August 14 2023
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 Philadelphia. There were 154 in-person and 194 virtual attendees at the PSC Nurse / Clinical Research Associate Continuing Education Session Thursday morning and 147 in-person and 128 virtual attendees at the afternoon Roundtable Discussions. The Friday morning PSC Protocol Spotlight session included 92 in-person and 108 virtual attendees. The members of the PSC and NRG Oncology appreciate everyone’s patience while we continue to navigate the ins and outs of the virtual option for our attendees. Congratulations are owed to our wonderful Education & Training Working Group led by Lead Facilitator Cindy Licavoli, along with Co-facilitators Marissa Weiss and Lauren Seames, for putting on two days of fabulous programming.
Thursday morning’s education session got off to a great start with a presentation by Sharon Hartson Stine, NRG Oncology Interim Executive Director, who reviewed 10 years of NRG Oncology accomplishments and successes. Next, Dr. Carmen Allegra and Alison Ivey provided an excellent overview of Trial Design and Study Endpoints followed by a presentation about TRIAD by IROC Manager, Jim Gimpel. Dr. Bethany Anderson provided a very good review of radiation therapy and its role in cancer treatment, followed by a review of the NRG Oncology Mentorship Program by Nancy Fusco. Ginger Riley provided CTSU Updates and Dr. Kandie Dempsey reviewed PRO Compliance. Finally, we had two dynamic and educational presentations: Genomic Analysis 101 by Dr. Thomas George and Immunotherapy 101 by Dr. Brian Miller.
The PSC hosted it’s first “Lunch and Learn” an interactive session in which 107 in-person attendees discussed four preselected questions. Attendees were allotted 10 minutes to discuss each question with the other attendees at their table, and another 5 minutes to share 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 volunteer PSC members who participated in topic presentations and meeting coordination: Cindy Licavoli, Erin McCaig, Tiffany Elsea, Terry Thomas, Alison Ivey, Alex Kudryashev, Becky Kramer, Stacey Lewis, Michele Harmon, Kristen Kotsko, Lisa Gooch, Sarah Lewis, Barbara Miller, Lauren Seames, and Marissa Weiss.
Friday’s PSC Protocol Spotlight Session, facilitated by Cindy Licavoli and Lauren Seames, highlighted protocols NRG-BR009, NRG-GU010, and NRG-GY025. 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 from the Thursday and Friday morning sessions at this link (login required):
We are excited to report that the Protocol Support Committee obtained approval for CME credits, as well as up to 9.25 nursing continuing education contact hours through the Virginia Nursing Association for attending the four sessions. You must complete the evaluations to obtain your certificates. The Nursing Certificates will be emailed to participants within 2-6 weeks post meeting with instructions on how to calculate earned contact hours. For any questions visit the NRG Oncology website under the NRG 2023 Summer Meeting access the CME & CEU Information.https://www.nrgoncology.org/2023-Summer-Meeting/CME-and-CEU
Mark your calendars for our next Semiannual NRG Oncology meeting February 15-17, 2024, in Orlando, FL. 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. This program works to provide resources, support, and guidance for research nurses and CRAs.