Supporting oncology nurses in administering cancer treatments and nurse scientists in conducting research during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic were priority topics for the ONS Board of Directors’ August 25, 2020, meeting by conference call. After approving its board goals for 2020–2021, the ONS Board made the following decisions that you should be aware of as an ONS member and practicing oncology nurse.
Position Statements
The Board approved the Education of the Registered Nurse Who Administers and Cares for the Individual Receiving Antineoplastic Therapies position statement with the recommended revisions. It also approved the new Infusion of Antineoplastic Therapies in the Home position statement with the recommended revisions. These and ONS’s other position statements are available online.
Potential topics for future position statements were also brought forward for discussion, including possible collaborations with other nursing associations.
COVID-19 and Cancer Rapid Response Research Team
ONS convened a rapid research response team to systematically review the literature and identify the current state of the science and research gaps needed to advance cancer care and oncology nursing science related to COVID-19. During its August meeting, the ONS Board accepted the research points as recommended for the creation of a scholarly article that has been submitted to the Oncology Nursing Forum. In addition, the team is developing an executive summary for the Oncology Nursing Foundation to use to fund research to advance cancer care and oncology nursing science.
Read the full minutes from August 2020 for more details on the decisions the ONS Board of Directors made during the conference call.