MY ROLE IN CANADIAN HEALTH SYSTEM

As I mentioned in my professionalism audit that currently, I am not working in any professional organization. In 2015, I worked in a well-organized hospital of Pakistan named Civil hospital Hyderabad, as a trainee doctor and researcher under the supervision of professors and specialists. In Pakistan, all rights of doctors are protected by Pakistan Medical and Dental council (PMDC). It is a statutory regulatory authority under the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS). Its’ main function is to maintain the official register of medical practitioners working in Pakistan. One of the main responsibilities of PMDC is to facilitate insurance and laws and regulations related to health professionals practicing in Pakistan. It also provides funding to the hospitals, ensure quality standards, oversee management issues related to doctors so that hospitals can provide good care to their patients, health professionals and researchers. PMDC receive its funding from Federal Government of Pakistan via NHS.

My Professional Identity in Health Care System:

After completing my Masters in Health Studies from Athabasca University, I would like to work as a clinical researcher. The reason being, I believe, clinical researchers are capable of making a change in people’s life. It is not only a fulfilling career but also a challenging one.

My Role as a Clinical Researcher in Canadian Health System:

As a clinical researcher, I can work in different roles in health care system: from a clinician to administrator, research collaborator and coordinator, and clinical researcher working in different fields, specialities and contributing to improvement of health care in hospital settings.

Clinical researchers conduct clinical trials to find better ways to prevent, screen for, diagnose, or treat diseases. Clinical trials are research studies to explore new treatment methods, discovery of a new drug or diet or medical device (for example, Implantable cardioverter defibrillator) and evaluating its safety and effectiveness in patients. On the other hand, clinical trials are also useful in determining whether new treatment is better or has more side effects than the standard treatment and possibilities of alternative treatment.

For example, a team of clinical researchers conducted a study in Berlin, Germany to measure the efficiency of a new drug (upadacitinib) in patients of rheumatoid arthritis. The drug upadacitinib inhibits enzyme JAK1 that is responsible for generating inflammatory responses through important signaling pathway. The phase III trial showed, that patients receiving upadacitinib treatment showed major improvements in joint swelling as compared to patients receiving placebo treatment.

Clinical researchers not only conduct trials but also perform clinical studies or observational studies, they collect information through hospital data, patient’s previous history, questionnaire and compare changes over time. Clinical studies may help to conduct future clinical trials.

Clinical researchers work closely with physicians, specialists and other health professionals to make sure that the medicine is fulfilling the treatment standards and compliment current treatment practices for overall benefit of patients. They are involved in writing drug trial methodologies, provide instructions to other trial collaborators such as nurses and medical students, verify case report forms and monitor the overall progress of the trial.

Ethical Value:

One of the main responsibilities of clinical researchers is to conduct clinical trials in an ethical manner whilst following good clinical practice and ensuring all team members are compliant with strict rules and regulations. They should understand all the requirements, protocol, purpose, aim and objectives of clinical trials to ensure participants safety and integrity of scientific work. Researchers should participate in different training programs to increase their professional skills. Strong collaboration between researchers and participants is necessary to determine whether a subject is getting benefit from a clinical trial and should continue to participate in the trial or not. They are overall responsible for ensuring patients privacy and confidentiality and the study meets the highest ethical standards and norms.

Organizations Supporting Clinical Trials in Canada:

Canadian Clinical Trials Co-ordinating Center (CCTCC)

It was established in 2014, with a purpose to strengthen the Canadian clinical trials environment and ensuring quality in clinical trials. The CCTCC is governed by the Executive Committee, made up of senior representatives from each of the three funding partners (CIHR, Rx&D and HealthCareCAN).

Clinical Trials Ontario (CTO)

It is an independent not-for-profit organization established in 2012, with seed funding from Government of Ontario. One of the main purpose of CTO is to work jointly with the clinical trials community, the public and strategic partners to improve Ontario’s clinical trials environment and attract clinical trial investment to the province. The vision of CTO is to ensure that clinical trials are performed in Ontario with the highest ethical standards.

In my opinion, clinical researchers hold very significant position in Health care system, they perform leading roles in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. By working collaboratively with physicians, specialists and other health professionals, they are continuously strengthening and evolving health care system. 

REFRENCES:

Clinical Trials Ontario. (2014). About Clinical Trials Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.ctontario.ca/about

Government of Canada, Canada Institutes of Health Research. (2017). Clinical Trials. Retrieved from http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/45852.html

Pelke, S., & Easa, D. (1997). The role of the clinical research coordinator in multicentre clinical trials. Journal of obstetric, gynecologic and neonatal nursing, 26(3), 279-285.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging. (2017). Clinical Trials: What Are Clinical Trials and Studies. Retrieved from https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-are-clinical-trials-and-studies

Yan, S., & Liu, N. (2018). Ethical responsibility of researchers and subjects in drugs clinical trials. Journal of Liver Research, Disorders & Therapy, 4(1), 7-9. Retrieved from https://medcraveonline.com/JLRDT/JLRDT-04-00085.pdf