Oncology Nursing Day

April 7, 2009

"Oncology Nurses: Ignite the Passion"

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT - March 2009

On April 7th, 2009 oncology nurses across Canada will join together with colleagues, peers, and the public to celebrate the 6th Annual Canadian Oncology Nursing Day. Please join me in extending my appreciation to the dedicated nurses who provide care to individuals and their families living with cancer from initial diagnosis, through active treatment, along with palliative services, and into bereavement. They actively strive to improve patient care and treatment in the research activities they undertake. These include promoting screening and early detection initiatives, providing genetic counseling, giving education about cancer and its treatment, and influencing policy to improve cancer care in our country.

For the person and their family experiencing cancer, oncology nurses help make sense of the diagnosis in plain language. The oncology nurse is present each step along the cancer journey. It is oncology nurses who give the chemotherapy, listen to how the person is responding, provide symptom management, and offer guidance, support, and hope. Their caring and support offers strength throughout this tough journey and provides hope during the difficult times. When one is too weak, tired, or scared to speak for himself/herself, the oncology nurse advocates for the person's quality of life and wishes. Oncology nurses also experience the joy of sharing in the moments of celebration, the times of laughter and joy.

Cancer touches all of us at some point in our lifetime. Perhaps not yesterday or today, but one day oncology nurses may be a very important part of your life or that of your loved ones. Please join me in celebrating the care and dedication that oncology nurses offer.

To all of the nurses in this country who provide care to people at risk for developing cancer and those people and families living with/beyond cancer, thank you for the amazing work you do. Thank you for sharing your special expertise to enrich our lives.

Sincerely,

Kim Chapman RN, MSc(N), CON(C)

CANO/ACIO President

EVENTS

How Oncology Nursing Day was celebrated across Canada

A few examples...

The Alberta (ONIGA South) Chapter hosted "Keeping the Passion Alive", an exciting evening of events on April 7th in Fort Calgary. Participants were welcomed to cocktails at 6:00 PM, followed by dinner at 7:00 PM and a presentation by Dr. Kathleen Oberle at 9:00 PM.

The Toronto Chapter hosted an educational event on April 7th sponsored by Novartis. A presentation on "Bisphosphonates in Oncology: Therapeutic or Supportive?" was scheduled for 7:00 PM followed by dinner.

The British Columbia Chapter and BC Cancer Agency hosted a dinner event for oncology nurses on April 7th. This was a videolinked event to all the BC Regional Cancer Centres and several community oncology clinics in British Columbia. The guest speaker was Dr. Sally Thorne from the UBC School of Nursing and she gave a presentation on Communication in Cancer Care.

The de Souza Institute (Ontario) held celebrations via teleconference with special guests sharing their vision for oncology nursing excellence in Ontario on Tuesday, April 7, 2009. The invited guests were Vanessa Burkoski, Chief Nursing Officer (Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care), Esther Green, Chief Nursing Officer (Cancer Care Ontario), and Dr. Mary Jane Esplen, Director (de Souza Institute). For more information on this event, click here

The Juravinski Cancer Centre (Ontario) celebrated Oncology Nursing Day by inviting all oncology nurses to a Breakfast Meeting and a talk by Jennifer Wiernikowski on the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology on April 7, 2009 at the Juravinski Cancer Centre Lecture Theatre. In the afternoon, cake and coffee were served in the conference room to all oncology nurses. For more information on this and other events held by the Juravinski Cancer Centre, click here

The Windsor Regional Hospital celebrated Oncology Nursing Day with a lovely dinner and belly-dancing show sponsored by Hoffman La-Roche, OBICA, Amgen, Novartis, and AstraZeneca. Door prizes were donated on behalf of medical oncologists and radiation oncologists. Tickets for the dinner were sold and the funds were donated to a patient of Windsor Regional Cancer Centre who is experiencing difficulty paying for her medications.

The CANO/ACIO “Live the Passion” video was made available on the hospital web site for everyone to view and was also posted on the closed circuit TV's in the lobby/cafeteria areas. Nurses on the inpatient and outpatient oncology units have put together an educational board for display at the hospital and have distributed free baked goods to everyone visiting the display. Also, CANO/ACIO pens and pins were distributed in gift bags with other goodies.

The Quebec Chapter - L'Association québécoise des infirmières en oncologie held its annual conference on April 24, 2009. The conference theme was De novice à experte: invitation aux partages des connaissances en oncologie (From Novice to Expert: An Invitation to share oncology knowledge). The conference began with a presentation on the different generations of our workforce. The keynote speaker presentation focused on intergenerational values, work ethics, family, and life objectives. Participants were invited to choose from 8 interactive workshops that were subsequently repeated. The closing ceremony focused on some of the daily issues faced by nurses not only in their work life but how it affects their overall well-being.

The Princess Margaret Hospital (Toronto) organized a whole day of exciting talks on various subjects of interest to oncology nurses with twenty speakers on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 from 9:00am to 4pm. Breakfast was served to all oncology nurses. Click here for the list of events.

The Nova Scotia Chapter sponsored a special telehealth session on Thursday, April 9th at 12:30pm local time with Francoise Mathieu, a Compassion Fatigue Specialist, giving a "live" presentation via telehealth from Kingston, Ontario. The 1-hour session on "Running on Empty- Understanding Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma" was broadcast to 10 different telehealth sites in hospitals throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. On March 16th, an article ran in the provincial paper, The Chronicle Herald, putting the "spotlight" on all the wonderful work that oncology nurses do on a daily basis and highlighting why Nova Scotia oncology nurses are passionate about their jobs. Many of the nurses interviewed were CANO/ACIO members, and there was a lot of positive feedback on this article.

The Capital Health Cancer Care Program in Halifax celebrated the work of oncology nurses by sponsoring a free pizza lunch for oncology nurses on April 7, 2009. This is a big success every year and, thanks to an industry sponsor, cake was also provided to mark this special day. The CANO/ACIO "Live the Passion" video was shown and CANO/ACIO members spoke about their new roles within the Capital Health Cancer Care Program.

The Northeastern Ontario Chapter held a small reception with cake and roses on Oncology Nursing Day. They had a display in the lobby of the Sudbury Regional Cancer Program honoring a nurse who 'Ignites the Passion', Margaux Lachance, and another display was created of words of thanks and recognition that have been given to oncology nurses by many patients and families. They will also be holding an education event about Head and Neck Cancers given by Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgeon Dr. Ishaak as part of Oncology Nursing celebrations on May 7, 2009.

The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre had a very well attended luncheon event catered by and supported by the The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre Administration team. Oncology Nursing Day was also celebrated on Saturday, March 28 to promote oncology nursing in the Champlain region. This event was attended by approximately one hundred people and had excellent response. The speakers focused on the value of the oncology nurse during the care spectrum of the cancer patient. CANO/ACIO Oncology pins were distributed to every nurse in the program to draw their attention to the organization and their role as a nurse. On March 31, Cindy McLennan, Clinical Manager Systemic Therapy, participated in the CFRA radio show and spoke about the expansion of the Cancer Centre and the role that nursing plays as a core team member in the care of cancer patients.

The Hospital for Sick Children had weekly question quizzes and prizes in the weeks leading up to Oncology Nursing Day on all units of the Haematology/Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant program. On April 7th the director of the program and the Associate chief of nursing practice gave a warm welcome to the attendees and presented a slide show of the employees that make up the program. They also displayed posters from nurses who presented at the most recent Association of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology Nurses. There was a hand molding station set up to increase comfort and learning; information on certification as paediatric oncology nurses; camp opportunities and info from the children's oncology group; presentations from a haematologist focused on genes, genomes and cancer; and a presentation from a palliative care doctor focused on the lighter side of palliative care; and three hot topic presentations that gave some of the APHON presenters the opportunity to share their work with those in attendance. Lastly, they had a cake decorated with the Canadian Oncology Nursing Day logo, door prizes, draws for oncology textbooks, and distributed CANO/ACIO pens.

The Fraser Health (British Columbia) celebrated Oncology Nursing Day for the entire week! The unit was decorated with cancer awareness ribbons and several inservices were planned, as well as a Jeopardy/Who wants to be a Millionaire game. Prizes were drawn and forms were distributed to nominate colleagues for their amazing work. One nomination will be chosen for extra recognition, and many of them will be posted. And, of course, CANO/ACIO pens were distributed, as well as a lot of food!

The Credit Valley Hospital and the Peel Regional Cancer Centre in Mississauga Ontario enjoyed a fabulous Oncology Nursing Day 2009. Both the outpatient and inpatient oncology nurses were treated to a continental breakfast to start the day of celebration and take a moment together to appreciate and recognize the value of our work. In the spirit of team work in caring for cancer patients, we invited our CEO Michelle DiEmanuele, members of the multidisciplinary team, and our volunteers to have cake and refreshments at lunchtime. Our day was capped with a sponsored dinner educational event. Our speaker was Andrea Warnick, RN, BScN, MA, who works at the Max and Beatrice Wolfe Centre for Children’s Grief and Palliative Care. She gave a dynamic talk entitled: “Daddy Swallowed a Lollypop and Got Cancer: The Role of the Oncology Nurse in Supporting Families When a Parent is Dying”. This event was successfully attended by over 60 oncology nurses who enjoyed a great dinner, camaraderie and many door prizes! We always make a point of highlighting the special accomplishments of our nurses over the past year such as writing the certification exam, committee work or presenting at CANO. Everyone left inspired and with a little care package as a special thank you. Click here for the agenda.

The Southlake Regional Health Centre (Newmarket, Ontario) celebrated Oncology Nursing Day with cake and tea, CANO pens and brochures were distributed to all oncology nurses, and posters were made for this special day. An article was also submitted to the hospital newsletter celebrating what it is like being an oncology nurse.

MEMBER RESOURCES

Members and chapters around the country are celebrating the Sixth Annual Oncology Nursing Day - here are some resources to help you celebrate:

Online Resources:

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