Work of the CRNG is carried out by its task forces, which promote cutting-edge research, establish standards of care in cancer rehabilitation, and offer an interdisciplinary forum for development of state-of-the-art rehabilitation practice.
Contact the chairs of any task force of interest to get involved.
OUTCOMES & RESEARCH TASK FORCE UPDATE
Co-Chair: Jack Fu, MD
Associate Professor, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
jfu@mdanderson.org
Co-Chair: Mary Radomski, PhD, OTR/L
Clinical Scientist, Courage Kenny Research Center
Minneapolis, MN
mary.radomski@allina.com
The newly-formed Outcomes and Research Task is comprised of the co-chairs and Arash Asher, MD (Director of Cancer Survivorship & Rehabilitation at the Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai) and Kathleen Lyons, ScD, OTR (Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth).
Our overarching mission is to (1) advance cancer rehabilitation research and promote research collaboration; (2) promote translation of evidence to enhance clinical expertise and practice; (3) establish an interdisciplinary research agenda. To that end, we are currently working to determine the best mechanisms to facilitate connections between CRNG members who are interested in research collaborations.
We are also exploring ways to be more prominent in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The editors-in-chief of Archives have agreed to include cancer rehabilitation in the “Articles by Topic” section of the journal’s website. We are also exploring the possibility of developing a future Supplement to Archives on cancer rehabilitation.
The Outcomes and Research Task Force is looking for more members and wants to connect with anyone interested in cancer rehabilitation research. If you are a member of ACRM and interested in advancing our mission, please contact us. We’d love to hear from you! To become involved, contact Jack Fu, MD.
EDUCATION TASK FORCE UPDATE
Co-Chair: Sean Smith, MD
Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
srsz@med.umich.edu
Co-Chair: W. Christian VandenBerg, MD
Mary Free Bed Medical Group
Grand Rapids, MI
WChristian.VandenBerg@maryfreebed.com
The Education Task Force has been busy spreading the word about the 2015 ACRM Annual Conference in Dallas. We plan to have another stellar educational track dedicated solely to cancer rehabilitation! There has been considerable enthusiasm from experts all over the country to present symposia, and the task force is confident that the cancer rehabilitation track will be stronger than ever this coming October at the conference in Dallas.
Conference Proposal Submission Deadlines
The deadlines for submitting preconference Instructional Courses (4- or 8-hours of instruction or workshop) and core conference Symposia (75 minutes presentation) have been EXTENDED through 23 February. Scientific Papers and Posters abstracts are due 2 March.
We encourage you to submit a proposal. Together, we can make the cancer rehabilitation content of the conference great!
OUTREACH & ADVOCACY TASK FORCE UPDATE
Co-Chair: Brian McMichael, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Pittsburgh, PA
mcmichael.brian@gmail.com
Co-Chair: Annas Aljassem, MD
Hospice and Palliative Care Fellow, PGY-5
University of Michigan Health System
annasaljassem@gmail.com
We are having an exciting launch toward connecting the interdisciplinary cancer rehabilitation community and educating cancer care survivorship stakeholders. The CRNG has a webpage on the ACRM website at www.ACRM.org/cancer. Our task force developed a brochure introducing the Cancer Rehabilitation Networking Group and its work. We invite you to review the brochure and share it with colleagues.
Social Media
We have also established social media outlets. You can follow us on Twitter @ACRMCancerRehab . You can also join our Facebook group . We are in the process of developing policies for posting content to social media that supports and advances the work and goals of the CRNG. To become involved, contact Brian McMichael, MD.
Save the Date: June 8 – 9, 2015
We also want to promote an important and ground-breaking conference co-sponsored by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The focus of the conference will be dissemination of the findings from 4 subject-matter expert workgroups. These work groups have been assembled and are working now in the following areas:
- Models of care delivery in cancer rehabilitation
- Screening for toxicity
- Functional outcomes measures
- Integration of rehabilitation into the cancer continuum; shared decision making and shared care
The groups are interdisciplinary and are comprised of internal NIH staff as well as 15 external clinicians and researchers from around the country. The workgroups have been charged to consider not just evidence from the literature, but to include experience-based findings from colleagues/systems of care etc. They are also to consider the lifespan, rather than just the ‘active treatment’ continuum. Each group will present their findings of the ‘current state’, identify areas where there may be consensus, and will identify gaps in research and needs for the future.
This will be a dissemination conference that we encourage you to attend. This conference will explain the findings of each workgroup and highlight next steps to improve the future of cancer rehabilitation research and clinical care. There is no charge to attend. This is an important conference for healthcare professionals interested in cancer rehabilitation. Here is some of the early, confirmed information:
June 8-9, 2015
Natcher Auditorium NIH Campus Bethesda, MD
Conference will be free to attendees.
Conference webpage is expected to post soon.
We hope to see you there!
