Amid the busyness of the season’s festivities and various holiday celebrations, year-end is often a time for us to reflect on the past year and consider goals for the new year. As 2023 ends, I would like to celebrate ONS members and staff, the Oncology Nursing Foundation’s (ONF’s) donors and staff, and the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation’s (ONCC’s) certified nurses and staff. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the three corporations’ volunteer boards for their work on behalf of their stakeholders.

PITTSBURGH, PA—July 17, 2023—Providing resources and education on topics that support direct care nurses in their day-to-day practice, the Oncology Nursing Society will host ONS Bridge™, the premier virtual oncology nursing conference, on September 12 and 14, 2023. This year’s event also features a bonus day on September 13, 2023, where attendees can exchange ideas and network in roundtable discussions.

Pittsburgh, PA, May 30, 2023—Margaret Rosenzweig, PhD, FNP-BC, AOCNP®, FAAN, will begin her appointment as the Oncology Nursing Society’s scholar-in-residence June 1, 2023.

Pittsburgh, PA, April 27, 2023—Oncology nurses, employers, and researchers are transforming cancer care every day. Today, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) recognized 14 of those individuals with its 2023 ONS Awards during the 48th Annual ONS Congress® in San Antonio, TX.

Danya Garner, PhD, RN, NPD-BC, OCN®, CCRN-K, associate director of continuing professional education at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, will serve as the next Oncology Nursing Society president. During its November 2022 meeting, the ONS Board of Directors appointed Garner to succeed Jeannine Brant, PhD, APRN-CNS, AOCN®, FAAN, who concludes her three-year board tenure at ONS’s 48th Annual Congress® in San Antonio, TX.

Bringing together more than 3,000 oncology nurses and other cancer care providers, the Oncology Nursing Society hosts its 48th Annual ONS Congress in San Antonio, TX, from April 26–30, 2023. As the largest, most comprehensive oncology nursing conference in the United States, the annual event offers educational sessions, networking opportunities, and groundbreaking nursing research reports.

PITTSBURGH, PA—August 25, 2022—Seven emerging Oncology Nursing Society member leaders under age 40, representing diverse oncology nursing backgrounds around the world, joined the ONS Leadership Development Committee’s 2022 Young Leaders pilot program.

Three Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) members were honored among the highly distinguished nurse leaders inducted into the American Academy of Nursing’s (AAN’s) 2022 Class of Fellows. In total, 250 inductees—the largest cohort to date—will be recognized at the Academy’s annual conference, taking place on October 27–29, 2022, in Washington, DC.

ONS Bridge™, the Oncology Nursing Society’s (ONS’s) premier annual conference tailored to nurses in direct patient care, returns to your screens in September with topics such as care coordination and the latest information on cancer therapies.

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson, reversing the decision from the 1973 case, Roe v. Wade. Many nursing, medical, and health organizations issued statements in reaction, and opinions among ONS stakeholders and constituents will differ on the decision. As it leads an organization that represents oncology nurses and advocates for patient-centered care, the ONS Board of Directors reviews social and political issues through the lens of the Society’s mission. With that perspective, the ONS Board believes that two statements from other organizations are important for members to know.

PITTSBURGH, PA—June 24, 2022—Curated by nurses, for nurses, ONS’s new Biomarker Database connects clinicians to information about therapeutic options for certain cancers and their associated biomarkers. 

ONS honored a long-time member, Margaret Hansen Frogge, MS, RN, for a career of contributions to cancer care with its 2022 ONS Lifetime Achievement Award during the 47th Annual ONS Congress® in Anaheim, CA. The award commemorates Frogge’s passion for the profession through decades of oncology nursing practice and leadership. 

In a fitting tribute to a life that touched so many others, ONS honored member Catherine Lyons, RN, MS, NEA-BC, FNAP, posthumously with a 2022 ONS Lifetime Achievement Award during its 47th Annual ONS Congress® in Anaheim, CA. Before her retirement and death in November 2021, Lyons was an executive consultant for oncology services. 

Erica Fischer-Cartlidge, DNP, CNS, AOCNS®, EBP-C, will begin the role of the Oncology Nursing Society’s (ONS’s) chief clinical officer (CCO) on July 18, 2022. Fischer-Cartlidge is the former interim director of nursing evidence-based practice at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY.

Every year, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) recognizes oncology nurses, employers, and researchers through its awards program. Today, the Society announced the recipients of the 2022 ONS Awards at the 47th Annual ONS Congress in Anaheim, CA.

Today, six oncology-focused professional and patient organizations, including the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), published standards for use in oncology navigation care. With input from many major navigation-focused disciplines, the standards guide best practices for care providers across cancer settings.

The Oncology Nursing Society’s (ONS’s) new Learning Extension Activities Plan (LEAP), an opportunity for student nurse learners to further develop their knowledge of some of the topics covered in ONS’s Cancer Basics course, was created to help faculty members teach oncology to nursing students.

The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) is calling all oncology nurses to become fluent in the ONS Genomics Taxonomy terms and to use them in their practice. Using consistent and correct genomics terminology minimizes confusion and misconceptions and contributes to the high quality and safe delivery of cancer care.

PITTSBURGH, PA—October 12, 2021—Research shows that physical activity during cancer treatment mitigates some of the negative physical and psychosocial outcomes associated with diagnosis and treatment. Released in the October 2021 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, results of a pilot study by Judi K. Forner, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, RN-BC, Andrea Doughty, PhD, Matthew David Dalstrom, PhD, MPH, Brandie L. Messer, DNP, RN, PCOE, and Shannon K. Lizer, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP, demonstrated the positive impact of the Oncology Nursing Society’s (ONS’s) Get Up, Get Moving program.

During its August 24, 2021, monthly meeting, the ONS Board of Directors focused on reports from two of its subcommittees that support certain aspects of the Board’s work: one that develops and communicates ONS’s position on important topics, and the other that helps the Board grow as a group and individual leaders.

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.