This webinar focused on clinical trials for melanoma, concentrating on patient access to trials and the nursing implications for patients when they are on trials. Nurses gained insights into current clinical trials in Australia for melanoma, and the session explored the specialist nurse's role in caring for patients who are on trials, including providing education about trials, delivering usual care, and communicating with the trial team, so that nurses can support melanoma patients in clinical trials with equitable access and comprehensive care.

Contributors

Speakers

Speaker

Maria Gonzalez

Director of Clinical Care, Melanoma Institute Australia

Maria holds dual bachelor's degrees in Nursing and Arts, as well as a Master of Health Science from the University of Sydney. Her clinical career began with nursing roles at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Liverpool Hospital and Sydney Private Hospital. Driven by a commitment to advancing cancer treatment, Maria transitioned to clinical research, where she has dedicated 18 years to the field. As Director of Clinical Care at MIA, Maria provides strategic direction, operational oversight and clinical leadership for both nursing and clinical research teams, and is deeply involved in advancing treatments for skin cancer, with a particular focus on neoadjuvant therapy and investigator-driven protocol development. Passionate about enhancing advanced practice nursing within multidisciplinary teams, Maria is a strong advocate for building capacity and ensuring optimal patient outcomes, and is currently working with government and a dedicated team at MIA to develop and implement a Commonwealth-funded national melanoma nurse strategy and program.

Speaker

Dr Michael Armstrong OAM

M.B.B.S. (Syd. Uni.), Community Representative and G.P.

Dr Michael Armstrong is a G.P. on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and has been in full-time practice for over 40 years. For many years he was a Clinical Lecturer in Community Medicine at Sydney University, where he mentored many undergraduates. He has assisted a number of community and medical organisations over a long period of time, and for over 20 years has been Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee of the Peninsula Private Sleep Laboratory. He currently has an involvement with several committees associated with MIA.

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