Happy New Year! With a new year comes new changes: earlier this month, ONS published the inaugural print issue of the ONS Voice, which is replacing your monthly ONS Connect. But we haven’t just given the news magazine a facelift: the ONS Voice is so much more than just “the new ONS Connect.”

Healthcare professionals and oncology experts from around the United States gathered at the White House on January 11, 2017, for a conference addressing the challenges of cancer care. The meeting, Making Health Care Better: Community Oncology, invited experts to discuss the progress made in research, prevention, coverage, and quality of care.

Although it’s hard to find the time to do so during a busy shift, there are times when you need to consult the best practice standards to support your work for a particular process. Whether you’re considering the best procedure for a central line dressing change or accessing an implanted port, or you’re considering the verification process and the best way to administer an IV chemotherapy agent, you need to know that your policies—and the competencies which you've engrained into your memory—are evidence-based and supported by your institution and professional organizations. Quality outcomes and measurements have never been more central to health care than they are now, and ONS-developed standards go a long way to supporting your practice.

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly the Institute of Medicine, has elected ONS member Deborah W. Bruner, RN, PhD, FAAN, to its 2016 class of leading health scientists and international members. Bruner, professor in the department of radiation oncology at Emory University and associate director of faculty membership, training, and education at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, has long been recognized for her work in clinical trials and her research of sexuality after cancer therapy.

Oncology nurse scientists are driving new advancements in patient-centered cancer care through their research. But getting your research off the ground can be difficult. Seeking the advice and expertise of experienced nurse scientists can be a key component in successfully moving your research to the next level.

May was an incredibly busy and fruitful time for the ONS Board of Directors. It’s one of the few months in which the Board meets twice to discuss strategic initiatives.

In an update released on July 8, 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended against using oral liquid docusate for patients because it was linked an outbreak of infections caused by Burkholderia cepacia complex. As of July 18, 2016, 49 confirmed cases have been confirmed in five different states.

Do you know a fellow ONS member who deserves recognition for his or her outstanding work and dedication? Perhaps you know a nurse who continuously goes above and beyond, or an employer who takes care of its employees.ONS recognizes oncology nurses, researchers, and employees each year who go above and beyond the call of duty. These awards celebrate individuals and teams in a variety of specialties. Learn more about each award and how it may apply to you, your institution, or someone you know.

In an amazing four days in Texas during the ONS 41st Annual Congress, I had the opportunity to learn from experts in oncology care. Four session tracks (Clinical Practice, Leadership/Management/Education, Advanced Practice, and Research) allowed attendees to tailor learning and skill building to their specific needs. We heard from many of you about how much you appreciated the advanced learning level of presentations during interactive sessions that allowed you get the information you needed.

Your ONS Board has been evaluating the recommendations from the organizational assessment performed last year. From those recommendations, new bylaws were proposed for the structure of the Board and for transitioning the Nominating Committee to a Leadership Development Committee.

Check back soon for more information.

Check back soon for more information.

In 1928, President Calvin Coolidge arrived in Cuba on the deck of a battleship. In 2016, President Obama landed in the capital city of Havana. In the 88 years between their presidencies, no sitting U.S. president set foot on Cuban soil. With recent political discussions and leadership changes, relations have warmed between the United States and Cuba, reestablishing the exchange of business, commerce, communication, and tourism.

Through its international work, ONS has become known for providing quality care information and content to oncology nurses around the globe. One recent example is the Asia-Pacific Breast Cancer Summit, held in Singapore from February 26–28, 2016, where ONS was invited to create a session specific to oncology nursing for February 27. ONS members Nancy Houlihan, RN, MA, AOCN®, and Jean Rosiak, DNP, RN, AOCNP®, CBCN®, traveled to Singapore to present on a number of topics affecting oncology nursing in the treatment of patients with breast cancer. While there, they noted the similarities and differences between treatment and healthcare practices in the region.

Health care, specifically oncology, doesn’t adhere to country borders or cultural differences. Cancer, in its many forms, affects millions the world over, and groups like the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC) and ONS are working diligently to spread quality cancer care interventions to the region.

Increasing healthcare expenses have become a major concern for patients with cancer, especially considering the cost of oncology medications and treatment plans. On Friday, February 26, ONS President-Elect Susan Schneider, PhD, RN, AOCN®, FAAN, participated in a discussion titled “Exploring Innovative Strategies to Mitigate Cost-Sharing Burdens for Patients” at the event Cost-Sharing Roundtable: Improving Patient Access to Critical Therapies hosted by the Patient Access Network (PAN) and the American Journal of Managed Care in Washington, DC.

For many, oncology isn’t just a profession. It’s a devotion and a passion. It becomes an encompassing enterprise through which one strives to make the lives of patients and nurses better. That’s ONS member Marylin J. Dodd, PhD, RN, FAAN. She’s been named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) for her groundbreaking work in self-care, along with her studies in symptom management.

In the late 1970s, President Nixon declared a war on cancer that exponentially grew research and changed prevention, screening, and treatment, leading to improved cancer survival. Yet, we have a long way to go.

Vice President Joe Biden is currently touring the country to meet with healthcare experts and research scientists to understand the challenges facing the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative announced by President Obama during his State of the Union Address. ONS Chief Executive Officer Brenda Nevidjon, RN, MSN, FAAN, sat on the panel to address the important role of oncology nurses in the vice president’s Moonshot Initiative.

When young people are diagnosed with cancer, regardless of the type, it feels particularly heartbreaking. When they’re forced to face such a deadly disease, they deserve treatment that gives them the best chance at survival. Unfortunately, not all parts of the world are equal. On average, survival rates in low- and middle-income countries can be as low as 5%, compared to 80% in high-income countries.

2016 is a year of big change for ONS. One of those big changes is refocusing our special interest groups (SIGs) to better meet the needs of our members.

To better position ONS as an organization in the future, the ONS Board of Directors recently consulted with the Whole Mind Strategy Group, an agency that examines organizations and reports on any potential improvements back to the organization with regards to structure, efficiency, and governance. After careful review, the ONS Board of Directors translated the findings into four proposed changes to ONS’s bylaws.

Longtime ONS member Scarlott Mueller, RN, MPH, has been appointed as the new chair of the American Cancer Society (ACS) Board of Directors for 2016. In the past, she served as president-elect for the ONS Foundation and is a current and active ONS member.

In the past, the only option nurses had to obtain their ONS Provider Card for chemotherapy administration was by taking the ONS/ONCC Chemotherapy Biotherapy Certificate Course exclusively. With the addition of the Chemotherapy Biotherapy: Fundamentals of Administration course, that's about to change.

Welcome to 2016! I don’t know about you, but 2015 just flew by. I can always hope 2016 moves at a more measured pace, but in our ever-evolving, high-tech society, it will probably move along even faster.

I love quotes. I love collecting them from books, movies, speeches, etc. and writing them down to reflect on. The 39th Annual ONS Congress in Anaheim was a gold mine of great quotes and information.

You have probably heard that there are changes to the ONS/ONCC Chemotherapy Biotherapy Certificate Course as of this winter. It can be hard to keep up your nursing licenses and certifications, let alone any changes to the processes, so hopefully this post can help simplify the changes.

The ONS Connect editor ensures that the journal’s content supports the news magazine’s mission and is appropriate and appealing to members at all practice levels. He or she selects and works with contributing editors, leads editorial board meetings, and conducts publication programs and activities.

In student nursing forums, I’ve read questions like, “I just graduated and am looking for a job in oncology. Any suggestions?” On the hospital and cancer center job boards, the requirements for nursing positions in oncology are often lengthy and technical. Almost all of them start with “Minimum experience required: one to three years of hospital experience.

You asked, and we lis­tened. Although it’s cru­cial to your day-to-day work as an oncol­ogy nurse, you’ve told us that the vast amount of con­tent cov­ered in the ONS Chemother­apy and Bio­ther­apy course is dif­fi­cult to absorb over the two-day, 16-hour in-person time­frame. To bet­ter meet your needs, ONS is replac­ing the two-day, face-to-face chemother­apy course with an inter­ac­tive, com­pre­hen­sive, online course that will offer a cer­tifi­cate indi­cat­ing the learner pos­sesses spe­cific spe­cialty knowl­edge (from ONCC) and a con­tin­u­ing nurs­ing edu­ca­tion cer­tifi­cate and provider card (from ONS).

During a recent ONS Board of Directors meeting, we learned that ONS’s virtual communities (VCs) have been updated with new links that yield better information, faster. For a closer view, go to the ONS website’s membership tab and check the lower right-hand corner. You’ll find links to the SIGs, Leadership, and Chapters VCs.