In the past, the only option nurses had to obtain their ONS Provider Card for chemotherapy administration was by taking the ONS/ONCC Chemotherapy Biotherapy Certificate Course exclusively. This course is designed to be the pinnacle of chemotherapy administration education, focusing on high-volume, high-variety administration needs and offering in-depth, detailed information. The student who takes this course gets the ONS Provider Card as well as the ONCC Certificate of Added Qualification.
The certificate course is still considered the highest level of education for the nurse administering chemotherapy/biotherapy, however ONS understands that many nurses work with chemotherapy utilizing fewer agents and with less frequency. With that in mind, the newest addition to the ONS course catalog, Chemotherapy Biotherapy: Fundamentals of Administration, provides an alternative route to obtaining the ONS Provider Card. It’s specifically designed for nurses who administer chemotherapy on a low-volume or infrequent basis. It provides the essentials for these nurses to administer chemotherapy safely to match their circumstances.
Why the Change?
By offering two courses that focus on chemotherapy administration, the ONS/ONCC Chemotherapy Biotherapy Certificate Course for advanced level education and the Chemotherapy Biotherapy: Fundamentals of Administration for nurses new to oncology or those in need of low-volume chemo education, nurses can choose which course best addresses their needs in the workplace.
Chemotherapy Biotherapy: Fundamentals of Administration is an on-demand course that allows nurses to proceed at their own pace within a 6-month timeframe. This flexibility and level of education ensures that nurses enrolled in Fundamentals of Administration are spending their time learning the information that’s applicable to their day-to-day lives and the quality of care they give. Since some nurses won’t be administering chemo on a daily basis, this course will provide all the information they need to administer chemotherapy safely and at the level that’s right for them.
Successful completion of the Chemotherapy Biotherapy: Fundamentals of Administration course will provide nurses with their ONS Provider Card and 9.1 contact hours of CNE.
Different Courses for Different Nurses
Administering chemotherapy on a daily basis, or administering a wide range of agents, calls for a greater level of knowledge and experience. The ONS/ONCC Chemotherapy Biotherapy Certificate Course is designed to provide advanced-level chemotherapy/biotherapy education to nurses working in high-volume settings. Nurses administering chemotherapy on a daily basis will find extensive, detailed instruction from the Certificate Course, as it’s led by an expert nurse educator. It aims to prepare you for a wide variety of circumstances that you’ll encounter in your time as an oncology nurse, preparing for all possible contingencies. This course provides you with your ONS Provider Card, ONCC Certificate of Added Qualification, and 15 contact hours of CNE.
Nurses who work in a mixed-care or non-oncology setting that don’t administer chemotherapy as often are now given the option to obtain their ONS Provider Card through an introductory level course that provides the fundamentals of chemotherapy administration. By providing an adjusted curriculum that focuses on what these nurses will find most useful to safely administer chemotherapy, the Fundamentals of Administration course seeks to educate a different audience. Moreover, it can act as a stepping stone to provide you the background and basics needed to enroll in the Certificate Course should you need it in the future.
Find out more about ONS’s chemotherapy course options. Contact help@ons.org if you have questions.