The ONS Podcast

" We are there for whatever issue, whether it's skin management or helping just cheer them on and manage small things or big things , you know, to get them through these treatments. And then as a patient completes the treatment, we continue the nurse education and [managing] the late toxicities , " Michele " Michi" Gray , RN , radiation oncology care coordinator at the Cleveland Clinic in O hio ,...

  "What you teach patients about that the side effects may be somewhat different, because it's more of a regional treatment with less systemic toxicities, so it's teaching patients about the drugs, the side effects, and the actual procedure itself ," Lisa Hartkopf-Smith, MS, RN, AOCN®, CHPN, advanced practice nurse at OhioHealth Center in Columbus and ProMedica Cancer Institute in Toledo, OH , tol...

" The search for daunorubicin's sister really led to this discovery of doxorubicin, which is an analog with much greater activity. The discovery of d oxorubicin can be coined kind of as , 'one of the best drugs born in Milan, Italy . ' And after that, a few analogs were developed and tested , and two that we currently use today, are idarubicin and epirubicin , " Puja Patel, PharmD, BCOP, clinical...

" S o much of this is just knowing what is their diagnosis, what medications are they on, what could be the root cause of this — where is their disease to begin with? There's really a lot of differential diagnosis and workup that has to be thought about, you know, when you're dealing with shortness of breath and pulmonary toxicit ies , " Beth Sandy , MSN, CRNP, OCN® , thoracic medical oncology nur...

" AYAs are underrepresented in clinical trials and unfortunately have one of the highest rates of being uninsured of any population. So, this is really concerning for a lot of reasons and really impacts our ability to make a difference for their treatment and outcomes , " Stacy Whiteside, APRN , MS , CPNP-AC/PC , CPON ® , nurse practitioner and fertility patient navigator in the Department of Hema...

" I can think of examples where I have two patients. They have the same diagnosis, but they have two different insurance companies , t reatment plan's the same . 'P atient A ' isn't going to get the optimal treatment plan because their insurance company won't approve it. ' Patient B ' is going to get the Cadillac version of this treatment plan, and what am I supposed to do about it , " Lucia D. Wo...

" With the turnover rates w here they're at now, there's no way we can keep thinking how we did in the past — like , we have to . Th e re's no doubt . W e have to think differently , " Deborah Cline, DNP, RN, associate professor in the Department of Graduate Studies with Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston in Texas , told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing...

  " A sense of belonging is what tethers us to those who share in our spaces that work with us. Belonging is fueled by a social connection, which is one of our basic human needs. When you feel safe, supported , and valued, you bring your full, authentic self to work and you ' re fully engaged to work collaboratively to deliver the best patient care and quite frankly, be the best teammate ever," Ke...

" I think educating patients of what can happen and those are the symptoms you're really looking for to decrease this from getting to the severe level is like the sensory stuff. It's kind of your starting point and it progresses from there , " Colleen Erb , MSN, CRNP, ACNP-BC, AOCNP ® , hematology and oncology nurse practitioner at Jefferson Health Asplundh Cancer Pavilion in Willow Grove, P A , t...

" Our top priorities really revolve around ensuring that everybody, regardless of their income, regardless of their gender, regardless of their race, regardless of where in the country they live, has access to the very best care for them and their family. And then ensuring that nurses have all of the education and training and support that they need to provide that care , " Jaimie Vickery, ONS's d...

" I think that there are certain agents that are so foundational in some diseases that they will remain . W hether they remain first - line , m aybe not ; m aybe they ' ll go to second line as we see things evolve with new agents. Some of these drugs have been very effective in the diseases in which they are used to treat patients. T here ' s a long term place in therapy for these, and I think tha...

" I think the key in effective communication is building trust, because without trust, patients are not likely to engage in their care as effectively, which can influence patient well-being and their overall health outcomes. Building trust is, I think, crucial , " D eb Christensen, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, AOCNS®, founder and chief patient officer at the Cancer Help Desk, a nonprofit that provides per...

" W hen I meet with patients, I try and remind them, 'Y es , you do have these side effects that can happen ' and make sure that they ' re informed, but also try and reassure them that not everyone gets it as severe as maybe the movies and TV shows portray , " Dane Fritzsche, PharmD, BCOP, i nformatics p harmacist from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center at the University of Washington Medicine in S...

" I think oftentimes people think this is just a radiology procedure that is rather benign . That ' s really the role of the oncology nurse, just to be [an educator] , support, emotional support , and a coach ," Lisa Parks , MS, APRN-CNP, ANP-BC , nurse practitioner in hepatobiliary surgery at The James Cancer Hospi ta l and Solove Research Institute at The Ohio S ta te University Comprehensive Ca...

" We incorporate nurses and clinicians and users for any tool from the very beginning. They say, 'Y ou know , we need help with this . ' A nd then we start ideation : We start understanding the problem, we meet with them, we try to see what is it that they ' re tryi ng to do, is it feasi ble give n the data we have? We go back, we do some research, feasibility study. We say we think this is someth...

" Having a nurse - driven protocol, at my facility we call them clinical practice guidelines, allows for that immediate action and swift intervention for the patient ," Maura Price, MSN, RN, AOCNS ® , oncology clinical nurse specialist at the Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute in Bethlehem, PA, told Jaime Weimer, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a discussion about what oncolo...

"We really need to do our best to reach people who don't have access to palliative care in their communities, and this is an innovative way for us to do that," Carey Ramirez, ANP-C, ACHPN, n urse p ractitioner and m anager of a dvanced p ractice and s upportive c are m edicine at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, CA , told Lenise Taylor, MN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, oncology clinical...

" I think the horizon, the trends that we are seeing today, are indicating that this technology is just going to explode and be integrated into everything we do in nursing or beyond. Many of the things with nursing are going to change significantly for us , which has already started ," Maxim Topaz , PhD, MA, RN, FAAN , Elizabeth Standish Gill Associate Professor of Nursing at the School of Nursing...

"As nurses and healthcare providers, we need to be up to date with the most current evidence-based practices. To achieve and maintain this, we must institute a learning culture. It is critical to promote a learning culture and healthcare institution to keep both patients and nurses safe," Klara Culmone, MSN, RN, OCN®, assistant nurse manager at the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU L...

" I think the most amazing thing we see is the softening of the skin, which can occur during the first two weeks of the conditioning regimen. The nurses on the floor see it, and I think it's just a tremendous gratification for them to see the results of something right before your eyes ," Tanya Helms, PA-C, from the d ivision of h ematological m alignancies and c ellular t herapy at Duke Universit...

" I think that as oncology nurses , we need to keep ourselves really educated and up to date with these new therapies , because I honestly feel like we still haven't really seen the long - t erm effects of this treatment , " ONS member Lisa Parks, MS, APRN-CNP, ANP-B C , nurse practitioner in hepatobiliary surgery at The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at The Ohio State Univers...

" One of the things about futility is many people will say, 'O h this is f utile care , ' when what they really mean is , 'W ho in their right mind would want this ? ' or ' I would never ever want this , ' a nd that's different. That's not f utile c are. That's potentially inappropriate care. And sometimes that ' s the big step for folks , " Lucia D. Wocial , PhD, RN, FAAN, HEC-C, senior clinical...

"Reassuring doesn't always mean providing solutions. Sometimes, it's providing support. There are some key tips that can be helpful for supporting patients when they're ready, when they're asking, 'What about my kids?' Like, what are the things when you leave this hospital that your kids are going to see, hear, or notice? That's a great place to start," Kelsey Mora, certified child life specialist...

" It's really important to look at where your target is and what the toxicities are associated with hitting that target . Make sure you include that thinking when you're talking about bispecifics , " ONS member R owena ( Moe ) Schwartz, PharmD, BCOP, professor of pharmacy practice at the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-...

"You don't have to have any musical background to benefit from musical therapy ," ONS member Susan Yagud a , MSN, RN, m anager of i ntegrative o ncology and s urvivorship in the Department of Supportive Oncology at the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina , told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a discussion about how music...