Using gaps to design educational programs.

To adequately address the professional development needs of nurses, continuing nursing education programs must focus on identified gaps in knowledge, skill, and practice. However, attention must be paid not only to content areas but also to the types of gaps, as these can provide guidance about the best learning techniques and evaluation methods to use.

Ensuring content integrity when using commercial support.

Preventing continuing education program bias when commercial support is used can be challenging. Standards have been developed by health care professional accreditation organizations that focus on independence, conflict of interest, appropriate management of commercial funds, content integrity, and disclosure to learners. Implementation of these standards can significantly reduce the risk of bias and improve dissemination of balanced clinical information.

The planning team-who belongs?

The composition of the planning team has a significant impact on the quality and outcome of continuing nursing education programs. It is imperative to identify the knowledge and skills needed to plan a specific program before choosing planning team members who have the required competencies.

Improving the evidence base of nursing education programs.

The need for evidence-based practice (EBP) has been supported by many professional groups. However, nurses face many barriers to involvement in the EBP process. Continuing nursing education program planners can play a key role in helping to overcome these barriers by working with presenters and content developers to ensure that the content they prepare is rooted in the best available evidence.

A Quality Improvement Education Pilot Project to Increase Recommendations for Physical Activity in Cancer Survivors.

Physical activity can provide benefits for cancer survivors. A nurse-provided physical activity recommendation is strongly supported by evidence-based symptom interventions developed by the Oncology Nursing Society. This pilot project aimed to evaluate whether a focused quality improvement education (QIE) intervention could increase the frequency with which oncology nurses provide a physical activity recommendation to patients. Using The Expanded Learning Model for Systems to structure the project, the project team provided a multipronged educational approach with coaching through quality improvement activities to guide practice change. Oncology-focused clinical quality measures (CQMs) related to assessment for cancer-related fatigue and recommendation for physical activity provided the primary data used to evaluate the impact of the QIE intervention. CQM data demonstrated substantial increases in the frequency with which patients were assessed for fatigue and provided with a physical activity recommendation. This pilot project provides preliminary evidence that a QIE intervention supported by coaching can help facilitate evidence-based practice change. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(4):184-191.].

Hot Flashes: Clinical Summary of the ONS Guidelines™ for Cancer Treatment-Related Hot Flashes in Women With Breast Cancer and Men With Prostate Cancer.

Cancer-related hot flashes are often a lasting and distressing side effect of hormone-blocking therapies that are most often experienced by women with breast cancer and men with prostate cancer treated with these therapies. Hot flashes have been defined as a sensation of heat that may be accompanied by facial flushing, perspiration, chills, heart palpitations, night sweats, and feelings of anxiety. The frequency and intensity of hot flashes can cause fatigue and sleep disturbances that diminish quality of life and reduce adherence with prescribed therapies that block estrogens or androgens. Hot flashes are reported to be significantly more frequent and severe in women treated for breast cancer than in women undergoing natural menopause. They also commonly occur in men treated for prostate cancer with surgical or chemical castration to block the synthesis of androgens that can fuel cancer growth.

Novice Oncology Nurse Navigator: Core Elements in Establishing Training Needs and Building on Competencies.

BACKGROUND: Oncology nurse navigation opportunities are rapidly expanding as the value of the role is recognized. However, there is a lack of training opportunities focusing on the unique needs of the oncology nurse navigator (ONN). Most navigator training programs provide only general oncology navigation content. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to evaluate the current state of training for the novice ONN and begin to identify core elements to inform development of a standardized training program. METHODS: Navigator training programs and literature related to the role and development needs of the novice ONN were reviewed. FINDINGS: Training of the novice ONN varies widely, with little evaluation of the most effective way to prepare for the role. It is clear that the learning needs of the ONN are different than those of other types of navigators and oncology nurses.

Nurse Navigator Core Competencies: An Update to Reflect the Evolution of the Role.

BACKGROUND: The Oncology Nursing Society published Oncology Nurse Navigator (ONN) Core Competencies in 2013. However, a 2016 role delineation study (RDS) indicated that the role had evolved since their release. The RDS also indicated that a growing number of nurse navigators have extensive oncology and navigation experience. OBJECTIVES: The update to the competencies was undertaken to identify current responsibilities of ONNs and differentiate novice from expert practice. METHODS: A list of competencies was developed based on a literature review, evaluation of the 2013 competencies, and input from six expert ONNs. These draft competencies were vetted through field and expert review, with subsequent updates. FINDINGS: The 2017 competencies include 52 competencies.

Oncology Nurse Navigation: Results of the 2016 Role Delineation Study.

BACKGROUND: In 2011, an oncology nurse navigator (ONN) role delineation survey (RDS) was conducted by the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) when the role was relatively new to oncology. Results did not demonstrate a unique skill set for the ONN; however, since then, the role has expanded. OBJECTIVES: ONS and the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation partnered in 2016 to complete an RDS of ONNs to redefine the role and determine the need for an ONN certification examination. METHODS: A structured RDS was conducted using a formal consensus-building process. A survey was developed and released to examine the specific tasks, knowledge, and skills for the ONN as well as to determine which role possesses more responsibility for the tasks. FINDINGS: The ONN role is evolving, and more was learned about its key tasks, including differences in the responsibilities of the ONN and the clinical or staff nurse. However, the RDS did not find an adequate difference in the knowledge required by the ONN and the clinical or staff nurse to support the need for a separate ONN certification.

Developing a Program Evaluation Plan: Options and Opportunities.

Planning how to evaluate educational programs needs to be a thoughtful process that begins early in program planning. By considering a series of questions and choosing between direct and indirect outcome measures, the evaluation process can provide useful data about successes and opportunities. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2016;47(9):388-389.

Planning CNE: Putting It All Together.

Continuing nursing education programs are most successful when a series of interconnected steps are followed. This column will show how a thoroughly evaluated practice gap and a clearly defined outcome can guide the planning process so that identified practice gaps can most effectively be closed. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2016;47(6):246-247.

Is Education the Cure?

Requests for educational programs to address a perceived lack of knowledge or skill should be evaluated to identify the most appropriate intervention. Through careful analysis of the reasons underlying a practice gap, the most appropriate and effective approach can be chosen and implemented.

Evaluation of a web course to increase evidence-based practice knowledge among nurses.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is essential for quality health care, and EBP knowledge needs to be increased among nurses. Web-based courses may effectively deliver such education. In this study, data were collected about the Oncology Nursing Society web course "Developing Skills for Evidence-Based Practice" and evaluated for demographic characteristics and EBP knowledge test scores.
AT A GLANCE: No significant correlation was seen between knowledge test scores and participants' education or experience levels.Course participants had significant improvement on knowledge test scores after web course completion.
Additional studies are needed to explore the impact of EBP knowledge on clinical practice.

Measuring clinical trial-associated workload in a community clinical oncology program.

PURPOSE: The ability to quantify clinical trial-associated workload can have a significant impact on the efficiency and success of a research organization. However, methods to effectively estimate the number of research staff needed for clinical trial recruitment, maintenance, compliance, and follow-up are lacking. To address this need, the Wichita Community Clinical Oncology Program (WCCOP) developed and implemented an acuity-based workload assessment tool to facilitate assessment and balancing of workload among its research nursing staff. METHODS: An acuity-based measurement tool was developed, assigning acuity scores for individual clinical trials using six trial-related determinants. Using trial acuity scores and numbers of patients per trial, acuity scores for individual research nursing staff were then calculated and compared on a monthly basis. RESULTS: During the 11 years that data were collected, acuity scores increased from 65% to 181%. However, during this same period, WCCOP was able to decrease individual research nurse staff full-time equivalent (FTE) acuity scores and number of patients per FTE. These trends reflect the use of the acuity-based measurement tool to determine actual workload and use of the acuity data to direct hiring decisions. CONCLUSION: Clinical trial workload has been successfully measured and used to guide staffing by one community clinical oncology program. Further research is needed regarding its applicability to other research programs.

Oncology clinical trials nursing: developing competencies for the novice.

Oncology clinical trials are important in the improvement of outcomes for people with or at risk for cancer. Because of the complexity of oncology clinical trials and the needs of patients with cancer, nurses play a crucial and unique role in the trial setting. However, great variability exists in how the role of the nurse on a research team is defined and implemented. An Oncology Nursing Society project team set out to identify the core competencies required of a novice oncology clinical trials nurse (CTN) across diverse settings. This article describes the process used to develop core competencies for the novice CTN, presents the final core competencies, and offers examples of how those competencies might be used in practice.