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Learn How to Conduct Mock Code Simulations

Clinical practice

Learn How to Conduct Mock Code Simulations

August 18, 2023

Nurse-Led QI Project Standardizes Transplant and Cellular Therapy Nurse Coordinator Visit Scheduling

Quality of care

Nurse Practitioner's QI Project Standardizes Transplant and Cellular Therapy Nurse Coordinator Visit Scheduling

August 03, 2023

Nurse-Created Apps Help Pediatric Patients Find Their Voice and Navigate Their Cancer Journey

Patient Support

Nurse-Created Apps Help Pediatric Patients Find Their Voice and Navigate Their Cancer Journey

Certification Was a Critical Step Along My Oncology Nursing Career Journey

Oncology nursing community

Certification Was a Critical Step Along My Oncology Nursing Career Journey

Learn How to Read a Germline Genomic Testing Report

Genetics & genomics

Learn How to Read a Germline Genomic Testing Report

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Advanced Practice Nursing (APRN)

Advanced Practice Highlights From the 2023 Tandem Meetings

In February 2023, the Tandem Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Meetings of ASTCT and CIBMTR brought the latest cutting-edge science and technologies in hematopoietic cell transplantation and cellular therapy to nurses around the globe. Here are some of the highlights I experienced as an advanced practice provider (APP) in blood and marrow stem cell transplantation.

When the Provider Becomes the Patient: What I Learned From COVID-19

My world changed on December 22, 2021. It is a day I will never forget: the day I tested positive for COVID-19. For nearly two years, all while caring for patients with the virus, I avoided contracting it. I prided myself on mask-wearing, handwashing, and social distancing, but what we know all too well is that COVID-19 does not discriminate.

Clinical practice

The Case of the Post-Transplant Pulmonary Problem

Benjamin, your 28-year-old patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, received a 10/10 matched, unrelated donor for his allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Two months post-transplant, Benjamin developed grade 4 skin and gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease.

January 14, 2022

Oncologic emergencies

The Case of the Swift Sepsis Response

Simon is a 72-year-old patient diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. He underwent an HLA-identical sibling peripheral blood stem cell transplantation with fludarabine and melphalan as conditioning chemotherapies before the procedure. Simon is now more than 12 days posttransplant but still neutropenic with an absolute neutrophil count of 0. He has no signs of engraftment, is on total parenteral nutrition, and requires multiple blood transfusions and electrolytes through his central line catheter daily.

September 03, 2021

Treatment side effects

The Case of the GVHD Double-Take

Jeff is a 60-year-old patient with myeloproliferative disease. After his care team secured a 9/10 match, he received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with a conditioning regimen of fludarabine and melphalan. Neutrophil engraftment occurred at day 20, and he was discharged to home shortly after engraftment. One month later, he presented to the clinic with abdominal pain and a new diffuse erythematous rash, which his care team initially treated with corticosteroids. However, his abdominal pain persisted, and Jeff was admitted to the hospital a few days later for further workup for suspected acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). A computed tomography scan of his abdomen demonstrated worsening enterocolitis because of Yersinia enterocolitica. What would you do?

August 24, 2021

The COVID-19 Pandemic Fast-Tracked Our Growth as Nurses

For the past 15 months, healthcare providers across the country risked their lives to care for those who needed us most. After spending more than a year at the forefront of a global health crisis, many of us, naturally, harbor feelings of stress and anxiety. Now that the world is returning to something resembling normal, we can pause, reflect, and observe how much we’ve all grown throughout this experience.

Clinical practice

The Case of the Cord Blood Match

Zhang is a 67-year-old man who had no history of medical concerns until he was hospitalized for pneumonia. A complete blood count taken during his workup for pneumonia showed pancytopenia, and a biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia. After multiple rounds of induction therapy, Zhang's bone marrow biopsy showed minimal residual disease and he entered remission. His oncologist recommends an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant as soon as possible because of the disease's aggressive nature, but he has no match in the registry.

nursing professional development

Zoom Through Video Job Interviews With These Tips for Applicants and Hiring Managers

Interviewing for a job is often described as a highly stressful life event. When they’re virtual, job interviews have become even more stressful and challenging. How can you conduct a successful job interview virtually? How can both sides get to know each other without meeting in person? How do virtual job interviews differ from in-person ones?

January 22, 2021

The Case of the Terrible Taste

Tanya is a 46-year-old woman with leukemia. She recently finished induction therapy, and her oncologist told her she is ready to receive a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. You speak with Tanya about what to expect in the upcoming weeks before her transplant, but she interrupts you: “Nothing tastes good anymore. I am so scared because I thought I completed chemotherapy. The doctor just told me I have to get more before my transplant. Every time I get chemotherapy, I lose my appetite.”

November 06, 2020

Treatment side effects

Manage Malnutrition’s Monstrous Consequences in Patients With Cancer

Nutritional status is one aspect of cancer care that may often be overlooked. Patients, particularly those with esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, and non-small cell lung cancers, have increased nutritional requirements because of their high resting energy expenditure. Treatment side effects further hinder a patient’s desire and ability to eat, creating a wider gap between energy intake and energy needs and placing patients with cancer at high risk for malnutrition.

October 16, 2020

Ethics in nursing

Bedside Nurses Bring Value to Ethical Consults

Oncology nursing is a complex world that continues to evolve rapidly. However, one challenge that remains consistent is the ethical dilemmas nurses face when caring for patients with cancer. Complex care needs and lengthy hospital stays are common in our patient population and allow opportunity for nurses to develop relationships with patients and their families. Over the course of treatment, various ethical issues may arise, which nurses are at the forefront of identifying and acting on.

August 14, 2020

Patients Struggle to Access BMT During COVID-19

Cancer does not stop progressing because of a pandemic. Although the COVID-19 coronavirus does not recognize that someone with leukemia has been fighting for months, even years, for remission to receive a lifesaving blood and marrow transplantation (BMT), a new program is ensuring that marrow products are available when patients need them.

Stay Positive During COVID-19 by Remembering Our Purpose

One of the first people we learn about in nursing school is Florence Nightingale. During the Crimean War, she noticed soldiers were dying because of disease, not from the effects of war. Because of Nightingale’s observations and interventions, handwashing and infection control became standard practices in nursing. From her findings, Nightingale developed her environmental theory, in which she said nursing is a calling, art, and science that requires a specific education base. We’re recognizing this throughout 2020 as we celebrate the Year of the Nurse, and it’s especially important to remember during today’s pandemic.

Oncology nursing roles

Complexity Is the Cornerstone of BMT Nursing

You’re juggling three patients: one is nauseated and requesting lorazepam now, another’s blood transfusion is finished and the pump’s alarm is loudly chirping down the hall, the third has an order list coming in like rapid fire—and it’s only 8 am. In a blood and marrow transplant (BMT) unit, this sounds like a relatively calm morning.

October 07, 2019

To discuss the information in this article with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.

To report a content error, inaccuracy, or typo, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.

Addi Georgantzis MSN, RN, AGPCNP-BC, OCN®, BMTCN®

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