Building the Clinical Research Workforce: MMCORC's Research Nurse Fellowship
A common issue in the clinical research field is recruiting candidates for open roles, including research nurses. Metro-Minnesota Community Oncology Research Consortium (MMCORC) was no exception to this issue. Faced with dwindling candidate pools for those with experience in oncology or research, MMCORC leadership decided to explore a new way to help nurses develop critical thinking skills, professional practice skills, and clinical competency in a clinical research setting. MNCCTN is committed to helping its Partners build a strong clinical research workforce and supported the fellowship’s funding.
MMCORC leaders began by researching existing fellowship and residency programs at HealthPartners and other health systems. They then designed their own year-long research nurse fellowship program. This required working closely with senior leaders and human resources to develop program goals, a job description, responsibilities, and more. The fellowship position was posted for internal and external applications, and applicants were screened and interviewed like other research nursing roles would be. Applicants were required to be a graduate of an accredited school of registered nursing and have a license. Some nursing experience was preferred, but new graduates were not excluded. The role was also designed to allow for feedback from the Fellow throughout the year, with a specific interest in applicants who were interested in developing the role for future Fellows.
The first Nurse Fellow, Allison (Allie) Kirk started in September 2023. Allie is a nurse with Acute Rehab experience and a cancer survivor. In 2020, Allie was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma. After treatment, remission, recurrence, and remission once again, Allie was considered cancer-free in 2022. Throughout her cancer experience, Allie was drawn to oncology and research. She wanted to help advance cancer care through a career in oncology research, but she did not have the required experience for most research nurse roles. Allie began by applying for non-oncology research roles and infusion centers, and this is how her resume was sent to Michele Lacy, MMCORC’s Senior Director. MMCORC’s leaders thought Allie’s experience was perfect, and she accepted the role.
“When I was finally ready to return to my nursing career, I realized my newfound understanding of the cancer patient experience could give me the opportunity to support other cancer patients in ways I wouldn't have been able to otherwise,” Allie said. “After accepting the fellowship position, I remember thinking to myself, ‘Who wouldn’t want one year of learning and clinical experience for the exact career you are interested in pursuing, what a gift.’”
As a Nurse Fellow, Allie shadowed and observed different roles and departments, including MDs and APPs, radiology, and infusion nurses. She also attended research and community oncology meetings. Each pay period, a day was set aside for independent learning to build oncology treatment knowledge. After nine months of learning and observation, Allie was fully functioning in the research nurse role! Once the fellowship was complete, Allie started a full-time research nurse role with MMCORC at MN Oncology in Woodbury.
MMCORC has learned a lot over the past year! 12 months goes by quickly, so identifying mentors early and focusing on experiences that will best aid the Fellow are important. They also plan to transition future Fellows from an observing to active role sooner. Looking ahead, MMCORC has welcomed a new Fellow, Ana, for Year 2 in September 2024!