Nursing & Patient Care
Fostering clinical excellence and professional development
The Center for Cancer Care Education, Practice, and Quality
Diane Hanley, RN, director of the Center for Cancer Care Education, Practice, and Quality, succinctly sums up the center's mission. "Lifelong learning is essential to professional development and excellence in clinical care," she notes. "The Center for Cancer Care Education is dedicated to encouraging professional growth among staff at DFCI by offering dynamic, state-of-the-art educational opportunities."
Over the past few years, the department has developed a diverse menu of educational programs geared toward meeting its goals. Along the way, the department has become an important resource for oncology clinical education in the region, providing educational programs for clinicians at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), Children's Hospital Boston, and institutions outside the immediate area.
Elizabeth "Libby" Tracey, PhD, RN, AOCN, coordinates orientation for new staff.
Introducing staff to DFCI
One of the center's primary roles is welcoming and orienting new staff. Elizabeth ("Libby") Tracey, PhD, RN, AOCN, clinical specialist and coordinator of the orientation program, says orientation has been redesigned in the last year to meet the needs of all staff within Nursing and Patient Care Services and to ensure a more comprehensive introduction to DFCI and to oncology clinical practice.
One week each month is reserved for the orientation of clinic assistants, pharmacy techs, new-patient coordinators, and other front-line staff who support clinical operations. A second week is reserved for the orientation of clinicians, including program nurses, research nurses, nurse practitioners, social workers, pharmacists, and respiratory therapists. During orientation, attendees discuss DFCI's mission and values and meet staff from some of the many departments involved in patient care. Nurses in orientation, along with nurses newly hired to Brigham and Women's and Children's hospitals, complete a two-day chemotherapy certification course that provides an intensive review of chemotherapy, biotherapy, and symptom management. At the end of the week of classes, nurses move on to the clinical units and work with preceptors to master a broad range of clinical competencies.
Meeting the needs of experienced oncology clinicians at DFCI and beyond
In addition to coordinating orientation for new staff, the center offers programs designed for experienced oncology clinicians at DFCI and other institutions. A monthly program on bone marrow transplantation provides an in-depth review of the care of bone marrow transplant patients and is attended by nurses who care for these patients at all phases of their care ambulatory nurses from Dana-Farber and inpatient nurses from Brigham and Women's and Children's hospitals. The center also conducts Nursing Grand Rounds each month. "Over the past year," notes Linda Pellerin, RN, OCN, clinical nurse specialist and coordinator of educational programming, "we have focused on broadening the range of topics that we cover through grand rounds." Themes addressed in recent programs include pain management, patient safety, and ethical issues encountered in oncology nursing. The center also collaborates with BWH to host annual seminars featuring expert oncology practitioners from around the country.
Staff from the center are also available to consult with nurses on the clinical units. "Because DFCI is on the cutting edge of research and clinical care," notes Pellerin, "we are often among the first to use new cancer medications or other treatments. Nurses often call on us for help as they encounter new treatments or technologies for the first time."
One indication of the center's success is the way it functions as a resource for clinicians seeking professional growth opportunities. "One of our goals," says Tracey, "has been to send the message that the door of our department is always open." Today, clinicians often return to seek consultation as they contemplate moving into a new area of cancer care or expanding their area of practice. Advocating for professional growth in this way, notes Tracey, is what the center is all about.
