There are many advantages to selecting a hospital that combines patient care with research and patient education. Physicians who engage in clinical research compare and study the results of different treatments in thousands of patients. They apply what they learn from the large clinical trials to future treatment decisions. In this way, all the patients at a hospital which engages in clinical trials benefit from research, even if they have not personally participated in the trials.
Clinical trials are also an important aspect of medical education.
At a teaching hospital, clinical trials allow physicians to examine the effectiveness of the latest investigative treatment strategies. And patients who choose to participate in clinical trials can receive promising new therapies before they are available in the general community. There may be other advantages to choosing a teaching hospital. The Cleveland Clinic's Rupert B. Turnbull, Jr., M.D. School of Enterostomal Therapy Nursing, the first school of its kind in the world, has graduated nearly 750 of the approximately 2,000 nurse specialists practicing in this field throughout the world. Enterostomal nurses provide pre- and postoperative teaching and counseling for people who have a temporary or permanent colostomy.