Clinical Researcher—April 2024 (Volume 38, Issue 2)
OVER THE TRANSOM
Curated by Gary W. Cramer, Managing Editor for ACRP
What you probably haven’t missed, if you’ve been paying any attention at all to the ACRP website, publications, e-mails, and social feeds lately, is the fact that the ACRP 2024 gathering in Anaheim, Calif., is racing your way with all the speed of a learning, networking, and resource-gathering juggernaut. There’s a multitude of upcoming sessions, Signature Series discussions, workshops, exhibitors, sponsors, and ceremonies to brag about, and we’re trying to spotlight them all in one way or another before the event itself arrives, but there just aren’t enough days left on the calendar between now and then. So here are a few sessions you may not have heard about yet that will be happening at the conference, plus some recent announcements you might have missed in all the excitement.
Let’s GO! (to ACRP 2024)
Are you hoping to make the most out of attending your first ACRP conference but feeling a little anxious about the “sit down next to someone you don’t know and introduce yourself” ritual of such big gatherings? Take heart—if you drum up some courage and listen to the wisdom of those who have gone before you, you will find yourself looking back on your time at ACRP 2024 with the pride of accomplishment that comes from putting your best foot forward, getting in the game, and making great professional strides in your clinical research career. A key opportunity for networking will come on Friday afternoon at the conference, when the First Time Attendee Get-Together is held. Anyone interested in attending this informal session is requested to RSVP by April 25.
When Monday rolls around on the conference calendar, look on the schedule for the one hour when a collection of five-minute Rapid-Fire and Poster Sessions will offer a change of pace from the many longer educational presentations on tap. Among the posters to be presented is one from Paula Smailes, DNP, RN, CCRP, on “Evolving Training for and Satisfaction with Electronic Medical Record [EMR] Systems,” showcasing how one academic medical center made the switch from instructor-led training to eLearning for training approximately 300 clinical researchers per year on the functionality of the institution’s EMR system for clinical research fundamentals, documentation, billing, and scheduling.
Smailes will also present a poster on “Interpreting and Capitalizing on Research Participant Satisfaction Surveys” with Lisa Hafer, Deanna Golden-Kreutz, PhD, Holly Bookless, BSN, RN, NE-BC, and Emily Brown. The team members will discuss a clinical research center’s use of surveys housed within REDCap to solicit feedback from participants as a quality improvement initiative to better the research services offered by the center, as well as to collect their motivating factors to participate in clinical research, demographics, perceptions on the informed consent process, and feedback on questions pertaining to the research experience.
Rapid-fire topics scheduled for Monday at the conference include “Mind the Gap: Achieving and Maintaining Effective Communication Between Sites and Sponsors” by Morgan Heck; “Tools and Measurements for Driving Diversity in Clinical Trials” by Cameron Davis; and “What We Can Learn from Minority Experiences in Clinical Trials” by Heidi Green, PhD.
A regular-length session that you may not have heard about for Monday focuses on “Are Hybrid Trials the Answer to Aligning Decentralized Methods with Diversity Goals?” Nadina Jose, MD, will examine how the message that seems to surface from recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration draft guidances is that the agency wants the biopharmaceutical industry and its stakeholders to be more focused and targeted with their approach of lessening the gaps in the overall composition of patients invited to participate in clinical trials and with their conduct of trials through the adoption of improved methodologies. The best obvious place to start would be to get these parties to design protocols that not only reflect diversity but also include the appropriate use of decentralized clinical trial methods, which can affect data collection and quality, trial speed and efficiency, and site costs, Jose notes.
Another full-length session to be aware of on Monday is “Integrating Clinical Research into a Community-Based Practice,” which comes from Ashley Moultrie, CCRP, and Charlotte Grayson-Mathis, MD, who ask, “What if we could bring clinical trial opportunities right to where potential participants get their annual physical, their flu vaccine, and the majority of their care?” They will discuss the challenges and how they overcame them to build a successful research partnership in a community-based primary care practice.
Already have an idea for a presentation you’d like to give at ACRP 2025 in New Orleans? We start accepting proposals on May 3 of this year! You should submit your proposal(s) by June 17. You don’t have to be an ACRP member to participate, but you must create a free user account with us to use the proposal system if you don’t already have one.
Celebrating Clinical Trials Day 2024
You know what also comes our way in May? Why, Clinical Trials Day on May 20, of course. The message we’re sharing through Clinical Trials Day 2024 is that, as clinical researchers, we celebrate YOU! YOU are the ones who interpret and apply the guidelines that keep studies viable and on track. YOU play a vital role in protecting patients. YOU see challenges as new opportunities for discovery. YOU bring unique perspectives and expertise to blaze new trails that lead to new possibilities—and new reasons for hope. YOU Are the Trailblazers Among Us! Learn More About CTD2024 >
Seeking Volunteers for Educational Programs
ACRP is looking for professionals to serve in the new Educational Programs Ambassador initiative. Among other contributions, Ambassadors will serve in working groups to contribute to new ACRP educational programs, provide comments on regulatory guidance, and review existing resources for needed updates. ACRP members and non-members are welcome to apply. Learn More >
In Memoriam
Laurie Halloran, BSN, MS, passed away on February 29. She was a former member of ACRP, a frequent attendee and speaker at our conferences, and holder of a Certified Clinical Research Associate (CCRA®) designation through ACRP from 1995 to 2015. She founded Halloran Consulting Group in 1998 and led it for 25 years before stepping down.
Got Fraud?
In connection with a recent ACRP blog on how to spot and deal with applicants and new hires who turn out not to have the clinical research expertise they claim, we conducted a simple poll on LinkedIn asking, “Have fraudulent claims in resumes and applications found after hiring resulted in serious consequences in your clinical research organization?” Out of the 87 respondents, 48% said YES, this has happened; 44% said NO, luckily not; and 8% said OTHER, though they did not provide details. Something to think about, anyway!
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