Reflections on the benefits of multidisciplinary working on a study in brain cancer
Clinical Research Practitioner (CRP) Natalie Long reflects on working on the Harnessing Plasticity for Brain Tumour study (HARP).
Natalie has been working on the study for six months at King’s College Hospital. The HARP study is looking at analysing viable brain tissue cells to improve surgery outcomes for future patients. The research team uses brain tissue and images of the brain during surgery that would not normally be retained.
You can read her reflections in full below.
I have undertaken intense training to ensure I could do this job to the best of my ability. I had to complete training courses in the Human Tissue Act, neurology and psychology. Recruiting newly diagnosed patients that are often going through the most devastating time of their lives makes this, undoubtedly, the single most challenging study I have worked on, but it has also made it the most rewarding.
The screening and approach for the HARP study takes place at busy pre-assessment clinics, and often the patients are not aware that they need to have brain surgery before this visit. I discuss the list of potential patients prior to clinic with the Neurosurgery and Clinical Nurse Specialist Teams, which ensures the first introduction of the HARP study to the patient is smooth and clear. I give a brief outline of the study, hand the information sheet to the patient and explain when the consent would take place if they were interested in participating in the study. Assessing a patient's capacity and understanding is extremely important on this clinical trial, and this is something we do as a team.
It took a long time before I was approved to be able to seek participant consent for this study. I had to be observed during my initial approach with the patients and whilst taking their consent to take part in the trial. This can be very intense as the consenting process takes place the day before their surgery. I am pleased to say that although this was tough to begin with, I wholeheartedly appreciate that Kings College Hospital Consultant Neurologist and HARP Principal Investigator Dr Gerald Finnerty has been on hand to give me in-depth feedback. Feedback can often be hard to receive, but it is a key tool in improving practice. Seeing yourself through someone else’s eyes can give you an insight into things that you would not recognise in yourself, and my advice would be to always seek out feedback.
During surgery, my role is to communicate to the scientist when the tissue is ready to be collected. I then accompany the scientist to the laboratory to help ensure the tissue is tracked and viable in the purpose-built transfer bag; thus it is very important that we get from theatres to the laboratory as quickly as possible. Seeing the whole study cycle from sample and data collection to analysis is exciting and really motivates me to do a good job.
Other challenges in this role have been to collect the images from theatres, collecting all the data needed for the Case Report Forms and collecting information during the postoperative visit with the clinician. Multidisciplinary teamwork involves approaching patient care as a collaborative process, involving the patients and carers as well as the clinical team. The HARP team have been able to effectively integrate the study, so that by working together challenges are overcome. Each member of the team contributes and uses clear and open communication skills to solve problems together, which utilise each individual’s strengths. Informed decisions are made as a collective and are in the best interests of our patients.
I’m very excited to see how my role as a CRP can be developed further in the future.
