Which Breast Cancers Benefit from Treatment With Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4/6 Inhibitor Treatment?
A. Newly diagnosed DCIS
B. Metastatic, triple negative
C. Premenopausal, neoadjavant
D. ER+ metastatic
The evidence-based practice (EBP) process starts with a clinical question and then proceeds to searching and critically appraising the evidence. Once you have determined that a practice change is necessary, the next step is to integrate that evidence with clinical expertise and patient preferences and values. The last step in EBP is to evaluate the outcomes and disseminate the results. On paper, this flows in an orderly fashion. As clinicians, however, we know that it’s not often that easy or straightforward to change clinical practice.
The oncology nursing profession is a difficult career, fraught with long hours and stressful situations. With those factors, anxiety and depression could become more prevalent. In study findings published in conjunction with the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, researchers reported the rates of depression and anxiety among nurses working in oncology units and how certain situations related to these rates.
Goal setting and shared decision making are important components of aftercare for cancer survivors. In the results of a study published in conjunction with the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, researchers shared their experience developing and pretesting a systematic conversation approach for nurses to tailor the aftercare needs and goals of cancer survivors.
Patient safety is an important focus for hospitals: protecting patients improves outcomes and quality of care, meets standards, and ensures payments and reimbursement. But what factors contribute to a culture of safety? Researchers assessed and analyzed the components of patient safety culture and published their study findings in conjunction with the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.
Cancer is the most common diagnosis in adults older than 65 in the United States. As the older adult population increases and drives up malignancy diagnoses, nurse practitioners’ (NPs) and physician assistants’ (PAs) contributions to their care need to be better identified. In the results of a study published in conjunction with the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, researchers reported on their exploration of the role of NPs and PAs in the oncology workforce.
What makes a great oncology nurse? Is it opportunity and experience? Is it passion? I’ve worked with managers who’ve held wildly different opinions on these hiring characteristics, but I would argue they’re all critically important.
Immunotherapy drugs fall into varying classes, each carrying its own mechanism of action and anticipated side effects. Although some side effects of immunotherapy may appear similar to those of chemotherapy (e.g., diarrhea, fatigue), they actually result from a totally different mechanism—meaning they require a different approach to management. Treating immunotherapy side effects as you would chemotherapy effects would likely result in patient harm.
Informed consent is a comprehensive process as opposed to a check mark on a list of tasks to complete prior to starting cancer therapy. The American Society of Clinical Oncology/ONS Chemotherapy Administration Safety Standards explain that informed consent provides a patient with “sufficient information about the disease diagnosis and treatment options so that the individual can make a reasonable decision about treatment on the basis of an understanding of the potential risks and anticipated benefits of the treatment.”
In our nation’s capital, healthcare policy meetings occur weekly for various government and private organizations whose aim is to improve care and conditions for patients with cancer. The ONS National Capital Chapter members are involved in lobbying on the Hill and attending meetings about improving cancer care through the ONS Capitol Hill Gang.