More needs to be known about how communication challenges and documentation affect ambulatory oncology care. In a presentation on Saturday, June 2, at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, researchers revealed study findings about how patient safety is directly affected by electronic health record (EHR) capability and satisfaction, clinician communication, and clinicians’ actions.

Despite the prevalence of multidisciplinary (MD) care for cancer, rigorous studies comparing it to serial care (SC) are lacking. To address the literature gap, researchers explored the use of MD versus SC for lung cancer and presented the findings at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

Which Breast Cancers Benefit from Treatment With Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4/6 Inhibitor Treatment?

A. Newly diagnosed DCIS  

B. Metastatic, triple negative  

C. Premenopausal, neoadjavant  

D. ER+ metastatic

The evidence-based practice (EBP) process starts with a clinical question and then proceeds to searching and critically appraising the evidence. Once you have determined that a practice change is necessary, the next step is to integrate that evidence with clinical expertise and patient preferences and values. The last step in EBP is to evaluate the outcomes and disseminate the results. On paper, this flows in an orderly fashion. As clinicians, however, we know that it’s not often that easy or straightforward to change clinical practice.

The oncology nursing profession is a difficult career, fraught with long hours and stressful situations. With those factors, anxiety and depression could become more prevalent. In study findings published in conjunction with the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, researchers reported the rates of depression and anxiety among nurses working in oncology units and how certain situations related to these rates.

Goal setting and shared decision making are important components of aftercare for cancer survivors. In the results of a study published in conjunction with the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, researchers shared their experience developing and pretesting a systematic conversation approach for nurses to tailor the aftercare needs and goals of cancer survivors.

Patient safety is an important focus for hospitals: protecting patients improves outcomes and quality of care, meets standards, and ensures payments and reimbursement. But what factors contribute to a culture of safety? Researchers assessed and analyzed the components of patient safety culture and published their study findings in conjunction with the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

Cancer is the most common diagnosis in adults older than 65 in the United States. As the older adult population increases and drives up malignancy diagnoses, nurse practitioners’ (NPs) and physician assistants’ (PAs) contributions to their care need to be better identified. In the results of a study published in conjunction with the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, researchers reported on their exploration of the role of NPs and PAs in the oncology workforce.

What makes a great oncology nurse? Is it opportunity and experience? Is it passion? I’ve worked with managers who’ve held wildly different opinions on these hiring characteristics, but I would argue they’re all critically important.

Immunotherapy drugs fall into varying classes, each carrying its own mechanism of action and anticipated side effects. Although some side effects of immunotherapy may appear similar to those of chemotherapy (e.g., diarrhea, fatigue), they actually result from a totally different mechanism—meaning they require a different approach to management. Treating immunotherapy side effects as you would chemotherapy effects would likely result in patient harm.