Oncology Nursing Program
Goals
- Discuss the goals and structure of the Oncology Nursing Educational and Advocacy Curriculum (ONEAC) program (consistent with INCTR’s mission) and provide a brief description of both.
- Decide on a Program Committee, how it will communicate and how often.
- Decide on next steps with respect to development of the program and responsible persons.
- Discuss possible funding mechanisms for the program and if possible, identify one or more funding strategies and who will implement them.
- Eva Brun (left), Julia Challinor (middle) and Linda Krebs (right) chatting prior to the Oncology Nursing Program working session.
Summary
INCTR’s Oncology Nursing Program will be developed by a committee with “hands-on” experience in working with nurses caring for cancer patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This recently formed committee – the Oncology Nursing Education and Advocacy Committee (ONEAC) – has outlined a strategic approach to address identified needs for improving cancer education for nurses, particularly for those with no prior cancer training and for those with only “on-the-job” training gained by working with cancer patients. As is inherent in the committee’s name, advocacy for the role of the cancer nurse within the setting in which they practice will be part of the strategic approach, such that the role of the nurse is promoted and in some settings, expanded. The planned program takes into consideration the fact that even basic nursing education levels may differ substantially among developing countries. The overall goal of the program is to improve the delivery of quality cancer nursing care by focusing on the needs identified by institutions as well as those identified through situational analyses of these institutions performed by ONEAC. Although any formal training will be tailored to the identified needs and culturally relevant, a core curriculum focused on the following content will be developed:
- The Principles of Cancer and Myths Surrounding Cancer
- The Continuum of Cancer Care
- Approaches to Cancer Treatment
- Safe Administration of Chemotherapy
- Aspects of Supportive Care
- Pain control
- Symptom control
- Infection control
- Nutritional support
- Late effects of cancer therapy
- Communication
- Patient and family education
- Psychosocial support
- Patient/Family counseling
- Spirituality
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Basic Documentation of Care
- Nursing Ethics
- Nursing Leadership and Advocacy
Initially, training programs will be conducted in countries in which INCTR has collaborating units or ongoing programs. Nurses attending the program will receive a certificate for formal recognition of their participation and the program will be evaluated - both by the participants and by ONEAC's ongoing evaluation of program participants.
