Question

please help me in answering this question , What role should nurses take in oncology as changes occur in cancer research (e.g. immune modulator therapies, virus therapy etc.). Your response can be in relation to any facet of nursing: patient care, research, patient education, community education, etc.)

Answer 1

Ans) Role of Nurses in cancer research:

Following protocol on protocols during clinical trials:
- Every clinical trial for cancer treatment follows a detailed plan called a protocol. Managing the clinical and operational aspects of protocols is a primary responsibility.

- Research nurses never stop learning, she adds.

Communicating with care:
- Communicating with care is a critical competence for all nurses. But for research nurses, communications skills must include highly specialized knowledge about human subjects' protection.

Recruiting patients for trials involves verifying eligibility and then talking with each patient to educate him or her about study details. Research nurses want to ensure that patients fully understand their options. Guiding patients through the consent process is just the first of many conversations between nurse and patient.

Subsequent conversations involve educating patients about timelines, procedures, the drugs being used, anticipated side effects, documenting their symptoms and more.

Research nurses must use their clinical abilities, too. They collect blood samples, administer vaccines, check lab work, and use critical thinking to assess a patient's health and review adverse events or treatment toxicities. Throughout, they ensure patients meet protocol goals.

Data, data and more data: Collecting clinical trial results
Another significant role of a research nurse is to collect data throughout the trial. After all, the success of the study is only as good as the data.

- From demographics and medical history to symptoms and side effects, everything must be recorded.
- The IRB is the administrative body that protects the rights and welfare of patients participating in research.

- Each protocol and any subsequent changes to protocols must receive IRB approval, which often is coordinated with the help of the research nurse.
- This guarantees that it will take the best care of cancer patients while giving them access to treatment options they might not have had otherwise."