A few years into my ICU experience, I was first introduced to clinical research. I was the night shift nurse for a patient with fulminant hepatic failure. This patient was the first human subject to receive a novel liver perfusion device developed by a hepatologist and scientist from Baylor. I asked many questions and was so intrigued about this new device that could treat acute liver failure that when those doctors formed their own biotech device company, they offered me a job as a research nurse. I was unsure of what a research nurse did, but they wanted a nurse with experience working with critically ill patients. Their director of Regulatory Affairs taught me what I needed to know about clinical research. We developed training manuals, consent forms and case report forms for the nurses working with the device, and I helped start and run their Phase 1 trial at King's College in London.

Unfortunately, the company ran into funding issues. So, I returned to work at Houston Methodist within the Department of Cardiovascular Anesthesia (CV), leading drug and device trials for patients undergoing cardiac and vascular surgeries. As a research nurse, my primary tasks were to complete the Institutional Review Board (IRB) submissions for the studies, screen and consent patients, and collect the data for the study. My responsibilities included going to the OR to ensure the anesthesiologist and surgeons followed the protocol and working with the ICU nurses to collect the post-surgery data and labs needed for the trial. Also, I assisted doctors with monitoring patients for any potential adverse events or side effects from the study. I also documented and reported any of these events to the study sponsor and hospital IRB; I would also see the patients for their follow-up doctor visits and work with the study monitors to review the data and verify that it was collected properly. A research nurse's role is very collaborative with the investigators of the trials, and they work with you to ensure data is collected properly and protocol and regulatory guidelines are followed.

For almost 20 years, I worked in the CV surgery department, which is now the DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center. I moved from research nurse to Senior Research Nurse and then to Clinical Trials Manager overseeing CV surgery research, heart failure research, and cardiac imaging research groups. Throughout my career, I worked on many exciting new novel therapies, from early left ventricular assist devices to total artificial heart studies, endovascular graft studies for aortic aneurysms, and percutaneous aortic valve trials.

I eventually moved to the Houston Methodist Research Institute (HMRI) general research department to manage an NIH-funded multicenter trial developed and initiated by one of our electrophysiology (EP) cardiologists, Dr. Miguel Valderrabano. I oversaw, with the principal investigator (PI), 12 sites throughout the United States, and we enrolled over 400 patients in that trial. It was a great accomplishment when the study was completed and we could publish our results.

After many years of running clinical trials, I became manager of HMRI's Clinical Research Quality Assurance Program. In this role, I provided internal support for our investigator, initiated clinical research studies, and provided education for our clinical research staff. Recently, I moved into a Senior Research Administrator role. In this role, I oversee the Academic Office of Clinical Trials, which provides general clinical research support to any Houston Methodist physician in the Texas Medical Center, our community hospitals, the Cockrell Center for Advanced Therapeutics, which runs our phase 1 clinical trials, and the Regulatory Affairs Office for HMRI which supports investigator-initiated trials that need submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

I have had a long and enjoyable career in clinical research. The best part of this career has been the opportunity to work with fantastic and brilliant investigators to help them bring new novel treatments to our patients. Being a nurse in the clinical research field, I believe, is the epitome of Leading Medicine here at Houston Methodist.

I embarked upon this journey at Houston Methodist in 2014, moving here from out of state with a career in critical care, emergency nursing, trauma and forensics. I was instrumental in implementing the first Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program at Houston Methodist West. From the time of inception, our services have expanded systemwide to provide trauma-informed care to patients 13 and older for sexual assault, interpersonal violence, human trafficking and elder abuse. Our team has grown from six nurses in 2014 to 33 nurses, with an additional 12 in training. Below are the criteria for becoming a forensic nurse. This training takes approximately one year to complete.

• Unencumbered Registered Nursing license
• Two years of bedside nursing clinical experience
• 40-hour sexual assault didactic course approved by OAG
• 12 courtroom observation hours
• SANE Simulation course with 10 speculum insertions
• Shadow eight forensic exams with a preceptor

Implementing an extensive forensic nursing initiative at Houston Methodist has successfully addressed the unique needs of this patient population within our communities. Through the support of grant funds and generous contributions from philanthropic donors, we are progressing towards establishing a dedicated forensic nursing department. Our steadfast commitment is apparent in the ongoing evolution of our forensic program, aiming to deliver outstanding care to our community and the patients we serve, thereby achieving improvements in holistic patient care for this specific patient population.