CRU Nursing Team Wins COVID-19 Clinical Research Trial Award
A team from the Northwestern Medicine Clinical Research Unit (CRU) was awarded the Best Nursing Innovation Award at the 13th Annual Brinson Foundation Nurse Research Evidence-based Practice Symposium. Groups eligible for the honor submitted a poster highlighting an aspect of their research for consideration by the award committee.
The CRU team, led by Clinical Coordinator Kelly Gregorovic, RN-BSN, RN-BC, highlighted “The Role of the Clinical Research Nurse in Expedited Research During COVID.” The poster outlined how the CRU has adapted its research to be most effective during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key findings included the results of an antibody infusion clinical trial approved under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). The Northwestern Medicine CRU is part of the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute's Center for Clinical Research and is dedicated to supplying services required for the implementation of clinical research projects.
Other CRU team members who contributed to the winning poster include Paulina Bernabe, RN-BSN, CMSRN; Deniz Evangelista, RN-BSN; Meghan Palubin, RN-BSN; Joan Pasquesi, RN-BSN, CCRP; Marylyn Sarau-Young RN-BSN; and Elise Van, RN-BSN, SCRN.
I think the pandemic has shown not only how important research nursing is and the vital role it has played in finding treatments for COVID 19, but how interesting and exciting research nursing can be. ”
Gregorovic, who earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Iowa before starting at Northwestern as an oncology nurse, has enjoyed the research opportunities that the CRU provides to its nurses.
“My favorite part of working in research is being able to see my friends and coworkers step up to the challenges we’re faced with every day,” she says. “The professionalism and flexibility of our nurses during the pandemic continues to exceed my expectations.”
The award-winning poster focused on the role that the Clinical Research Unit played in expedited research related to COVID-19, specifically an antibody trial.
"As an integrated academic health system, contributing to advancing our knowledge of this novel coronavirus is critically important," says Gary Noskin, MD, professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, senior vice president of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, and chief medical officer at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "The work done in the CRU exemplifies our core value of teamwork as we explore innovative approaches to treat patients with COVID-19."
Gregorovic says that the pandemic has added new challenges for the nurses on her team, especially because of the immediate need for successful treatments and a vaccine.
“We suddenly had to treat a global pandemic on top of focusing on typical patient care and safety,” she says. “On top of everything else, we didn’t have any prior information or knowledge about COVID. New information is still coming out about the virus every day, and we sometimes have had to revise our trials very quickly."
“The CRU Nursing team truly embodies the tenants of our Northwestern Medicine Interprofessional Relationship Based Care by collaborating in research to advance medical and nursing science and knowledge,” says Kristin Ramsey, MSN, MPPM, RN, NE-BC, Senior Vice President and Wood-Prince Family Chief Nurse Executive at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “Never has this been more critical than during thix pandemic, when urgent and emergent therapies are coming rapidly. I am so proud of the critical role this amazing team has played in advancing research.”
Despite the many challenges, Gregorovic remains grateful for the CRU’s capacity for expedited research and the flexibility and determination of its staff. “Being involved in the CRU’s cutting-edge research has been really exciting and rewarding. Our research nurses take an immense amount of pride in the unique and essential role they play in COVID-19 research, and we are so grateful to know that we are directly responsible for lessening the effects of the pandemic.”
The CRU is currently involved in several ongoing trials, including vaccine trials as well as non-COVID-related research projects.
“I think the pandemic has shown not only how important research nursing is and the vital role it has played in finding treatments for COVID-19, but how interesting and exciting research nursing can be," Gregorovic says. "Every nurse in every specialty has stepped up during the pandemic in caring for COVID-19 patients, and although the CRU is often behind the scenes, the unique role we have as research nurses during a pandemic has been crucial in the fight against COVID-19.”
Research reported in this publication was supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Grant Number UL1TR001422. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Written by Morgan Frost
