February 2012 New!

A new diagnosis of lung cancer is a highly threatening experience that raises personally relevant existential issues and brings death-related thoughts and concerns to mind. Those issues can be very disturbing to patients, leading to distress and potentially to a lowered quality of life.

This month's CJONPlus podcast features an interview with Rebecca H. Lehto, PhD, RN, OCN^®, author of the February 2012 CJON article "The Challenge of Existential Issues in Acute Care: Nursing Considerations for the Patient With a New Diagnosis of Lung Cancer." During the interview, Dr. Lehto expands on her article and discusses her inspiration for sharing the existential and death concerns of patients with lung cancer as well as practical strategies and resources available to nurses caring for these patients.

Dr. Lehto is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at Michigan State University.

December 2011

Bone health and the loss of bone density are important clinical concerns for patients with cancer who may be at risk for primary or secondary osteoporosis because of aging, bisphosphonate treatment, and other risk factors. Thus, it is very important that nurses recognize their role in identifying at-risk patients and properly educating them.

In this installment of CJONPlus, associate editor Mallori Hooker, RN, MSN, NP-C, AOCNP^®, interviews author Rita Wickham, PhD, RN, AOCN^®, about her December CJON article "Osteoporosis Related to Disease or Therapy in Patients With Cancer" and her inspiration to enlighten readers about osteoporosis and bone density loss as they relate to a patient's disease and his or her cancer treatment.

Wickham is an adjunct professor in the School of Nursing at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI, and an independent consultant.

October 2011

Despite medical advances, febrile neutropenia experienced by chemotherapy recipients remains a potential life-threatening emergency that requires timely antibiotic administration. In this CJONPlus podcast, authors Erika Hawley, RN, BSN, MBA, OCN^®, Molly Loney, RN, MSN, AOCN^®, and Michelle Wiece, RN, OCN^®, discuss their recent CJON article titled "A Multidisciplinary Team's Development of Tools and Processes to Improve Treatment Times."

The podcast and article describe a multidisciplinary best-practice model developed to achieve timely recognition of febrile neutropenia and a one-hour benchmark for antibiotic administration. At the institution where the model was developed, collaboration between the cancer center and emergency department was vital to providing a vehicle for critically analyzing current practice and developing effective throughput pathways and educational tools intended to improve clinical outcomes for this high-risk population.

August 2011

Sleep-wake disturbances, especially insomnia, are among the most prevalent and distressing symptoms experienced by patients with cancer. Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered the standard of care for the treatment of insomnia in the general population and is part of the ONS Putting Evidence into Practice recommendations as "likely to be effective" for patients with cancer.

In this CJONPlus podcast and in her August 2011 CJON article "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Patients With Cancer," author Susan Crump Woodward, MSN, ARNP, AOCNP^®, attempts to demystify cognitive behavioral therapy and provide nurses with a foundation from which to evaluate and potentially deliver this promising intervention for insomnia.

Crump Woodward is an oncology nurse practitioner with the Clark and Daughtrey Medical Group, P.A., at the Center for Cancer Care and Research in Lakeland, FL.

June 2011

Genetic advancements in recent years have presented individuals, the healthcare community, and legislators with numerous genetic discrimination predicaments. Oncology nurses need to be knowledgeable about the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008 and its applications to clinical practice. Understanding how GINA modifies existing federal laws governing health insurance coverage and employment discrimination can assist oncology nurses in educating and advocating for their patients and extended families.

You can learn important information about GINA by listening to this month’s CJONPlus podcast. It features an interview with Mary Beth Steck, MS, APRN, BC, who will be discussing the CJON article she recently co-authored titled “The Need to Be Aware and Beware of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act” (June 2011 CJON).

Steck is an interdisciplinary doctoral student in Healthcare Genetics at Clemson University in South Carolina.

April 2011

Breast cancer survivors who have completed active treatment have very different needs and concerns than patients receiving active therapy. The survivor is often released to his or her primary care provider for post cancer care within a few months. This can cause emotional distress and patients to feel "lost in transition" moving from actively treated survivor to long-term survivor. The clinicians at Duke Breast Clinic saw this urgent need for a smooth transition along survivorship phases. They developed an innovative care model to address the needs of cancer survivors by establishing a group medical visit model for breast cancer survivors. This empowerment model, along with a treatment summary and care plan that is designed to be shared with their primary care provider, could improve survivors’ transition back to primary care.

This month’s podcast features CJON Associate Editor Mallori Hooker, RN, MSN, NP-C, AOCNP^®, interviewing CJON author Kathryn Trotter, MSN, CNM, FNP, about this innovation in healthcare delivery and the April 2011 CJON article on this topic titled “Innovation in Survivor Care: Group Visits.”

Trotter is a nurse practitioner in the Duke Breast Clinic and an assistant clinical professor in the School of Nursing at Duke University in Durham.

February 2011

Many cancer survivors also experience other health problems. These comorbid conditions can be caused or affected by the cancer treatment. The more common conditions include obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, decreased bone mass, hypothyroidism, hypertension, and menopause. Nursing strategies for assessing and addressing these conditions are a vital part of nursing care.

In this installment of CJONPlus, CJON Editor Deborah K. Mayer, RN, PhD, AOCN^®, FAAN, interviews Amy Edgington, RN, NP-BC, and Mary Ann Morgan, PhD, FNP-BC, about these comorbid conditions and the article on the topic they coauthored titled “Looking Beyond Recurrence: Comorbidities in Cancer Survivors” (February 2011 CJON).

Edgington is a nurse practitioner in the LIVESTRONG™ Survivorship Center of Excellence at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Mary Ann Morgan, PhD, FNP-BC, is a nurse practitioner in the Survivorship Program/Clinic at Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, FL. The authors were participants in the CJON Writing Mentorship Program.

December 2010

The American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS) recently conducted the Value of Certification Study to validate nurses’ and managers’ perceptions, values, and behaviors related to nursing certification. The study sought to address perceptions of certified nurses, noncertified nurses, and nurse managers on the value of certification; challenges and barriers to certification; benefits and rewards to nurses for being certified; the impact of certification on lost workdays; and the impact of certification on nurse retention.

Listen in as CJON Editor Deborah K. Mayer, RN, PhD, AOCN^®, FAAN, interviews CJON author and ONS President Carlton G. Brown, PhD, RN, AOCN^®, about the ABNS survey and the December 2010 article "The Value of Oncology Nursing Certification," which reported the survey’s findings.

Brown, who is lead author of the article, is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Delaware in Newark and past president of the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation Board of Directors.

October 2010

Caring for patients with cancer can cause work-related stress, leading to employee dissatisfaction and mental exhaustion. The stress comes in part from “burnout,” or the chronic psychological syndrome of perceived demands from work outweighing perceived resources in the work environment. Compassion fatigue, the traumatization of helpers through their efforts at helping others, is a relational source of stress that also weighs heavily on oncology nurses.

This month’s CJONPlus podcast features an interview with author Patricia Potter, RN, PhD, FAAN, who will be discussing her October CJON article “Compassion Fatigue and Burnout: Prevalence Among Oncology Nurses.”

Potter is a research scientist, at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis, MO.

August 2010

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. Complementary therapies are commonly used by people with cancer in the management of side effects caused by cancer or cancer treatment. This month’s CJONPlus podcast highlights the August CJON article “Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Women With Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review” and features an interview with the article’s lead author Ausanee Wanchai, RN, MSN, and her advisor and co-author Jane Armer, PhD, RN, FAAN.

Ausanee Wanchai is a PhD nursing student at Sinclair School of Nursing and a graduate research assistant in Nursing Research at Ellis Fischel Cancer Center at the University of Missouri–Columbia. Wanchai also is a nursing instructor at Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Buddhachinaraj, Thailand. She has published a number of articles on nonpharmacologic approaches to improving the quality of life of women with breast cancer.

Jane Armer is a professor in the Sinclair School of Nursing and Director of Nursing Research at Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. She has conducted extensive work in the area of lymphedema and self-management among breast cancer survivors and chronic illness and has published more than 60 research articles in the refereed literature. Armer also is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and was recognized for her international contribution to lymphedema research by the ILF in 2009.

The podcast is provided below in an English language version, presented by Dr. Armer, and in a Thai version, presented by Ms. Wanchai.

June 2010

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common side effect of many agents and may last a long time after treatment ends. To date, there is no evidenced-based intervention to prevent or manage it. Common questions related to CIPN include: What does it feel like for patients who have it? What happens to someone’s daily life as a result of having CIPN? How do patients deal with it? What can we learn from patients’ experiences that may help us counsel future patients about CIPN?

In the first-ever installment of CJONPlus, Cindy Tofthagen, PhD, ARNP, AOCNP^®, will address these and other questions based on a descriptive study she conducted with adults experiencing CIPN. Listen in as Dr. Tofthagen is interviewed about the study and her June 2010 CJON article "Patient Perceptions Associated With Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy.”

Dr. Tofthagen is an assistant professor at University of South Florida and a member of the Health Outcomes and Behavior Department at Moffitt Cancer Center, both in Tampa, FL. She also works in a community medical oncology practice.