Measuring Clinical Trial–Associated Workload in a Community Clinical Oncology Program

PURPOSE: The ability to quantify clinical trial-associated workload can have a significant impact on the efficiency and success of a research organization. However, methods to effectively estimate the number of research staff needed for clinical trial recruitment, maintenance, compliance, and follow-up are lacking. To address this need, the Wichita Community Clinical Oncology Program (WCCOP) developed and implemented an acuity-based workload assessment tool to facilitate assessment and balancing of workload among its research nursing staff. METHODS: An acuity-based measurement tool was developed, assigning acuity scores for individual clinical trials using six trial-related determinants. Using trial acuity scores and numbers of patients per trial, acuity scores for individual research nursing staff were then calculated and compared on a monthly basis. RESULTS: During the 11 years that data were collected, acuity scores increased from 65% to 181%. However, during this same period, WCCOP was able to decrease individual research nurse staff full-time equivalent (FTE) acuity scores and number of patients per FTE. These trends reflect the use of the acuity-based measurement tool to determine actual workload and use of the acuity data to direct hiring decisions. CONCLUSION: Clinical trial workload has been successfully measured and used to guide staffing by one community clinical oncology program. Further research is needed regarding its applicability to other research programs.