Congress Abstracts 2006

280

CREATIVE COLLABORATION OF ONCOLOGY NURSING LEADERSHIP RESULTS IN COST EFFECTIVE ONCOLOGY NURSING EDUCATION. Jean Ellsworth-Wolk, RN, MS, AOCN^® , Lakewood Hospital, CCHS System, Lakewood, OH; and Molly Loney, RN, MSN, AOCN^® , Hillcrest Hospital, Mayfield Heights, OH.

In this era of continued shrinking health care resources in terms of money and personnel, the clinical oncology leadership of one large Midwestern health care system has developed a cost effective program delivering quality oncology nursing education to oncology nurses within its system.

The purpose of this collaborative group is to provide excellence in oncology care across a large health care system.

In response to a need to educate large numbers of oncology nurses across a multi hospital system in chemotherapy/biotherapy administration and little administrative support in terms of money, a group of clinical oncology leadership personnel from 9 institutions came together to develop a plan. They solicited funds from pharmaceutical companies and partnered with ONS to become ONS Chemotherapy/Biotherapy trainers through a special instructional session at a central local institution. They then developed a system of rotating coordination of the course as well as sharing the teaching load. To date the group has educated 256 clinicians in Chemotherapy and Biotherapy administration and presented 2 OCN^® review courses to 100 participants. The group has evolved into an Oncology Education and Practice Council, (OEPC) and has developed a committee structure, mission statement, goals, and an agenda for the future and is now seeking to strengthen its administrative foundation. Besides the pooling of resources and diverse talents, other benefits of this collaborative effort include networking and strengthening ties between community and tertiary centers, informal mentoring, integrating evidenced based nursing practice, and establishing nursing competency standards

The OEPC has successfully built a strong foundation for oncology nursing education and practice within this health care system without an administrative budget. This group's future goal will be to grow opportunities for continued success with the mission of providing evidence based nursing care for the oncology patient across the disease continuum within its health care system.