August 12 2024
Written by: Erin McCaig RN, BSN from Cancer Research for the Ozarks
On behalf of the Protocol Support Committee (PSC), we would like to thank everyone who attended the Semiannual NRG Oncology Meeting in sunny Denver. There were 121 in-person and 135 virtual attendees at the PSC Clinical Research Nurse / Clinical Research Associate Continuing Education Session Thursday morning. There were 442 table attendees and 75 virtual attendees at the afternoon Roundtable Discussions. The Friday morning PSC Protocol Spotlight session included 77 in-person and 97 virtual attendees. A huge thank you is owed to NRG Oncology for their commitment to offering a virtual option for our continuing education sessions. And a huge congratulations are owed to our wonderful Education & Training Subcommittee led by Chair, Cindy Licavoli, along with Vice Chairs Marissa Weiss, and Jacqueline Ludwig, as well as our NRG Oncology liaison Kristen Kotsko for putting on two days of fabulous programming.
Thursday morning’s education session got off to a great start with a warm welcome from Sharon Hartson Stine, NRG Oncology Interim Executive Director. Sharon provided a brief update on NRG’s current operational status and financial position. Cindy Licavoli then shared PSC’s new committee and subcommittee structure which aligns with NRG’s current organization model. Cindy highlighted the PSC Mentorship Program and reminded attendees how to locate mentorship resources on the NRG Oncology website. Next, Kandie Dempsey reinforced the importance of Patient Reported Outcomes Compliance. Rachel Albershardt shared CTSU updates. Andrea Denicoff provided NCI updates which highlighted the streamlining initiatives that will take place in 2025. This prompted a Hallelujah from the crowd. Mary Jo Antonelli provided audit updates, followed by Sara McCartney who spoke on AE/SAE reporting. Sara also highlighted how the new streamlining initiatives will impact routine AE and SAE reporting. This change has many of the CTN/CRA members rejoicing. Drs. Kathleen Moore and Roisin O’Cearbhaill spoke on Immunotherapy and the long-term effects it has on our patients. They impressed on the audience that even mild symptoms may be a precursor to more serious adverse events even after treatment has been discontinued. Hopefully we will hear from them at a future meeting. Our morning ended with Dr. Bethany Anderson’s Radiation Therapy 201 presentation. Her presentation was dynamic, informative, and well received. A slide on radiation oncology from 1985 reminded us of how far we have come to be more precise in our treatments and lessen side effects. We hope that Dr. Anderson will present an even more in depth talk - Radiation Therapy 301 next summer!
The PSC hosted it’s second “Lunch and Learn”, an interactive session in which 93 in-person attendees discussed four preselected questions. Attendees were allotted 10 minutes to discuss each question with the other attendees at their table. We then shared tips, tools, and ideas with the larger group. It was a lively, collaborative, and educational lunch which offered many great takeaways for the attendees.
The Thursday afternoon Roundtable Discussion session was highly attended and offered a variety of topics for discussion. Session topics included Organizing Your Workday, Study Start Up, Site Administration and Onboarding New Coordinators, in addition to crowd favorites such as Adverse Event Reporting, Quality Assurance and disease specific protocol review. There was thoughtful discussion and enthusiastic participation by many! Thank you to the many PSC members who participated in topic presentations and meeting coordination: Cindy Licavoli, Erin McCaig, Tiffany Elsea, Terry Thomas, Alison Ivey, Alex Kudryashev, Stacey Lewis, Michele Harmon, Haley Kelly, Cortney Montgomery, Barbara Miller, Elena Nelson, Tammy Rider, Timmy Guinn, Joan Cahill, Amber Bishop and Marissa Weiss.
Friday’s PSC Protocol Spotlight Session, facilitated by Cindy Licavoli and Jaqueline Ludwig, highlighted protocols NRG-CC011, NRG-GI008 & NRG-BR008. Thank you to everyone who participated by presenting, facilitating, and asking questions. So much valuable information was presented! You can find pdfs of the slide presentations and recordings for all PSC sessions at this link (login required):
https://www.nrgoncology.org/Meetings/Summer-2024-Semiannual-Meeting/Protocol-Support-Committee-Meeting-Resources-July-2024
We are excited to report that the Protocol Support Committee obtained approval for CME credits, as well as up to 9.75 nursing continuing education contact hours through the Virginia Nursing Association for attending the four sessions. You must complete the evaluations before 8/30/24 to obtain your certificates. The Nursing Certificates will be emailed to participants by 9/9/24. For any questions visit the NRG Oncology website under the NRG 2024 Summer Meeting access the CME & PSC Contact Hours for more Information.
https://www.nrgoncology.org/Meetings/July-2024-Semiannual-Meeting/CME-and-PSC-Contact-Hours
Mark your calendars for our next Semiannual NRG Oncology meeting January 16-18, 2025, in Phoenix, AZ. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas about topics of interest for future meetings by emailing us at NRG-PSC@nrgoncology.org . Your input and participation are always encouraged and welcome!
Don’t forget: If you are interested in participating in our innovative Mentorship program, as either a mentor or mentee, we encourage you to visit our website at the following link: https://www.nrgoncology.org/Clinical-Trials/Clinical-Trial-Resources/Introductory-Materials or email direct: pscmentorship@NRGOncology.org. This program works to provide resources, support, and guidance for research nurses and CRAs. Also, if you are interested in being a member of one of the PSC subcommittees watch for the election process in September.