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Editorial: Oncology nursing is in good hands!

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2 Volume 31, Issue 1, WInter 2021 • CanadIan onCology nursIng Journal reVue CanadIenne de soIns InfIrmIers en onCologIe

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s I sit down to write this editorial, the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology has just finished its annual conference. For the first time, it was a virtual one.

The Planning and Scientific Committees, as well as our man- agement company, Malachite Management, deserve a huge thank you for reorganizing what was to have been a traditional in-person event in a rather short period of time.

Although we were not able to see one another in person, we were able to connect. Those of us who participated closed our screens and shut down our computers feeling renewed and re-energized to carry on in these unprecedented times.

There were some remarkable presentations offered during the conference. Let me highlight some of the key messages that have stayed with me.

Cancer care continues to change and evolve. It is becoming ever more complex for us and for patients and their families.

Targeted therapies, immunotherapy, biologics, oral administra- tion, telehealth visits, health disparities, struggles to balance tox- icity with benefit—all are part of our daily practice lives. These complexities mean patient needs are multifaceted and individu- als living through a cancer experience require knowledgeable/

skilled oncology nurses now more than ever before, every step along the way. As side-effect profiles change, and more patients are on oral regimens and managing at home, the need for astute patient education and ongoing monitoring is essential.

The increasing number of survivors offers a remarkable opportunity for oncology nurses to take leadership. A large proportion of patients enter survivorship feeling uncertain about what lies ahead for them and their families. Oncology nurses have a role in preparing patients for their transition to the next stage of their cancer journey and learning what they need to know if they are to engage successfully in self- care management. Dealing with late and long-term effects of cancer treatment can leave patients feeling distressed and somewhat lost if they are not well prepared and know what to anticipate or where to turn for help should they need it.

Living after primary treatment is not only about living with- out clinical evidence of disease, for some it is about living with metastatic disease. This group of patients need our concerted attention, as well. The illness impact is more like living with a chronic illness where one has to deal with that impact every day. There is no break, no vacation from it. There are no bells ringing for these patients.

We need to be working to fully operationalize patient-cen- tred care approaches and ensure the full range of patient and family needs are met regardless of age, gender, race, or where people live. Oncology nurses are creative and have innova- tive ideas for quality care. Even now, they are engaged in the rapidly emerging strategies to make use of telehealth, smart phones, and social media for providing patient education and support. They are also with patients and know patient care delivery—what is working and what is not.

Oncology nurses have powerful voices. Sally Thorne, our keynote speaker, challenged us to use them to effect change for patients and for nursing. She urged us to fight our way onto the tables where decisions are being made about patient care and nursing work. Nurses need to be present and continually work to undermine the structural barriers that prevent nurses from giving care to the full range of their preparation. We need to rebuild our systems of nursing leadership and mentorship.

Every nurse ought to know where to go for meaningful men- torship. Sally implored each of us to find our people, find our partners, be visible, speak up, and (in essence) “be a nuisance”!

Cancer care needs nurses and we must never let others forget it!

We are living in revolutionary times with advances in can- cer treatment and care, yet significant barriers exist to realiz- ing outcomes from those advances because of COVID-19. Its impact on our cancer world is likely going to be felt for a long time. Yet, there are important lessons for us to acknowledge from this pandemic. It has unmasked disparities and ineq- uities—but it has placed nursing in the spotlight and shown our strengths. And maybe it has allowed us to rediscover some of our social justice roots. So many of the early nurse leaders were highly active in social and public health movements.

As our CANO/ACIO President Reanne Booker indicated,

“We are in this for the long term—it is not a sprint, but a mar- athon. But we will get through it together.” She also challenged us to ask ourselves, “What do you each want to do with your one wild and precious life?”

I think we can draw inspiration from the late US Supreme Court Judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who wanted to be remem- bered as someone who used whatever talents she had to do her work to the very best of her ability, and to do what she could to repair the tears in her society (MSNBC, 2016). There are two of her quotes I think apply for us in response to Reanne’s ques- tion. The first one is, “To make life a little better for people less fortunate than you, that’s what I think a meaningful life is; one lives not just for oneself, but also for one’s community.” And the second is, “Fight for the things you believe in, but do so in a way that will lead others to you.” We each have environments in which we can apply these ideas.

If you feel so inclined, you can still access the presentations from the 2020 CANO-ACIO Annual Conference. They will be available until the end of May 2021 through the CANO/ACIO website. And you can also read the abstracts for both the oral and poster presentations in this issue of the CONJ. For the first time we are publishing the abstracts from those who presented.

Either avenue will give you a clear sense that oncology nurses are compassionate, creative, caring, and committed to providing quality care to cancer patients and their family members.

Oncology nursing is in good hands!!

Margaret I. Fitch, RN, PhD Editor-in-Chief, CONJ

editOriAl

Oncology nursing is in good hands!

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