East Montgomery Times

Colbi Carr, a nurse at Fox Chase Cancer Center, unveiled a study at the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Congress in Philadelphia, emphasizing the significance of oncology clinical research rotations for undergraduate nursing students. The fox Chase pilot program aims to offer nursing students a chance to work closely with oncology clinical researchers, promoting a better understanding of this field and helping them explore career opportunities post-graduation.

Carr explained, "A big problem, and part of the reason we ended up initiating this study, is that nursing students don’t know much about clinical research. It’s not something that’s taught in school." The pilot program included a fourth-year nursing student from a local university, who engaged in a 120-hour clinical rotation at Fox Chase. This involved practical work in thoracic, women’s health, genitourinary, and gastrointestinal disease sites within the center's Office of Clinical Research and ambulatory care clinic.

This hands-on experience involved reviewing treatment protocols, prescreening and consenting patients, enrolling participants, engaging in site-initiation visits, and observing multidisciplinary tumor boards. The student also discussed career paths with the program director. Carr noted the presence of understanding gaps concerning cancer treatment patients, complicating the student's learning on treatment planning, research assessments, and communication with research personnel.

In response to these challenges, Carr expressed a desire to expand the program for more students. "Having identified some of these educational gaps, we want to expand this experience and offer it to more students," she said. "We are working to make it more structured and now have designated experiences and ways to evaluate the students going forward."

Carr hopes the study will spotlight the role of the clinical research nurse, encouraging students to consider this career. "I think the first step in expanding this program is getting into the schools to educate students and make them aware of this opportunity," she said. Carr's findings were presented through a poster at the 50th Annual ONS Congress in Denver, held from April 9-13.