Because of the potential for leakage at the joint between the blood filters and tubing, B. Braun issued a voluntary recall of 22 lots of its y-type blood administration sets in November 2019. The recalled sets are used to deliver blood from a container to a patient's vascular system through an IV catheter inserted into a vein or central venous catheter.
Evidence-based practice is central to successful patient care—not only in oncology but throughout the entire healthcare community. Currently, the way health care is delivered varies throughout the United States. Not all hospitals or clinics are the same, nor do all institutions operate the same. Many treatments are given to patients without clear evidence of the benefit, and unity and standardization are lacking, which could lead to wide variances in the efficacy and safety of care provided to patients.
The vaping conversation has drawn the attention of everyone on Capitol Hill, and it’s been a contentious debate so far. Tensions were high at the White House during a meeting with smoking cessation advocates after the Trump administration decided to step back from promises to ban flavored vaping products.
As part of the rigorous process of transitioning ONS Putting Evidence Into Practice recommendations into formal, actionable clinical practice guidelines, the draft guidelines must undergo a public comment period. The first five guidelines to reach that step will be open for public comment in December 2019 and early 2020.
Leading organizations like ONS develop nationally recommended, evidence-based cancer care guidelines to inform practice, unify and standardize the way patient care is delivered, and ensure successful outcomes. By clarifying gray areas and codifying practice, guidelines enable providers to deliver efficacious, safe oncology care for patients and all care providers.
Blinatumomab received accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014 for the treatment of B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The drug’s unique administration procedures have prompted nurses to evaluate their practice for safety.
Ethical dilemmas arise more often than we realize: consider the patient you have been taking care of for three days telling you he wants no further treatment, but later goes along with family members when they push for more treatment. Moral distress occurs when nurses believe they know the correct action to take but are prevented from doing so. It may lead to a decrease in the quality of patient care and can be a causative factor when nurses leave their current job and sometimes even the profession.
To continue to guide the future path of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) and its commitment to innovation, advocacy, and excellence in the nursing profession, the ONS Board of Directors has elected Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) Director of Nursing, Evidence-Based Practice, Nancy Houlihan, MA, RN, AOCN®, as the Society’s next president.
In 2018, long-time National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) Director Patricia Grady, PhD, RN, FAAN, retired. A national search yielded no new directors, and the National Institutes of Health appointed Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak, DDS, PhD, to serve as acting NINR director. However, when the director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research announced she would retire at the end of 2019, Tabak, who previously served as the dental agency’s director, was appointed as the obvious replacement.
As the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, lung cancer is pervasive and deadly. But like many cancers, patients have a better chance at successful treatment outcomes and survival if caught early through screening and early detection efforts. Despite lung cancer being the second most diagnosed cancer for men and women, not all Americans are aware of its screening recommendations. To address the gap in awareness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is promoting a new public health campaign on the issue.