Nursing's presence in the changing cooperative group setting

Objectives: To describe the history of nurse-led contributions within three legacy cancer cooperative groups and the challenges and new opportunities faced by nurses with the merger of these three groups.

Data sources: Journal articles, government and special health reports.

Conclusion: Recent changes in the cancer cooperative group have significantly altered the way cancer clinical trials will be conducted in the future. With recent federal funding cuts, three cooperative groups have merged in an effort to improve efficiency, while maintaining the quality and availability of clinical trials for patients with cancer. The group merger presented a unique opportunity to maintain and advance nursing's contribution to education, research, and practice within the cooperative group setting.

Implications for nursing practice: As a result of merger, cooperative group nurses will expand their work to integrate oncology nursing practice within the alliance cooperative group's infrastructure, facilitating research and high-quality patient care.