Great times in SF at the Breast Care Center—where has the time gone?

It’s been an interesting few months at the Breast Care Center! My fellow “interns” and I have all been busy with our respective projects, and learning tons about both breast cancer care and the world of medicine at the same time.

My work centers on the information technology aspects of I-SPY 2, an innovative national clinical trial (spearheaded here at UCSF) that aims to speed the rate at which we develop new therapeutic agents for breast cancer. (It’s been recently featured, albeit somewhat inaccurately, on NBC Nightly News.) Being introduced to the world of clinical research has been an experience in itself—something very different altogether from my basic research endeavors as an undergrad. Clinical research is saddled with plenty of regulatory red tape and approvals upon approvals—necessary measures, no doubt, when your fellow humans are also your test subjects. But this regulatory burden is uplifted by a true sense of urgency, the unmatched experience of being on the front lines in the battle against our most pressing medical problems. I’ve found myself attracted to clinical research in a way that I never truly was to basic science, and this has made my time at the Breast Care Center all the more rewarding thus far.

So, what do I actually do here at the BCC? One of I-SPY 2’s many innovations is its novel informatics system, TRANSCEND. TRANSCEND not only was custom-designed for the trial, but is also envisioned as a proof-of-concept for how clinical trial systems can integrate with medical record systems to greatly facilitate medical research in the future. That’s a mouthful, but essentially I help to design and specify new features for TRANSCEND as it undergoes a major update/revision, with the collaboration of the National Cancer Institute and other organizations. In contrast to my previous experiences—viewing software from a programmer’s perspective, as a computer science major—this job has placed me in a high-level, “project development”-type role, where I get to see how projects such as these are negotiated, orchestrated, and eventually implemented. Especially in the context of national healthcare reform, the HITECH Act, and the current rollout of electronic medical records right here at UCSF, this is a fascinating time to be involved in health information technology.

The Decision Services component of our jobs (described in detail by Alyse in a previous post) arguably ties the whole experience together for all of us. Meeting with a patient each week to discuss her concerns and summarize her appointment provides a refreshing context to what we all do on a daily basis. It’s also wonderful to see how such simple interventions and changes in the care process can make such a meaningful difference to the nervous, confused, frustrated, and often afraid patient. Attending appointments with a wide variety of patients, who are in turn seeing a variety of different medical and surgical oncologists, has also allowed us to witness the spectrum of treatment approaches for all types and stages of breast cancer. It’s more medical exposure than I’ve ever had before, and I’ve valued every minute of it.

There’s been some room for fun in our jobs, of course: We recently all participated in a local event called Taste for the Cure (organized by one of our fellow interns), featuring tons of great food, where we got to showcase each of our respective projects at the BCC to interested attendees. As a group, we easily beat out the competition in our hospital Halloween costume contest. And, per BCC intern tradition, we just recently performed our humorous holiday skit—where we poke fun at the doctors and administrators that we work with every day—to resounding applause!

Admittedly, at times, things have been crazy, hectic, unclear, and uncoordinated—but so is the world of medicine at large, and true satisfaction comes from breaking through those obstacles to make and see meaningful change happen every day in our clinic, on our trials, and in the initiatives that our center supports. I’m certainly looking forward to what I’ll be doing in the next six months—and I’ll be sure to provide more updates during that time!