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The Case of the CIA-Combatting Combination

Clinical practice

The Case of the CIA-Combatting Combination

Career Changes Are Challenging, but Hold On to Hope

nursing professional development

Career Changes Are Challenging, but Hold On to Hope

Mentors Changed My Career at Every Stage, From New Grad to Leader

nursing professional development

Mentors Changed My Career at Every Stage, From New Grad to Leader

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

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

When Everything Still Isn't Enough

Advance care planning

When Everything Still Isn't Enough

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Clinical practice

Food for Thought: Prevent and Screen for Malnutrition in Patients With Cancer

Malnutrition affects 30%–85% of all patients with cancer, making it one of the most common symptoms for oncology nurses to manage. To help patients achieve the best outcomes, clinicians must understand how and when to screen for malnutrition and how nutritional status affects treatment outcomes and patients’ quality of life.

Oncology nurse influence

Big Tobacco Continues to Target Female Smokers, but Oncology Nurses Can Help

More than 16 million people who identify as women and girls in the United States reported smoking in 2021, according to a May 2021 report from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, of which ONS is an active member, who partnered with several leading women’s organizations on the study. Female smokers are also significantly more likely than men to use menthol cigarettes, and e-cigarette use among high school girls rose by 89% from 2017–2020.

Clinical practice

Maximize Your Words’ Healing Power

Effectively treating a cancer diagnosis requires an immense amount of collaboration. Clinicians are equipped with the clinical knowledge to provide the best care possible, and sharing that crucial information with each other and patients is essential for optimal patient outcomes.

nursing professional development

Nursing Leadership Has Space for You and Your Goals

When you picture a nurse leader, what do you see? The thought of being a leader or taking on a formal leadership role can seem intimidating for so many nurses. But age, citizenship status, ethnicity, or gender are strengths, not obstacles. Every nurse enters the profession with the foundation to be a successful leader.

Clinical practice guidelines

New Guidelines in Cancer Care

Guidelines give oncology nurses an evidence-based, standardized approach to cancer care. But guidelines are most effective used when they’re used as a regular part of practice—a process referred to as implementation.
With several oncology societies releasing new guidelines in 2020 and 2021, including ONS and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the implementation process requires nurse managers and leaders to facilitate staff education, maintain a high quality of care, and answer the all-important question: “Why are we doing this?”

Patient Education

Patient Education Reduces Barriers and Increases Adherence Rates

Patient education is an essential aspect of cancer prevention. Nearly 1.9 million people in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer in 2021, and modifiable risk factors are responsible for approximately 35% of cancer-related deaths. However, less than half of Americans understand the major risk factors that contribute to the development of cancer.

Patient empowerment

Being Apart Doesn’t Mean Fighting Cancer Alone

Patients with cancer navigate many isolating experiences: treatment side effects such as alopecia, long stays in the hospital, loss of life’s normalcy, and limited time with friends and family.

February 02, 2021

nursing professional development

How Enhancing Your Career Benefits Both Your Patients and Yourself

Caring for patients with cancer is a complex subspecialty of nursing. In most of their day-to-day work, oncology nurses function independently and require time management, communication, and prioritization skills in addition to extensive clinical knowledge and expertise.

January 05, 2021

Nurse self-care

How to Establish a More Compassionate Workplace

A career of more than 40 years provides experiences and insight that can help nurses prioritize self-care, be more resilient, and stay positive during stressful times. During an on-demand session for the inaugural ONS Bridge^TM virtual conference in October 2020, Susan Childress, MN, RN, former director of nursing at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) in Salt Lake City, UT, and recipient of the 2020 Mara Mogensen Flaherty Memorial Lectureship, offered advice for oncology nurses in maintaining compassionate care and resiliency in practice.

December 21, 2020

Genetics & genomics

Harnessing the Power of Genes

Since the mapping of the human genome in 2003, genetic testing has rapidly evolved from single-gene tests to more complex profiles that measure multiple genes; it’s now part of standard care for many cancer types. Precision oncology allows clinicians to take patient-specific genomic factors into consideration when making treatment decisions, which can lead to improved outcomes, lower overall cost, and fewer side effects.

December 01, 2020

Clinical practice

Technology in Cancer Care

Technology is synonymous with modern-day health care, and the experiences of 2020 have shown that telehealth allows clinicians to provide care along every inch of the cancer continuum. Although we’ve seen it used most recently to provide continuity of care from the safety of patients’ homes, one of telehealth's bigger purposes is overcoming geographic and practical disparities to enable more patients to access quality cancer care.

November 03, 2020

Radiation therapy

New Treatments in Radiation Oncology

Included in the treatment plan for approximately 50% of all patients with cancer, radiotherapy (RT) is a significant component of cancer care. RT is a technology-driven oncology modality, which means it has continually evolved since being introduced in cancer care in the early 20th century.

October 06, 2020

Nurse navigator

New Roles in Oncology Nurse Navigation

In the 30 years since its inception in 1990, oncology nurse navigation has continually evolved and grown in response to patient and healthcare needs.

September 01, 2020

Cancer research

NCI-Partnered Global Research Initiative Confronts Tough Barriers to Cancer Progress

Since its inception in 2015, Cancer Research UK’s (CRUK) Cancer Grand Challenges initiative has led an international research effort to address the toughest barriers to progress in oncology, investing more than $130 million into seven international, multidisciplinary teams—total of 73 researcher groups in nine countries.

August 31, 2020

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Pandemic Advocacy; PPE Shortage List; Nurse Uncovers Data Error

Nurses are experts in advocating for their patients’ care. Taking those skills to Washington, DC, and speaking out for changes in federal health policy can have just as much impact. Even in an era of social distancing and travel restrictions, oncology nurses can bring their message to the local, state, and federal leaders to bring about change.

August 24, 2020

Oncology nurse influence

House of Representatives; Nurse Scientists; Women in Congress

Cori Bush, a nurse and Black Lives Matter activist, beat U.S. Representative William Lacy Clay (D-MO), a sitting 20-year incumbent, to win the Democratic nomination in St. Louis, MO. Bush will be the newest nurse to U.S. Congress, should she win her seat in November, which is highly likely. She’d join the ranks of U.S. Representatives Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) to bring a critical nursing perspective directly to the United States’ legislative branch.

August 10, 2020

Cancer health disparities

Not All Barriers to Care Are Created Equal

Every patient deserves equal access to health care. Yet 68% of patients have at least one social determinant of health that serves as a barrier to care.

August 04, 2020

Healthcare Worker Shortage; Trump Clashes With Big Pharma; Surprise Billing

Houston, TX, Miami, FL, and Baton Rouge, LA, are three of the many cities battling repercussions from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Most daunting is the perpetuated shortage of healthcare workers as the pandemic continues to ravage the United States.

August 03, 2020

Oncology nurse influence

Nurse-Turned-Policymaker; Prescription Drug Reform; Safer Working Conditions

As one of the youngest members of the 2018 freshman congressional class, U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL) has already made quite a name for herself. Eschewing, for the most part in this heightened environment, partisanship and instead concentrating on health and economic issues, the representative champions access and affordability for all Americans.

Insufficient PPE; COVID-19 and Cancer Mortality Rates; Nurses of Color

Nurses have been advocating for increased personal protective equipment (PPE) long before the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Last year two clinicians published a book that reported on their five years of research into trauma in nurses. Their findings showed that lack of PPE, along with a multitude of other factors, led to a variety of traumas in nurses, all of which has been ignored for decades.

Patient empowerment

Managing Cancer-Related PTSD Starts With Acknowledgement

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with survivors of military combat or natural disaster, such as refugees or veterans. However, patients with a current or past cancer diagnosis, and their loved ones, are at risk for developing cancer-related PTSD (CR-PTSD).

Secondary Cancers in Pediatric Survivors

A child’s cancer diagnosis can tear apart a family’s sense of security. After successfully navigating the cancer experience and all that comes with it, no one wants to face that again, and patients and families may fear an increased risk for secondary cancers. Oncology nurses can support pediatric cancer survivors and their families with resources for monitoring and reassurance about the possibility of facing secondary cancer.

Nurse empowerment

Nurses in Media; COVID-19 Scope of Practice

The media fails to represent nurses as leaders in health care. Only 2% of health articles included nurses as sources, Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN, and colleagues reported in a 2017 study. In a June 26, 2020, opinion piece published in USA Today, Mason called on universities and medical institutes to offer more nurses as sources for journalists, rather than just physicians.

Oncology nurse influence

Racism and COVID-19; Nurses in Politics; Combat Social Determinants

A multitude of factors influenced by institutional inequality, such as underlying health conditions and employment opportunities, are to blame for the COVID-19 coronavirus’s disproportional effects on African Americans, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said. His remarks were part of a June 23, 2020, testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Cancer healthcare advocacy

Nurses Obliged to End Racism; Tobacco Industry's Manipulative Marketing

Along with many other healthcare organizations, including ONS, last week the American Nurses Association (ANA) took a bold stand against racism, calling it a public health crisis. On June 12, 2020, ANA President Earnest Grant shared how racism is embedded in health care and what nurses should do to end it.

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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.

Samantha Karam ONS Staff Writer

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