Clinical Trial Nurses SIG Application

Remember, as an ONS national member, you are entitled to one free SIG membership. To join an additional SIG, please complete and return the following application:

SIG Membership Application

The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) is a national organization of more than 33,000 registered nurses and other healthcare professionals dedicated to excellence in patient care, teaching, research and education in the field of oncology. A prime goal of ONS is to provide a network of peer support and exchange for oncology nurses. To do so, ONS introduced a formal structure of Special Interest Groups (SIG) to facilitate networking of ONS members in an identified subspecialty or interest area. The Clinical Trial Nurses SIG was established in 1990.

Clinical Trial Nurses SIG Mission Statement

• supporting the care of patients and families involved in clinical trials;
• promoting the highest professional standards of oncology clinical trial nursing;
• studying, researching, and exchanging information related to clinical trials;
• encouraging nurses to specialize in the practice of oncology clinical trial nursing;
• supporting the individual and collective professional advancement of oncology clinical trial nurses;
• sustaining an organizational structure and operation that is responsive to the changing needs of Clinical Trial Nurses SIG members and the populations they represent.

• Increase access to professional continuing education for nurses in cancer clinical trials.
• Develop and implement educational strategies for oncology nurses associated with clinical trials.
• Integrate state-of-the-art knowledge and new technological trends in cancer clinical trials.
• Increase involvement with the ONS Health Policy activities.
• Assure the nurses role in cancer clinical trials.
• Improve patient care through collaborative nursing research studies.
• Respond to globalization trends by increasing international activities.
• Promote access to clinical trials.
• Provide leadership development within the Clinical Trial Nurses SIG.

The SIG has chosen to pursue their goals through activities such as submitting topics for instructional sessions and poster presentations at ONS educational events. The SIG reports on health policy activities relevant to clinical trial nurses through their newsletter, and seeks to support policy initiatives that influence cancer nursing, cancer nursing research and cancer clinical trials. In 1997, the CTN SIG partnered with the National Cancer Institute, the Association of Oncology Social Workers, and Novartis Oncology to "roll out" the NCI's newly revised and expanded Cancer Clinical Trials Education Program. Between 1997 and 2001, CTN SIG members took the educational program to their communities and to local, regional and national levels. In 2000, the CTN SIG published a seminal text, the Manual for Clinical Trials Nursing. Published by the Oncology Nursing Press, the 380-page text was made possible by the efforts of many members of the SIG. In 2001, the SIG began development of a survey questionnaire to assess the role and responsibilities of the CTN in clinical research.

Benefits/Communication

The SIG meets once each year during the ONS Annual Congress. Clinical Trial Nurses SIG leaders regularly communicate with members through written and electronic communiques, and through a newsletter. The newsletter features a message from SIG leaders, informative articles on topics of interest to clinical trial nurses, member news, member profiles, and reports on SIG activities.

Membership Criteria

All SIG members must be members in good standing of the national Oncology Nursing Society. ONS members receive one free SIG membership. Additional SIG memberships are $15 each.