Here are some of the highlights from the ONS Board of Directors’ monthly meeting on July 20, 2021. For a more complete list of the Board’s discussions and decisions, view the minutes online.

ONS collaborated with the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association, Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association, and Association of Community Cancer Centers to launch the IV Cancer Treatment Education (IVE) online resource. After the success of the highly used Oral Chemotherapy Education (OCE) online resource, the four oncology healthcare organizations expanded their collaboration to launch this new initiative that provides patient and caregiver resources about IV cancer therapies and their side effects.

One of the many lessons we’ve learned since early 2020 is to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. When COVID-19 vaccination rates climbed and infection rates declined in spring 2021, we all confidently looked to September for a return to prepandemic activities. However, the Delta variant’s rapid transmission in July and resulting surge in infection rates paused our plans as the United States reevaluated the safety of a full return without restrictions.

Longtime ONS member Betty Ferrell, PhD, RN, CHPN, FAAN, FPCN, director and professor of nursing research and education at City of Hope, a cancer research and treatment center in Duarte, CA, will be recognized by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) as a living legend at the Academy’s Living Legends Ceremony held during the Academy’s annual health policy conference on October 8, 2021. She is one of four nurse leaders being honored as a living legend this year.

Nine Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) members were included among the highly distinguished nurse leaders inducted into the American Academy of Nursing’s (AAN’s) 2021 Class of Fellows. In total, 225 inductees will be recognized at the Academy’s annual conference, taking place on October 7–9, 2021, virtually and in-person in Washington, DC.

This September, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) will host the second annual ONS Bridge™, the premier virtual conference that connects oncology nurses to resources and education covering two themes: care coordination and updates in therapy.

Get to know Valerie Burger, RN, MA, MS, OCN^®, CPN, treasurer for the ONS Board of Directors from 2021–2023 and director-at-large from 2021–2024. Burger is an assistant vice president of cancer services from Bellmore, NY.

Nurses and other healthcare providers at the point of care use evidence-based practice techniques to ask and answer clinically relevant questions to promote quality, safety, and improved patient outcomes. Evidence-based practice is the process of shared decision-making that incorporates the best available evidence, clinical expertise, and patient preferences and values.

In May 2021, the National Academy of Medicine released its next iteration of the Future of Nursing report: 2020–2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. In it, the academy calls for nurses to lead a stronger, more diversified workforce to promote health and well-being to their colleagues, patients, and communities and to address the structural racism and systemic inequities that have fueled widespread health disparities. 

ONS released ONS On-Demand™, a new distribution platform that provides an efficient solution to deliver ONS evidence-based education to institutions and healthcare networks. The tool gives administrators the ability to assign courses to staff and offers reporting on course completion activity. The product supports nursing continuing professional development reporting requirements for accreditation programs and staff continuous professional development.

May is the month we celebrate nursing across the world. May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday, is International Nurses Day, designated as such since 1974 by the International Council of Nurses. This year’s theme is Nurses: A Voice to Lead, A Vision for Future Health Care in recognition of nursing's role on the front lines of the pandemic.

Oncology nurses make diverse contributions to cancer care from direct care of patients to building the evidence for practice, educating the next generation of oncology nurses, and advocating for quality care. The past year has amplified the dedication that oncology nurses have to their profession. Each year, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) recognizes the recipients, from the previous year, at ONS Congress. 

Get to know Teresa Knoop, MSN, RN, AOCN^®, ONS director-at-large from 2020–2023, an assistant director in the clinical trials office at Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center in Brentwood, TN.

Keeping up with what ONS is doing can be a challenge, given the communication overload we all experience. With so much information in our lives, personally and professionally, announcements can slip by without our noting them. Periodically I hear comments or feedback from members about something that has not changed or that did change—several years ago. To help you stay on top of all that’s happening, here are some details that you may have missed.

Chapters are the heart of ONS at your local level, and during its January 19, 2021, meeting, the ONS Board of Directors discussed chapter-specific feedback from the leadership survey. Chapters have relied on virtual connection recently because of the pandemic, and they are still adapting to ONS’s new chapter standards. The Board identified opportunities to connect and communicate with chapters to support them in those goals. Highlights from that discussion and other actions taken during the January meeting follow, and ONS members can view the full minutes at ons.org/board-minutes.

As we pass the one-year mark of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and reflect on all that has ensued since last March, human nature is to focus on our losses. By all accounts, 2020 has been a difficult period in our personal, professional, and civic lives. All of us grieve for our loved ones, patients, and the freedoms of life we have sacrificed.

In its year-end wrap-up meeting on December 8, 2020, the ONS Board of Directors focused on oncology nursing leadership development, both within the general nursing profession as well as within the Society itself. It also finalized the topics for the annual ONS membership survey for January 2021. Highlights from those conversations follow, and ONS members can read a full report in the meeting minutes.

In 2019, an ONS project team worked with Bridgeable, a service design consultant group, to prepare a 10-year view to guide our strategic priorities. As reported to ONS members, the project identified several possible futures of oncology nursing in 2029 and how ONS could ensure oncology nursing excellence and quality cancer care in all of those futures.

Get to know Darcy Burbage, DNP, RN, AOCN^®, CBCN^®, ONS director-at-large from 2020–2023 an oncology clinical nurse specialist from Newark, DE. 

During its quarterly two-day meeting on November 5–6, 2020, the ONS Board of Directors held a joint session with the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation and Oncology Nursing Foundation boards of directors. The ONS Board also completed budget approvals and ongoing assessment of the membership, among other work. Highlights from those actions follow, and ONS members can review the full meeting minutes at ons.org/board-minutes.

A new year is generally a time for hope, evaluating the previous year’s achievements, and setting new goals. Last year changed that somewhat when we put many of our goals on hold to immediately respond to the pandemic and the needs of our patients, each other, and ourselves. This year, we hope that things will be better.

Get to know Barbara Holmes Gobel, MS, RN, AOCN^®, FAAN, ONS Leadership Development Committee member from 2020–2023. Barb is the associate chief nurse executive, director of professional practice and development, and Magnet program director for Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL. 

To ensure that the ONS Board of Directors is functioning efficiently and to the best of its ability to serve the ONS membership, some meetings must be generative rather than decisional. The Board held one such meeting on October 20, 2020, where it focused on developing processes, structures, and measurement plans in preparation for the future. Some key highlights of that work follow.

I don’t know how many times this year I’ve thought to myself or heard someone say, “When will 2020 be over?” The pandemic, social unrest, political polarization, and natural disasters have made 2020 a year in which many of us have wondered, “What else?”

Get to know Michele E. Gaguski, MSN, RN, AOCN^®, NE-BC, APN-C, ONS Leadership Development Committee member from 2019–2022. Michele is the clinical director of medical oncology at Atlanticare Cancer Care Institute in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. 

At the ONS Board of Directors meeting on September 24–25, 2020, Board members reviewed both the organization’s year-to-date financial and investment performance as part of their stewardship responsibility. They also made plans for a data dashboard to drive decisions and discussed training options for expanding oncology nurses’ voices in the media. Highlights from those discussions follow, and the full minutes from the meeting are available at ons.org/board-minutes.

Cancer treatment often causes symptoms that result in treatment delays and unplanned care, which adversely affects patient outcomes, healthcare costs, and patient satisfaction. To decrease those possibilities, the ONS Center for Innovation launched ONS On-Call™, an oncology-specific decision support tool to guide standardized, evidence-based symptom assessment and leverage ONS’s proprietary evidence-based resources for patient-reported symptoms. Designed by nurses, the cloud-hosted tool ensures best practices in the clinic and institution by providing nurses with guided, comprehensive, and evidence-based assessments that illuminate the causative factors of patients’ symptoms and experience.

Nurses serve a critical and proven role in reducing the burden of cancer and improving the lives of patients with cancer. Yet, for millions of people across the globe, access to health care is not a given, and nurses don’t have the educational and occupational support to perform to their full abilities.

Supporting oncology nurses in administering cancer treatments and nurse scientists in conducting research during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic were priority topics for the ONS Board of Directors’ August 25, 2020, meeting by conference call. After approving its board goals for 2020–2021, the ONS Board made the following decisions that you should be aware of as an ONS member and practicing oncology nurse.

As we enter the final few months of 2020, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, I find myself thinking about the theme that we had for our 45th Annual ONS Congress^TM: Purpose, Power, Passion. WHO’s intent in designating the year was to elevate nursing globally and showcase the many roles that nurses have in health care. In the United States, Gallop surveys consistently rank nurses as the most trusted profession, but our colleagues in other countries do not have a similar means of recognition.

Resources that can be used by nurses and other oncology healthcare professionals, patients, and policymakers to improve the care of patients with cancer, were recently launched by the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) in its first set of five systematically reviewed clinical practice ONS Guidelines™ for managing cancer treatment-related side effects.

Career experts often advise individuals to develop short- and long-term goals as steps to reach their career vision. Professional development activities help support achieving those goals.

Get to know Marlon Garzo Saria, PhD, RN, FAAN, ONS Leadership Development Committee member from 2020–2023. Marlon is an oncology clinical nurse specialist at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. 

Exemplary oncology nurses stand behind all of cancer’s treatments, supporting patients through side effects, shouldering their burdens and concerns, and advocating for quality care. Each year with its series of awards, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) recognizes just a few of the outstanding oncology professionals who have dedicated their lives to patient care.

Since the COVID-19 coronavirus stay-at-home orders were issued in March 2020, the future has been difficult to imagine. National professional meetings, including ONS Congress, graduations, weddings, funerals, and other events that mark the transition from present to future were canceled. Creative, alternative ways to mark a transition to the future are highlighted on social media and the nightly news. Virtual, Zoom, and the new normal are standard verbiage in our conversations.

The Oncology Nursing Society’s (ONS’s) books, journals, and news magazine have a long history of industry recognition, receiving numerous awards for their commitment to excellence in publishing. This month, Association Media and Publishing, Association Trends, and Communication Concepts, Inc., added new distinctions to the ONS publishing portfolio.

Get to know Bertie A. Field, RN, MS, ONS Leadership Development Committee member from 2018–2021. Bertie is an oncology account manager for Jazz Pharmaceuticals in Palo Alto, CA.

Ryan Conover, the Oncology Nursing Society’s (ONS’s) director of information services, was a finalist for the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Year. He and 17 other professionals, across five industry categories, were recognized at a virtual awards gala on July 15. Conover was also a finalist in 2016.

Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) has updated its Oncology Nursing Society Seal of Approval™ program, which provides additional benefits to companies interested in promoting nurse and patient support materials. Companies that submit materials and are approved can prominently display the Oncology Nursing Society Seal of Approval logo on marketing collateral for distribution to nurses and patients.

Dear Members,

At our June 4–5, 2020, meeting, the ONS Board discussed our personal heartbreak and anger over the death of George Floyd and other black Americans by aggressive police activity driven by racism. We also discussed ONS’s role and responsibilities as a member organization.

Get to know Kristin Ferguson, DNP, RN, OCN^®, treasurer on the ONS Board of Directors from 2019–2021 and director-at-large from 2019–2022. Kristin is the clinical operations manager/nurse manager III at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, DC.

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic forced oncology nurses to navigate abnormal circumstances, both at home and at work. Despite facing similar limitations, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) created a brand-new learning experience to give oncology nurses expert education, networking opportunities, and access to industry representatives in the wake of canceled in-person events. This September, ONS will host the inaugural ONS Bridge™, the most comprehensive conference dedicated to oncology nurses.

In honor of Oncology Nursing Month, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) announced today the two awardees selected in the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Oncology. The Challenge was designed with the goal of accelerating innovation in improving oncology care, including prevention, early detection, treatment, and care for cancer survivors. 

Oncology Nursing Society member Betty Ferrell, PhD, MA, FAAN, FPCN, director of the division of nursing research and education at City of Hope in Duarte, CA, was one of 14 recipients of an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) special award in April 2020. She received the Walther Cancer Foundation Palliative and Supportive Care in Oncology Endowed Award and Lecture for her work in palliative care.

Get to know Martha (Marty) Polovich, PhD, RN, director-at-large on the ONS Board of Directors from 2019–2022. Marty is a part-time instructor in the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Get to know Heather Thompson Mackey, MSN, ANP-BC, AOCN^®, secretary on the ONS Board of Directors from 2019–2021 and director-at-large from 2018–2021. Heather is the clinical editor in oncology for Elsevier and a nurse practitioner for Novant Health Cancer Prevention and Wellness in Winston-Salem, NC.

Chemotherapy is one of the most successful forms of cancer treatment available, but it’s frequently thought of as deadly and dangerous because of its hazardous chemical properties and potential for severe side effects in patients. What’s often left out of the chemotherapy conversation is the danger it poses to healthcare workers handling the hazardous medications. In two new articles published in the Oncology Nursing Forum, Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) member AnnMarie Walton, PhD, MPH, RN, OCN®, CHES, assistant professor in the School of Nursing at Duke University in Durham, NC, helped healthcare professionals understand the risks and needs for proper safe handling for chemotherapy. 

Get to know Anne M. Ireland, MSN, RN, AOCN^®, CENP, director-at-large on the ONS Board of Directors from 2018–2021. Anne is the executive director for community nursing practice at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, CA.