Congress Abstracts 2005

56

FROM FEAR TO FACT: STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING RADIATION SAFETY KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES AMONG NURSES. Joanne Kelvin, RN, MSN, AOCN^®, Lawrence T. Dauer, CHP, RMP, Jean St. Germain, MS, CHP, Christopher L. Horan, RTT, and Janine Kennedy, RN, BSN, MA, OCN^®, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.

Sixty percent of cancer patients receive radiation therapy [RT] during their cancer treatment, so most oncology nurses will care for patients receiving RT at some time. An understanding of radiation safety principles and their application in practice is critical for all oncology nurses. However, misconceptions about radiation are common, causing undue fears and concerns that may negatively impact patient care. Effectively educating nurses to overcome these misconceptions is a challenge.

Strategies were developed at a large urban comprehensive cancer center to enhance inpatient nursing staff knowledge and attitudes regarding radiation safety. A multifaceted approach to educating staff was implemented, incorporating principles of adult learning theory and recognizing the usual information-seeking behaviors of staff nurses.

A multidisciplinary team was formed that included nurse leaders from radiation oncology and radiology, a nurse educator, clinical nurse specialists from inpatient units where patients are commonly admitted for brachytherapy or radiopharmaceutical therapy, and members of the radiation safety section. A number of educational initiatives were undertaken. All radiation policies and procedures were revised to ensure they were clear, concise, and consistent. A 12-minute video was developed to provide core content. Radiation precaution door signs and chart labels were revised to provide clearer instructions to visitors and staff. Interactive problem-solving sessions for managers, APNs, and educators reviewed modality-specific precautions. Unit-based inservices focused on treatments commonly administered on the units. PowerPoint presentations were developed for specific treatments, reviewing clinical indications, treatment techniques, and radiation precautions required. These will be available on the institutional intranet and will be hyperlinked from the respective policies and procedures.

Inpatient nursing staff were surveyed before education was initiated using a questionnaire designed to assess knowledge and attitudes. The survey will be repeated after all educational initiatives have been implemented to evaluate the impact of the program.

Well-designed educational initiatives can be effective in overcoming misconceptions and fears related to radiation and can enhance knowledge and attitudes. These strategies could be modified to suit other organizations in providing education related to radiation safety, and this multifaceted educational approach could be used to address other challenging issues as well.