Oncology Nurse Practitioner Competencies: Defining Best Practices in the Oncology Setting.

BACKGROUND: The oncology nurse practitioner (ONP) role has evolved since the first ONP competencies were published by the Oncology Nursing Society in 2007. An update was completed in 2019 to reflect the rapidly expanding role. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to describe the process of the ONP competency development and identify potential applications across a variety of oncology settings. METHODS: The team performed an extensive literature review of the research about ONP practice across the cancer care continuum. Peer and expert review were conducted to ensure the competencies were comprehensive and relevant. FINDINGS: The ONP competencies provide a solid, evidence-based benchmark to standardize the ONP role and practice, thereby ensuring that patients receive the highest-quality cancer care.

Oncology Nurse Practitioner Role: Recommendations From the Oncology Nursing Society's Nurse Practitioner Summit.

BACKGROUND: Oncology nurse practitioners (ONPs) are advanced practice RNs prepared at the graduate level with high-level knowledge and skills in oncology. Because of challenges in educational programs and variability in the scope of practice at the state and institutional level, many ONPs are challenged to practice to the full extent of their education, certification, and licensure. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to review issues affecting the education and practice patterns of ONPs and to identify solutions to address the challenges that exist for ONPs. METHODS: Members of the Oncology Nursing Society's Nurse Practitioner Summit summarized the challenges faced by ONPs related to education, training, practice, and professional development. FINDINGS: Efforts to promote ONP practice at the fullest extent of licensure and across various settings should be prioritized. Resources must be devoted to education, onboarding, and retention to integrate and retain ONPs as leaders of the interprofessional team.

Oncology Nurse Generalist Competencies: Oncology Nursing Society's Initiative to Establish Best Practice.

BACKGROUND: A project team was formulated to create evidence-based oncology nurse generalist competencies (ONGCs) to establish best practices in competency development, including high-risk tasks, critical thinking criteria, and measurement of key areas for oncology nurses.
. OBJECTIVES: This article aims to describe the process and the development of ONGCs. 
. METHODS: This article explains how the ONGCs were accomplished, and includes outcomes and suggestions for use in clinical practice. 
. FINDINGS: Institutions can use the ONGCs to assess and develop competency programs, offer educational strategies to measure proficiency, and establish processes to foster a workplace committed to mentoring and teaching future oncology nurses.

Oncology Nurse Generalist Competencies: Oncology Nursing Society's Initiative to Establish Best Practice

Background: A project team was formulated by the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) to create evidence-based oncology nurse generalist (ONG) competencies to establish best practices in competency development, including high-risk tasks, critical thinking criteria, and measurement of key areas for oncology nurses. Objectives: This article aims to describe the process and the development of ONG competencies. Methods: This article describes how the ONG competencies were accomplished, and includes outcomes and suggestions for use in clinical practice. Findings: Institutions can use the ONG competencies to assess and develop competency programs, offer unique educational strategies to measure and appraise proficiency, and establish processes to foster a workplace environment committed to mentoring and teaching future oncology nurses.

Providing Novice Navigators With a GPS for Role Development: Oncology Nurse Navigator Competency Project.

BACKGROUND: The care of patients with cancer has evolved to include various lay and professional roles to enhance care coordination with the focus on delivering patient-centered care. Oncology nurses in the role of oncology nurse navigators (ONNs) contribute to the delivery of patient-centered care by guiding patients and families through the cancer continuum and providing resources to overcome system and practical barriers and to enhance psychosocial support and cancer-specific education. However, the role of the ONN is often defined differently depending on the practice setting and institutional policy. The result is an inconsistent assortment of role functions and educational backgrounds. OBJECTIVES: This article aims to promote standardization of the role of the ONN as well as the structure and boundaries of how ONNs function. METHODS: A project team was established by the Oncology Nursing Society to develop a professional practice framework and to identify core competencies for use by ONNs across a variety of practice settings. FINDINGS: The development of core competencies as well as examples of how the core competencies can be applied to ONN practice will help to define the ONN role and better serve the needs of patients with cancer, their families, and their caregivers.

American Cancer Society/American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline.

Answer questions and earn CME/CNE The purpose of the American Cancer Society/American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline is to provide recommendations to assist primary care and other clinicians in the care of female adult survivors of breast cancer. A systematic review of the literature was conducted using PubMed through April 2015. A multidisciplinary expert workgroup with expertise in primary care, gynecology, surgical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and nursing was formed and tasked with drafting the Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline. A total of 1073 articles met inclusion criteria; and, after full text review, 237 were included as the evidence base. Patients should undergo regular surveillance for breast cancer recurrence, including evaluation with a cancer-related history and physical examination, and should be screened for new primary breast cancer. Data do not support performing routine laboratory tests or imaging tests in asymptomatic patients to evaluate for breast cancer recurrence. Primary care clinicians should counsel patients about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, monitor for post-treatment symptoms that can adversely affect quality of life, and monitor for adherence to endocrine therapy. Recommendations provided in this guideline are based on current evidence in the literature and expert consensus opinion. Most of the evidence is not sufficient to warrant a strong evidence-based recommendation. Recommendations on surveillance for breast cancer recurrence, screening for second primary cancers, assessment and management of physical and psychosocial long-term and late effects of breast cancer and its treatment, health promotion, and care coordination/practice implications are made.

American Cancer Society/American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline.

The purpose of the American Cancer Society/American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline is to provide recommendations to assist primary care and other clinicians in the care of female adult survivors of breast cancer. A systematic review of the literature was conducted using PubMed through April 2015. A multidisciplinary expert workgroup with expertise in primary care, gynecology, surgical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and nursing was formed and tasked with drafting the Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline. A total of 1,073 articles met inclusion criteria; and, after full text review, 237 were included as the evidence base. Patients should undergo regular surveillance for breast cancer recurrence, including evaluation with a cancer-related history and physical examination, and should be screened for new primary breast cancer. Data do not support performing routine laboratory tests or imaging tests in asymptomatic patients to evaluate for breast cancer recurrence. Primary care clinicians should counsel patients about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, monitor for post-treatment symptoms that can adversely affect quality of life, and monitor for adherence to endocrine therapy. Recommendations provided in this guideline are based on current evidence in the literature and expert consensus opinion. Most of the evidence is not sufficient to warrant a strong evidence-based recommendation. Recommendations on surveillance for breast cancer recurrence, screening for second primary cancers, assessment and management of physical and psychosocial long-term and late effects of breast cancer and its treatment, health promotion, and care coordination/practice implications are made.This guideline was developed through a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology and has been published jointly by invitation and consent in both CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and Journal of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission by the American Cancer Society or the American Society of Clinical Oncology.