ONS Board Announces 2012-2016 Strategic Plan

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

After conducting a thorough scan of the oncology healthcare environment, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) developed a new five-year strategic plan, which will take effect in 2012.

The outgoing ONS Strate­gic Plan con­sisted of three pil­lars: advo­cacy, knowl­edge, and part­ner­ship. To address changes and evolv­ing needs, the new 2012–2016 ONS Strate­gic Plan con­sists of four pil­lars: lead­er­ship, knowl­edge, qual­ity, and tech­nol­ogy. Some of the pillars have changed between the two plans because those areas of focus are now essential components of ONS’s day-to-day work rather than a plan for the future. The new plan also includes ONS’s vision for a desired future.

Every three years the mem­ber­ship and exter­nal rela­tion­ships are ran­domly assessed to deter­mine how can­cer and our orga­ni­za­tional needs have changed, what the needs are now for oncol­ogy nurses and their patients, and what our visions of the future should be. This infor­ma­tion is reviewed, gen­er­a­tive dis­cus­sions occur, and the ONS Board of Directors, with staff input, iden­ti­fies key issues that need to be addressed. These issues build on strengths while build­ing up opportunities. In addition, ONS members are regularly surveyed for feedback about trends in oncology and nursing. Some of the most prominent trends identified during this process were

  • Continued workforce shortages and changes in roles and settings
  • Changing demographics of both nurses and consumers
  • Economic pressures
  • Healthcare reform and changing regulations
  • Treatment discoveries and advances in technology.

 The new plan outlines ONS’s four goals related to these trends.

  • Support members to become leaders and effective cancer care advocates in their workplace, community, and the Society.
  • Be seen as the primary source for education for all nurses providing care to people with cancer, regardless of setting.
  • Develop, disseminate, and evaluate patient-centered interventions and their contribution to high-quality cancer care.
  • Be recognized as a leader in leveraging technology and help nurses to use it to collaborate and learn.

To learn more about ONS’s strategic plan, visit www.ons.org/about.

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