Nursing contributions in Community Clinical Oncology Research Programs.

Objectives: To describe the Community Clinical Oncology Programs (CCOPs), identify the roles and functions of CCOP nurses in clinical trials, and discuss the future contributions of nurses in the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Community Oncology Research Program.

Data Sources: Research and review articles, Web sites, and government reports.

Conclusion: The contribution of nurses in the community clinical research setting has not been defined or quantified; however, examination of the literature reveals substantial contributions from nurses in the conduct and dissemination of oncology research.

Nursing's presence in the changing cooperative group setting.

Objectives: To describe the history of nurse-led contributions within three legacy cancer cooperative groups and the challenges and new opportunities faced by nurses with the merger of these three groups.

Data Sources: Journal articles, government and special health reports.

Conclusion: Recent changes in the cancer cooperative group have significantly altered the way cancer clinical trials will be conducted in the future.

The nurse liaison role in the cooperative group setting.

Objectives: To review the history of nurse involvement within the cooperative group environment, define the role of the nurse liaison, identify challenges for the nurse in interdisciplinary research, and explore future trends of nurse involvement in cooperative group studies.

Data Sources: Published articles, government reports, and Web sites.

Conclusion: Nurse liaisons provide a nursing perspective to the design of cooperative group trials and ensure that nursing and patient feasibility issues about the trial are addressed, and provide guidance to nurses at participating institutions, as well as their home institution.