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Sessions

Thursday, November 10Friday, November 11Saturday, November 12

Thursday, November 10

Keynote Address
From Silence to Voice: Protecting Nursing From the Perils of Modern Medicine

Suzanne Gordon, award-winning journalist and author/editor, will present this year's closing address. In "From Silence to Voice: Protecting Nursing From the Perils of Modern Medicine," she will discuss the global threat to caregiving and why nurses need to understand national and global changes in healthcare. She will also explore how these changes are affecting caregiving and explain how nurses can move from silence to voice to make their caregiving work known to the public.

Gordon has written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post, American Prospect, Atlantic Monthly, Toronto Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and many other publications. She is currently coediting a series of books for Cornell University Press on the Culture and Politics of Health Care Work. In addition, Gordon is a popular lecturer and past commentator for CBS Radio and Public Radio International's "Marketplace" program. She is an adjunct professor of nursing at McGill University and the University of California, San Francisco. Gordon has coauthored, with Lisa Hayes, the play Bedside Manners, that deals with nurse/doctor relationships.

Note: Scott Neely, executive director of the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care, was originally scheduled to give the keynote address but is now unable to attend.

Friday, November 11 • 8:15–9:45 am

The Evolving Science of Pain and Its Implications for Practice
Speaker: Christine Miaskowski, RN, PhD, FAAN
This session will focus on the new developments in understanding the mechanisms of chronic pain. You'll learn to link these advances to more comprehensive treatment approaches for your patients with cancer and noncancer pain. This session contains approximately 45 minutes of pharmacology content.

Friday, November 11 • 10:15–11:15 am

Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Etiology and Symptom Management
Speaker: Lois Almadrones, RN, MS, C, FNP, MPA
Learn more about chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy as well as how to identify patients at increased risk for this symptom during treatment. This session will also address pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions for the prevention and treatment of peripheral neuropathy as well as safety issues at home and work for those who experience it. This session contains approximately 15 minutes of pharmacology content.

Steroids in Oncology: An Endocrinologist's Perspective
Speaker: Richard Siegel, MD
This session will review corticosteroid therapy from an endocrinologist's perspective. A general overview of corticosteroids will be provided, as will information on the treatment of steroid-induced diabetes, steroid-related osteoporosis, and adrenal axis suppression. This session contains approximately 45 minutes of pharmacology content.

What's Causing the Rash? Is it a Hypersensitivity Reaction or Something Else?
Speaker: Lisa Schulmeister, RN, MN, CS, OCN®
A rash, defined as any red eruption of the skin, may be associated with a number of conditions, disorders, and reactions. In this session, case studies of patients with various types of rashes will illustrate key considerations for making a differential diagnosis. You'll also learn about hypersensitivity reactions to medications, including chemotherapy agents and issues concerning premedication and desensitization. This session contains approximately 45 minutes of pharmacology content.

Sickle Cell Disease: Complications and Disease Management
Speaker: Hedy Smith, MD, PhD
In this session, you'll learn about sickle cell disease, with an emphasis on management and early detection of complications. The speaker will also present an overview of the disease process, acute and chronic complications, and management of the same. This session contains approximately 30 minutes of pharmacology content.

Friday, November 11 • 11:30 am–12:30 pm

Repeat sessions from November 11, 10:15 am

  • Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Etiology and Symptom Management
  • Steroids in Oncology: An Endocrinologist's Perspective


  • Friday, November 11 • 1:30–2:30 pm

    Alphabet Soup of Coagulopthy—DVT/PE/PT/INR/PTT
    Speaker: Nancy Zieber, RN, MSN, CRNP
    Through case studies, you will learn to better understand the critical thinking that occurs in the evaluation and management of a patient with deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism. The session will include information on signs and symptoms, differential diagnoses, diagnostics—including laboratory and radiographic evaluation—treatment, and follow-up care. This session contains approximately 15 minutes of pharmacology content.

    Management of Cough in the Patient With Lung Cancer
    Speaker: Janet Van Cleave, RN, MSN, ACNP-CS, AOCN®
    Don't miss this session, in which you'll discuss differential diagnoses, assessment, diagnostic work-up, and management of your patients with lung cancer who present with a cough. This session contains approximately 10 minutes of pharmacology content.

    When You Don't Know the Source: Fever of Unknown Origin
    Speaker: Valerie Relias, PharmD, BCOP
    Through a case presentation format, you'll learn about the management of fever in a neutropenic patient. This session will include discussions about signs and symptoms, microbiology, and drug treatment in these patients, with an emphasis on drug therapies, including the role of new and emerging treatments for bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. The speaker will also address antibiotic resistance. This session contains approximately 40 minutes of pharmacology content.

    Caring for the Patient With Neurological Symptoms
    Speaker: Judy Ozuna, BSN, MN, ARNP, CNRN
    This session will provide an overview of the assessment, etiology, and differential diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) symptoms presenting in patients with cancer. The speaker will emphasize localizing a neurologic symptom within the CNS, reviewing potential etiologies, and choosing appropriate diagnostic studies. She will also use case studies to illustrate important points.

    Friday, November 11 • 2:45–3:45 pm

    Repeat sessions from November 11, 1:30 pm

  • Alphabet Soup of Coagulapathy-DVT/PE/PT/INR/PTT
  • When You Don't Know the Source: Fever of Unknown Origin
  • Caring for the Patient With Neurological Symptoms


  • Friday, November 11 • 4–5:30 pm

    Today and Tomorrow: Advances in Radiation Oncology
    Speaker: Tracy Gosselin-Acomb, RN, MSN, AOCN®
    This session will update you on current and future uses of radiation in patients undergoing cancer treatment. It will review common terminology and modalities as well as technology advances, including IMRT, IGRT, and stereotactic treatment. This session contains approximately 10 minutes of pharmacology content.

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    Saturday, November 12 • 9:30–11 am

    Advocacy and the Nurse Practitioner
    Speakers: Ilisa Halpern, MPP and Ruth Dennison, RN, OCN®
    Gain an understanding of health policy in this session, which includes a brief overview of advocacy and the federal legislative process, information on policies and programs affecting advanced practice nurses, ONS health policy resources, and examples of how oncology nurses have—and can—become effective advocates and affect the outcome of public policy deliberations.

    Saturday, November 12 • 11:30 am–12:30 pm

    Collaborative Role of the APN
    Speaker: Wendy Vogel, MSN, FNP, AOCN®
    This presentation describes the role of the advanced practice nurse (APN) in a collaborative practice model. It will explore interactions of the APN with various team members, such as medicine, nursing, ancillary staff, and peer groups. You'll also have a chance to discuss networking and communication processes, as well as issues pertinent to collaborative practice.

    Follow-Up of the Patient With Cancer: We're in This for the Long Haul
    Speaker: Camille Lambe, MSN, RN, NP, AOCN®
    Review the most current data regarding the long term effects of cancer treatment. Learn the standards of care for screening and follow-up when caring for patients who have been treated for a malignancy. This session contains approximately 30 minutes of pharmacology content.

    Polypharmacy: The Challenge in Clinical Practice
    Speaker: Rowena Schwartz, PharmD
    This presentation will focus on the issue of medication adherence and polypharmacy in the patient with cancer. The speaker will use case studies to address the challenges of medication adherence in the cancer population. She will provide strategies for managing polypharmacy, identifying patients at high risk for drug adverse effects, and modifying plans based on individual needs. There will also be an emphasis on the issues associated with drug interactions. This session contains approximately 35 minutes of pharmacology content.

    Saturday, November 12 • 2:30–3:30 pm

    Repeat sessions from November 12, 11:30 am

  • Follow-Up of the Patient With Cancer: We're in This for the Long Haul
  • Polypharmacy: The Challenge in Clinical Practice
  • Advanced Publishing Strategies for Nurse Practitioners

    Speakers:
    Rose Mary Carroll-Johnson, RN, MN
    Editor, Oncology Nursing Forum
    Joyce Griffin-Sobel, RN, PhD, AOCN®, APRN
    Editor, Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing

    Nurse practitioners are approached to write for publication, create written documents as a function of their teaching role, are considered experts for the purpose of peer review, provide instruction at meetings, and collaborate with physicians to produce articles for peer-reviewed journals. This presentation will provide you with a beginning understanding of some of the higher level concepts in writing for publication. You'll also learn about fitting writing into a busy practice, fielding offers from pharmaceutical companies to write for publication, mentoring and collaborating with colleagues to produce articles, developing the skills and resources necessary to produce a paper, and evaluating ethical issues involved in publication.

    Looking Toward the Future: Sexuality and Fertility After Cancer
    Speaker: Karen Hassey Dow, PhD, RN, FAAN
    This presentation will address sexuality and fertility issues in female cancer survivors and explore options and strategies for protecting fertility before, during, and after treatment. You'll get detailed information on epidemiology and infertility in cancer; changes in the reproductive system as a result of treatment; interventions, including pharmacologic ones; assisted reproductive technologies; and psychosocial, ethical, and legal issues in fertility preservation. This session contains approximately 15 minutes of pharmacology content.

    Saturday, November 12 • 3:45–4:45 pm

    Closing Address

    Ann L. O'Sullivan, PhD, CRNP, CPNP, FAAN, a professor of Primary Care Nursing with joint appointments in the School of Nursing and School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (UP) will present this year's closing address. O'Sullivan is also the president of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF).

    Since 1972, O'Sullivan has served on the faculty of UP, where she and two colleagues founded the Family Nurse Clinician Program in 1973. She is currently the program director of the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program and co-director of the Center for Urban Health Research. In addition, O'Sullivan has also practiced at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia since 1980. She maintains a funded research program and is currently studying teenage mothers and health promotion over a five-year span.

    A long-time member of the American Nurses Association, O'Sullivan has participated in several of the group's adolescent health initiatives. She has held leadership positions several organizations, including the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, Sigma Theta Tau International, the Eastern Nursing Research Society, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, and the American Academy of Nursing. She also sits on the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing.

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