Alicia Guerrero Molina, nurse at the Translational Research Unit of the IIS Aragón at the Miguel Servet University Hospital

"Without patients, there would be no clinical trials or advances in medicine"

Although she has been working as a nurse in Zaragoza for seven years, Alicia Guerrero Molina has not lost her Andalusian accent. Born in Malaga in 1984, she studied Nursing by vocation and there she dedicated herself to dialysis after completing a master's degree in the care of nephrological patients. In 2016 she landed in the Aragonese capital as coordinator of oncology clinical trials at the Miguel Servet University Hospital. She is currently a nurse at the Translational Research Unit of the IIS Aragón, that is, she works with every researcher who is carrying out a clinical trial and needs the support of a nursing professional.

How does a nurse get into the world of clinical trials?

I started working on clinical trials in 2009 in Malaga, at the intelligent air conditioning company Airzone. They were awarded a grant to perform impedance measurements on patients with heart failure, to analyze whether their decompensation could be predicted and treated before this occurred, and they hired me.

In 2013 he published the article 'The clinical trial nurse in the hospital setting: an unknown figure. Is it still like this?

Every time less. When I studied, no one talked to you about this field as a job opportunity, but lately it has become more professional. There is a lot of training in this regard, sample handling courses, a master's degree in clinical nursing research... It has already been assumed that nurses cannot only do care work. Our work is very extensive: we take samples and make electros, but we also provide health education and health guidance. We are the link between the trial coordinator and the patient and we carry out the comprehensive reception process: we explain what the trial consists of, we resolve their doubts... The role of the laboratory technician is also very important, who processes, stores and sends the samples, controls the expiration of the kits and batches...

What is the process to participate in a clinical trial?

Being part of a clinical trial is not easy; you have to meet detailed criteria in a protocol. If they are met, the patient must sign the informed consent and the selection phase begins. This is when you come to the Translational Research Unit and we perform the blood draws, anthropometric measurements, vital signs and the clinical trial kit, that is, the specific samples you require, in addition to an electrocardiogram if applicable. From there he goes to his medical consultation and the other part of our work begins: together with the laboratory technician, we process the samples, which consists of centrifuging the blood to separate the plasma and serum. Once aliquoted, a part is frozen and another is sent to the corresponding laboratory.

It is sometimes said that trial participants are guinea pigs. What do you think?

I find it derogatory because they are not. It must be taken into account that they do not charge, although payment of the expenses that may entail is usually facilitated, but they are benefiting from a drug and personalized medical assistance. They receive care that is very difficult to provide in normal clinical practice, since the trial requires more exhaustive visits. They are offered conventional, experimental or placebo treatment, but always with maximum safety. Without a doubt, the patient is the fundamental part of a trial; Without it, there is no trial and, therefore, medicine would not improve. It is appreciated that they participate because they have to endure more extractions and visits than in the routine way, but they also feel more controlled and cared for.

Can you reveal any projects you are currently working on?

We are participating in a trial that is giving very good results to patients with metastatic breast cancer. It is called 'Destiny' and consists of a targeted therapy in combination with a chemotherapy drug. In any case, we usually carry out between 30 and 40 rehearsals at a time. Depending on the pathology, some require 30 patients and others, two. We attend between 250 and 300 rehearsal visits per month, which is about 25 per day.

Do you have any demands for your group?

More people are always needed because clinical trials are growing at an enormous rate, nothing like when I started in this field. There are rehearsals in all services and more staff are needed because the demands are also greater. All material must be calibrated by an external certifying company and the sample handling processes are very fast to meet deadlines. But we are very happy, we have a great consultation, a laboratory equipped to do our work and we are given all the necessary support.