RECOVERY and Nurses

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Anchor lead: Research nurses underpin the success of the RECOVERY trial, Elizabeth Tracey reports

RECOVERY is the acronym for a large randomized clinical trial taking place in the UK to evaluate treatments for Covid-19 quickly, and it has been credited with early identification of dexamethasone for helping those on ventilators. Now study leaders say among the critical factors for their success are research nurses. Patricia Davidson, dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, isn’t surprised.

Davidson: Not only do you as a nurse bring your clinical skills and attributes to the trial, the nurses have a big role in making sure that people are retained on the trial, that they are adherent with the medication, and also that data is collected on all the important endpoints for analysis. Because as we know a randomized controlled trial, if 30% of the people are lost to follow up, or other things, the data are pretty meaningless.  :32

Davidson says a research career is just one of the many options open to nurses. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.