Foundations of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nursing

Program History This course is designed to give participants an overview of nursing practice matters in caring for children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer and blood disorders. Common pediatric hematological and oncological diagnoses are presented, along with the clinical nurse’s role in implementing treatment approaches. Supportive care principles are also introduced. Case studies providing clinical scenarios are included to enhance the learning process. Knowledge check questions are included in each module to assist the nurse educator in measuring the effectiveness of the program and learning outcomes. The idea for the first edition of this course occurred in 2001 when then-APHON member and past president of APHON Joetta D. Wallace, MSN RN FNP-C CPON®, invited

nursing educators and advanced practice nurses from several institutions across Southern California to join her in forming an educational consortium. The impetus for this project was Joetta Wallace’s observation that, at any one time, most institutions have only a limited number of nurses requiring a formalized pediatric hematology/ oncology orientation program or refresher course; nevertheless, it is incumbent on each institution to meet the educational needs of these nurses. She believed that pooling resources would be possible to provide a high-quality program that would meet the educational needs of these nurses while at the same time reducing the investment of resources required by individual institutions to provide ongoing educational programs. Therefore, the goal of the educational consortium was to develop a comprehensive, standardized pediatric hematology/oncology orientation course that would be

helpful both for nurses new to pediatric hematology/ oncology and for current pediatric hematology/oncology nurses who want to refresh their knowledge. The original APHON Foundations of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nursing: A Comprehensive Orientation and Review Course consisted of an 18.5- hour course comprised of 19 modules, offering 22.2 nursing continuing education units (CEUs), which provided the basis for pediatric hematology/oncology nursing practice. Now in the third edition, the program has grown to a recommended 20.7-hour course of 21 modules with the new addition of the Immunology

module. The number of continuing nursing education (CNE) contact hours offered for the program will depend on the total number of hours of presentation time. The modules are provided in Microsoft PowerPoint® presentations and are available by downloading the files from the APHON ACE Center once purchased. The modules are accompanied by extensive notes and references for the nurse educator/instructor’s use. Nurse educators/instructors may provide a course syllabus of the PowerPoint® handouts for each module. The modules ideally would be taught by an experienced pediatric hematology/oncology nurse but can also be used as an independent self-study program.

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