory multidisciplinary team, and an ing patients opportunities to participate in clinical trials. Medinstitutional review board (IRB) oncology subcommittee to ical Oncology Hematology Consultants, PA, at the Helen F. ensure a thorough review and prompt response, because can- Graham Cancer Center was one of only 10 community practiccer trials account for about 65% of the IRB workload at our es in the country to receive honors from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) institution. and the ASCO Cancer FoundaSince 1987, the Delation for efforts to improve canware/Christiana Care CCOP cer care through participation has been bringing state-ofin clinical trials. This is a dithe-art cancer treatment, rect reflection of the research prevention, and control triteam’s contributions. als to local communities in The final factors for our Deleware. The increased success are the leadership of access to clinical trials has Nicholas J. Petrelli, MD, and advanced cancer care and Stephen S. Grubbs, MD, and helped to reduce Delaware’s our institution’s commitment cancer mortality rate faster to research. Research is part than anywhere else in the of our mission, and we have country. When I was aptrials available for most dispointed director of the proease sites. During the past gram in 1998, clinical trial year, several initiatives were accrual was 7%. By 2007, implemented to enhance the clinical trial accrual had risquality of our clinical trials en to 19.6%. Our goal is to program. These included esincrease accrual to 30%. tablishing physician criteria Our high accrual to cancer for participation in clinical reclinical trials can be attributsearch, conducting biannual ed to three factors. First, the independent audits with a naknowledge and experience of tionally known independent the research nurses and clinauditor, and implementing uniical research associates are ® Kandie Dempsey, MS, RN, OCN , CCRP versal data management softamong the top in the country. ware supported by the IRB. ✱ Research nurses participate December 2008 ONS CONNECT K 15
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