U.S. and European oncology nurses might feel out of their element in a Russian model of nursing practice, which is considerably different than what they’re used to in their own countries. For example, Russian nurses mix all chemotherapy infusions for patients and have no access to pharmacists. Russian blood and marrow transplant (BMT) units have a much higher ratio of physicians to nurses than what’s traditionally seen in other parts of the west. But, like nurses around the world, Russian nursing professionals are keenly interested in improving their oncology practice—although they typically receive education in an academic rather than technical setting.
