Dr. Jennifer Goulart wanted to create a multidisciplinary clinic to support specific genitourinary cancer patient populations. She believed that care for those requiring advanced multimodality treatment would be improved when delivered through a single clinic consisting of a multidisciplinary team of Urologists, Radiation Oncologists, Medical Oncologists, and a Nurse Practitioner. This clinic would allow patients to see multiple specialists in one day and receive consistent goals of care. Using a grant from the South Island MSA, Dr. Goulart assembled and led a project team to design such a clinic.
The project team hosted consultation meetings, bringing together various disciplines to discuss the design and implementation plan for the multidisciplinary clinic. They also held meetings with specific groups, such as nurse practitioners, research managers and patient partners, to ensure the input of all stakeholders.
Using this information, the project team created and presented a formal clinic design and implementation plan to the Operations Management team at the BC Cancer Agency, as well as to the head of nursing, Manager of Clinical Services, Manager of Pharmacy and Manager of Volunteer Services. Valuable feedback was received and was incorporated into the final proposal.
Thanks to Dr. Goulart, the project team, and the BC Cancer Agency, a one-year pilot clinic will be trialed. The project team will make improvements to the clinic every 3 months and incorporate feedback received from patients themselves on an ongoing basis.