Clinical trials: impact evaluation and implementation considerations

It is commonplace for oncology nurses to care for patients entered on clinical trials. However, clinical research can impose a significant impact on the resources of sponsoring institutions or agencies, especially in today's environment of cost containment. Thus, institutions and nurses are increasingly involved in systematic resource impact evaluations to determine their commitment to cancer clinical trials. It is important for nursing to evaluate the impact of proposed clinical research and define the parameters for the participation of nursing service.