PITTSBURGH, PA—May 7, 2021—To address complex trauma resulting from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, ONS collaborated with four leading organizations to develop and offer free innovative and educational resources about grief for frontline providers. Joining ONS in the endeavor are the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF), Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN), and Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). The project, Dealing With GRIEF: A Series of 5 Short, Powerful Videos, was made possible by a grant from the American Nurses Foundation. 

Caring for the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of patients and their families is a demanding vocation in typical times, and the initiative provides timely and practical information during an unprecedented time when frontline providers at all levels have exhibited secondary traumatic stress, bereavement, compassion fatigue, and burnout.

The five video vignettes and their corresponding resources were released in June 2021. The vignettes focus on:

  • The four things that matter most
  • Cumulative grief
  • Processing grief with so much happening in the day
  • Supporting the grief process when significant others are not at the bedside
  • Processing grief as a team

“ONS is proud to work with HPNF, HPNA, SWHPN, and APC to deliver resources for dealing with grief and appreciates the support from the American Nurses Foundation. This grant enabled this important resource to be created for and distributed to healthcare providers, helping not only patients but their families as well,” Brenda Nevidjon, MSN, RN, FAAN, ONS chief executive officer, said. “These brief and powerful videos will be relevant to all professions in the care team and can be used individually and within groups.”   

ONS is a professional association that represents 100,000 nurses and is the professional home to more than 35,000 members. ONS is committed to promoting excellence in oncology nursing and the transformation of cancer care. Since 1975, ONS has provided a professional community for oncology nurses, developed evidence-based education programs and treatment information, and advocated for patient care, all in an effort to improve quality of life and outcomes for patients with cancer and their families. Learn more at www.ons.org.