Nursing

SAN DIEGO—Oncology nurses can implement simple measures to ensure the safe disposal of cytotoxic therapies, according to Baltimore researchers.

The measures are aimed at reducing the hazards posed by chemotherapy disposal to neighboring communities and the environment.

According to standard policy at most cancer centers, chemo therapy waste is collected in designated yellow plastic containers, which are disposed of as regulated medical waste and incinerated,

A healthy work environment is one in which people are valued and priority is given to the multiple aspects of the workplace that affect employees’ ability to function well in order to accomplish the goals of the organization.¹ Since its early days, nursing has been a profession of service in a high-stress, ever-changing healthcare environment, often without appropriate thanks, reward, recognition, or appreciation. The psychological implication Read More ›

Advance practice nurses play a critical role in the assessment and management of patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia. Read More ›

Dessie Brown, LPN, works with a lot of cancer patients and loves doing it because she is able to help them in a unique way. Brown has been diagnosed with breast cancer twice, first in 1992 and then again in August 2009. This Feb ruary she finished her last round of chemotherapy.

Despite their demanding jobs, Patricia Irouer Hughes, RN, MSN, BSN, OCN, and her colleagues on the oncology unit of Piedmont Healthcare in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area find time to volunteer in their community. "We are a special breed even though we cannot all be Florence Nightingale or Clara Barton," she says. Service learning or volunteerism was one of the requirements for acquiring her MSN degree from Regis University in Colorado, in keeping with the school motto "Men and Women in Service of Others."

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has identified six opioid products that will require Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS). Advanced practice nurses (APNs) who want to continue prescribing opioids will need to follow several new practices, according to an educational presentation by Marilyn Haas, PhD, RN, CNS, ANP-BC, nurse practitioner for palliative and supportive care at Care Partners in Asheville, North Carolina.

Healthcare is in a state of crisis across the nation. This, coupled with the impending nursing shortage and regulatory pressures, creates tension as well as an overall awareness for the need for change. Oncology patients admitted to Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (CCRMC) for chemotherapy treatments, as in many hospitals across the country, are sent to the medical/surgical unit. The caseload of patients receiving chemotherapy can vary week to week and month to month. As a result, maintaining competency and safe practice are challenging for the nursing staff.

In Buffalo, New York, there is a special type of continuity of care going on thanks to Marilyn and Julie Ross. This mother and daughter, both oncology nurses, treat a variety of patients on a daily basis at the same center.

With all the stresses and demands of their jobs, can oncology nurses live happily ever after? Yes, according to Jennifer Kenderski, BSN, RN, OCN, who presented a poster on building resiliency to compassion fatigue at the 16th International Conference on Cancer Nursing in Atlanta.

Carrie Daly, MS, RN, APN, AOCN, is a nurse who has a very rich life because of her job. She has worked tirelessly over a number of years to help hundreds of cancer patients and survivors.