Best Practice Released for Targeted Medication Safety - Router.

Do You Know the Best Practices for Targeted Medication Safety?

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has added five new best practices and revised two existing ones for safe medication administration in its recent release of the 2016-2017 Targeted Medication Safety Best Practices for Hospitals.

February 07, 2017

Safety

New Access Device Standards Will Help Improve Safety in Your Practice

Access devices have been used for decades to administer the complex treatments and supportive care that oncology nurses deliver daily to patients with cancer. As these devices and other products evolve, nurses need evidence-based methodologies for critiquing their safety and effectiveness.

January 28, 2017

Clinical practice

What Is ONS’s Stance on Handling Chemotherapy While Pregnant, Breastfeeding, or Trying to Conceive?

One of the questions that ONS commonly receives in the clinical inbox is whether nurses who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to conceive can safely administer or handle chemotherapy and other hazardous drugs.

January 03, 2017

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

The Importance of Respiratory Protection for Oncology Nurses

Oncology nurses are at an increased risk of exposure to airborne hazards when they’re administering cytotoxic treatments and caring for immunosuppressed patients that are susceptible to resistant infections. Airborne transmission occurs through small particles or droplet nuclei that remain in the air for extended periods of time. Healthcare organizations are expected to provide sufficient respiratory protection for workers potentially exposed to infectious organisms and hazardous agents.

November 28, 2016

Grief & bereavement

How Grief Can Impact Safety and Patient Outcomes

Oncology nurses face some uncomfortably common truths when treating patients with cancer. Invariably—no matter how hard certain patients fight—some will die from their diseases. Patient death is a part of oncology care, and no nurse would tell you differently. But accepting and dealing with loss and grief is sometimes pushed aside in favor of stoic attitudes that some may equate with professionalism.

November 24, 2016

Patient safety

New Computing Technology Ensures Safety for Telemedicine and Telemonitoring in Oncology Care

As a research associate for ONS, I participated on a panel of oncology experts advising a group of undergraduate and graduate students regarding the lived experience of cancer treatment for older adults. The students, attending Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, PA, were aspiring computer scientists taking a course called Rapid Prototyping of Computer Systems; they developed the following research question based on input from the expert panel.

October 24, 2016

Culture of safety

Become a Champion of Safety Through Error Recognition and Reporting

Within a culture of safety, accountability for safe and ethical care is a priority. Nurses must advocate for their patients and actively prevent patient harm when faced with safety concerns. With the increasing complexity of cancer care, safety risks are always present. Errors can be life threatening, and oncology nurses must feel comfortable in their ability to recognize and report these events.

October 20, 2016

Culture of safety

Join the 2016 Chapter Challenge for Safety

ONS has committed to creating and fostering a culture of safety in oncology nursing, and we know our members are doing amazing work to keep themselves and their patients safe in practices throughout the country. Now, we want to hear your stories.

September 06, 2016

Patient safety

Addressing the Challenge of CAUTI Prevention When Safety is at Stake

From the day you began your career as an oncology nurse, it is quite likely that two main principles were ingrained into every aspect of your training and practice: infection prevention for our very susceptible patient population and using safe handling to reduce the risk of exposure to chemotherapy and other hazardous agents.

August 26, 2016

Interdisciplinary teams

How Can You Achieve Safety Across Disciplines?

Interdisciplinary communication is critical for patient safety across the healthcare continuum. One way our institution addressed communication barriers and looked to enhance understanding of each other’s roles was by creating an oncology service line pharmacy and nursing committee.

July 05, 2016

Culture of safety

Safety Starts With You: Creating Your Own Culture of Safety

Patient safety is of utmost importance in health care today, especially in an oncology setting where mistakes can have grave impacts on patients with complex care needs. The Health and Medicine Division, formerly the Institute of Medicine, estimated that 44,000–98,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors.

July 05, 2016

Patient advocacy

Reflecting on Medical Errors and Advocating for Change

Mistakes happen. Unfortunately, there’s no avoiding it, no one is above it, and I'm sure we can all think of a time that we made a mistake in our nursing practice. The events following a mistake in patient care can be chaotic and emotional. But after the dust settles, what’s most important is learning how to avoid the same mistakes from occurring again, and doing all you can to prevent your fellow nurses from making mistakes in a similar situation. Think of it as primary prevention.

June 13, 2016

ASCO Annual Meeting

Incorporating Advanced Practitioners Into Team-Based Oncology Care

During a session presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting that discussed team-based oncology care, ONS member Wendy H. Vogel, MSN, FNP, AOCNP®, an oncology nurse practitioner at Wellmont Cancer Institute in Kingsport, TN, discussed how advanced practice providers can be involved in the care team process.

June 06, 2016

Patient safety

Transparency Makes a Difference When Creating a Culture of Safety

Have you ever made a mistake in nursing? Well, I have and want to share my experience, feelings, and outcome. When this happened, all that I kept thinking was, “Did I harm my patient?” Maybe that sounds familiar to you. I think we can all say that we went into nursing to help others, not harm them.

June 06, 2016

Prescription medication

Older Adults May Be Taking Dangerous Medication Combinations

More older adults are taking over-the-counter drugs and supplements with their prescription medications than ever, and as many as 15% of them may be in potentially life-threatening combinations, according to a new study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine.

May 17, 2016

Chemotherapy

Verification Nurses Identify Chemotherapy Order Errors and Improve Patient Safety

In 1995 when a patient died from a chemotherapy overdose at a major medical center, many cancer centers began reexamining their processes for safe chemotherapy administration and putting measures in place to reduce errors.

May 10, 2016

Patient safety

Respecting Hazardous Drugs Protects Nurses, Patients and Eliminates Fear

A recent article on the Scrubs website, “Chemotherapy Drugs are Killing Nurses” shared important facts and concerns regarding the handling of hazardous drugs. It also highlighted the need for comprehensive education and collaboration to establish a culture of safety around the use of these drugs by building respect, not fear, for hazardous drugs in the workplace.

April 18, 2016

Patient safety

Celebrate Patient Safety Week

March 13-19, 2016 marks Safety Awareness Week. It encourages both patients and healthcare professionals to take a role in promoting patient safety. This is an appropriate message, because it takes everyone working together to make care as safe as possible for patients, families, and the healthcare professionals who provide this care.

March 13, 2016

Hazardous oncology drugs safe handling guidelines

Policies and procedures

New Hazardous Drug Safe Handling Guidelines May Require Changes for Your Practice

Healthcare workers who prepare and administer hazardous drugs have further incentive to follow the recommended precautions with the February 1, 2016, release of the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention Chapter 800. Find out more about these recommended precautions.

March 01, 2016

Patient safety

Recognizing Smart Catches All Day, Every Day

Great catch, near miss, smart catch—they all mean the same thing: someone protected a patient from harm during care. These healthcare gems happen 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by every discipline in every healthcare setting, yet we rarely celebrate them. Why? Because health care is supposed to be safe. We're supposed to be highly reliable. We are supposed to heal and not harm. It's a must.

February 26, 2016

Patient safety

Evaluating Security in the Outpatient Setting

It has been a little over a year since cardiologist Dr. Michael J. Davidson, 44, was shot and killed at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He was murdered during the day by the son of a patient he treated who had died a few months prior to the shooting. I remember that day well. I was working in my clinic and all of us wondered, “How could this happen? And could it happen in our clinic?” I like to think that all of our patients and families are thankful and appreciative for all we do for them, but unfortunately that isn't always the case.

February 24, 2016

Nurse self-care

Using the I'M SAFE Method to Create a Culture of Safety

Clinical environments demonstrating a strong culture of safety have optimized communication and teamwork among front-line staff, physicians, and leadership. A safe work environment is one in which the physical health and well-being of all staff are considered prerequisite for safe patient care. Consider for a moment the ways your workplace supports healthy behaviors on the part of employees.

February 19, 2016

Patient safety

Fostering a Culture of Safety: Is Less Really More From the Patient Perspective?

There is currently a huge focus on patient safety. It's not just in the news and literature. It pervades the clinical environment. I'm currently spending my days between two major teaching hospitals and an outpatient cancer institute, all in Boston, MA. Some of the safety concerns I have encountered just in the past week include

February 18, 2016

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

What You Wear Matters When It Comes to Safety

“Hey, you didn’t dress up for me today. Where’s your pretty blue dress?”

At first I wasn’t sure what the patient in the chemotherapy chair was talking about. After a moment, I realized the patient was referring to the blue safety gowns we wear. I heard the infusion nurse respond as she removed the chemotherapy from the hazard bag, “Oh yeah, I’m kind of in a hurry today.”

While the patient could possibly benefit from the chemotherapy, for the nurse that same drug posed a serious hazard.

February 14, 2016

Patient safety