American youth reported a decline in using any tobacco product in 2020 compared to 2019 but no significant decrease in the use of cigarettes, hookah, pipe tobacco, or heated tobacco products, according to 2020 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) survey findings on youth tobacco use. Despite the decline, FDA said that the data shows “disturbingly high rates of frequent and daily e-cigarette use” and strong nicotine dependence among youth.

On August 10, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the combination of lenvatinib (Lenvima®) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) for first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

On August 13, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved belzutifan (Welireg®), a hypoxia-inducible factor inhibitor for adult patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease who require therapy for associated renal cell carcinoma (RCC), central nervous system (CNS) hemangioblastomas, or pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET), that do not require immediate surgery.

On August 12, 2021, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported Baxter Healthcare’s recall of the Dose IQ Safety Software used with the Spectrum IQ Infusion System because a software defect may lead to mismatched drug information in drug libraries that were created using version 9.0.x of the computer-based software. FDA identified it as a class I recall, the most serious type of recall, where use of the devices may cause serious injuries or death.

On August 10, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported SterRx, LLC’s, voluntary recall of three lots of sodium bicarbonate in 5% dextrose injection 150 mEq per 1,000 ml due to waterborne microbial contamination.

Nursing is among the top careers for job growth, with an estimated 7% increase in the nursing workforce by 2029. As new students train to enter or advance in the profession, advanced practice RNs (APRNs) must mentor and empower them to integrate evidence-based practice (EBP) into their care.

The genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is linked to the development of and mortality for more types of cancer than previously identified, researchers reported in results from a new study. They published the findings in JAMA Network Open.

Nurses don’t always have to venture beyond the bedside for unique career change opportunities. Always innovating and evolving, the profession identifies new roles for clinical practice nurses to meet patients’ needs.

During its June 10–11, 2021, meeting, the ONS Board of Directors held a joint session with the Oncology Nursing Foundation. In small group breakouts, both boards evaluated whether the Foundation’s current academic scholarship opportunities are adequate and responsive to the educational needs of the oncology nursing field. Findings from the sessions were compiled to inform additional discussion during future meetings.

In its first year, new presidential administrations release a skinny budget that contains more topline items rather than deep dives into each agency and subdivision. Following suit, in April 2021 the Biden-Harris administration released its request for discretionary funding with limited definition, but it was enough to foreshadow the fiscal year (FY) 2022 funding cycle.