Assess your institution’s infrastructure and resources
Obtain feedback on the trial from key staff
- Look at the protocol requirements through the eyes of staff who may be involved—from nurses, to research coordinators, to the pharmacy, to the lab.
- Share the protocol with investigators, the research team, and people from the other departments that will be involved.
- Ask questions to understand operational issues such as scheduling and resources.
Assess the financial burden of the trial on your institution
- Spell out the costs (and benefits) of the proposed trial to your institution before opening the trial.
Assess the capacity of your institution to conduct the trial
- List what the study will demand of your facility—for example, workspace, lab needs, pharmacy needs.
- Are new skills required?
- Does the protocol require new or complex internal processes or special equipment?
- Where do you see needs that may exceed capacity? What, if anything, can be done to improve or expand capacity in those cases?
Determine if you have adequate staffing levels
- Be thoughtful about the staffing requirements for the new trial and how trial activities fit with current work.
Literature and Tools (61)

Journal of Oncology Practice. 2012 Nov. 8. 6. 365-70.
KEYWORDS: Institutional Issues, Eligibility, Cancer

J Clin Nurs. 2007 Nov. 16. 11. 2047-55.
KEYWORDS: Knowledge/Attitudes/Beliefs, Staff Experience Level, International, Cancer, Treatment

J Res Nurs. 2011 Jul 01. 16. 4. 321-32.
KEYWORDS: Level of Clinical Trials Knowledge or Awareness, Incentives, Attitudes, Institutional Issues

International Journal of Stroke. 2012 Aug. 7. 6. 447-53.
KEYWORDS: Institutional Issues, Inadequate Staffing, Eligibility, Web, Non-Cancer

J Cancer. 3. 345-53. 2012 Aug 17. [Epub ahead of print]
KEYWORDS: Staff Experience Level, Institutional Issues, Eligibility, Study Burden, Cancer, Phase 0,1,2