Nursing services are integral to the success of the CRC.  The CRC research nurses are experienced registered nurses who provide high quality nursing and technical expertise to carry out active CRC protocols on the CRC and at various off-site locations.  The nursing staff consists of the Nurse Manager, four Registered Nurses, one Research Technician, and an Administrative Assistance.  The nursing staff provides technical support, clinical care, and acts as a liaison between the Principal Investigator and the volunteers as well as other staff involved in the protocol.  The nursing staff works closely with each investigator to ensure that all procedures are performed in strict accordance with hospital regulations, nursing practice standards and study protocol guidelines.

The research nurses develop a protocol reference manual (Blue Book) for each approved clinical protocol.  This manual is utilized as a standard reference on the CRC and includes protocol specific flow sheets, physician’s orders, sample inventories, and current consent forms.  The blue books contain details for each procedure to ensure accurate data collection for each individual protocol.

• Routine and complex vital signs
• Body composition measures
• Anthropometric measurements
• Lumbar, hip, forearm, & whole body Dexa scans
• Timed collection of blood specimens
• One-on-one nursing care for intensive protocol needs
• Intravenous and oral glucose tolerance testing
• Patient education
• Assistance with fat and muscle biopsies
• IV infusions/Medication administration
• Assistance with infusion and clamp studies
• EKG acquisition

Cindy Witkowski, RN, BSN
Nurse Manager
501-526-7984
clwitkowski@uams.edu