March 2008 / Volume 3, Number 1
NYC 2008 Chapter Board
Executive Board of Directors:
President-Elizabeth Rodriguez
President-Elect-Terri Yannaco
Secretary-Denise O’Dea
Treasurer-Mary Schoen
Treasurer-Elect-Susan Moore
Director At Large-Nancy Houlihan
Past President-Mary Pilossoph
2008 Committee Chairpersons:
Membership Committee Chair-
Geri Boyle
Nominating Committee Chair-
Karen DeVries
Program Committee Chair-
Kristin Cawley
Newsletter Editor-Mary Schumann
Virtual Community Administrator-
Sarah Jones
Contact the Board:
ONS National Updates
Awards, Grants, and Scholarships
For those of you interested in oncology nursing certification in 2008, here is a link to apply for a scholarship to pay for the exam.
ONS 33rd Annual Congress
May 15–18, 2008 • Philadelphia, PA
When you register by April 3, you'll save $100 through a special limited time offer!
Volunteers Needed For High School Outreach Project
In 2006, volunteers from the New York City chapter of ONS put together a program to reach out to high school students in an effort to recruit them to the nursing profession, particularly oncology nursing. The nurses visited the schools on their own time during the day to give an hour-long presentation. This presentation included a 15 minute power point presentation from the C-Change initiative, Considering a Career in Cancer followed by the nurse explaining how he or she chose the nursing field, particularly oncology nursing. Approximately 400 junior and senior high school students from New York City, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Westchester
participated in the program in 2006.
As the program was such a huge success, we would like to resume again in
2008. I will schedule a start up meeting for those of you who are
interested.
If you would like to participate and/or have a connection to a high school that the volunteers could visit, please contact Mary Schoen
Service Awards At the January meeting, the board recognized the following chapter members for their outstanding participation, and lasting contribution to the Board of Directors. 5 year service award certificates were presented to: Nancy Houlihan, Denise O’Dea, Maryellen O’Sullivan, Mary Pilossoph, Mary Schoen, Mary Schumann, and Andrea Vinet. 10 year service award certificates and gift were presented to: Lisa Caltieri and Ann Culkin.
Get Ready to Celebrate Oncology Nursing Month
Recognize all that you do during Oncology Nursing Month. Set aside some time in May to celebrate you and your colleagues for your dedication and commitment to your patients and your profession. You deserve it!
New PEP card Volume Now Available
The latest volume of the highly-popular PEP card series is available now! This new two-card set features the topics of pain and prevention of bleeding. Order your set today at ProductDetails.aspx?sku=INPEPV03
ONS Helps You Learn About Healthcare Economics
As expenditures continue to rise rapidly, the economics of healthcare in the United States has been an increasingly important area of interest. The ONS Web Site Economics Resource Area provides information on economic resources of interest to oncology nurses. economics/
New Handbook Highlights Role of Oncology Nurse Practitioner
The new, pocket-sized handbook, “So, You Want to Be an Oncology Nurse Practitioner?!” will help nurses understand what it means to take on this challenging position. Order now and save with a special introductory offer ProductDetails.aspx?sku=INPU0583
Save on ONS Books and Resources! For a limited time only, you can save on your purchase of ONS publications with discounts between 30% and 75% off regular member prices on selected titles now through March 31, 2008.
Due to Renew Your Certification in 2008? Do it for Free!
If you’re due to renew your OCN®, CPON®, or AOCN® certification in 2008, you could do it for FREE – this year, and for the rest of your life! Five renewal candidates whose applications are received by June 15, 2008 will win a lifetime of free renewals by the Oncology Nursing Certification Points Renewal Option (ONC-PRO)! Renewal candidates must submit their application, ONC-PRO logs, and fee by June 15. Five winners will be randomly selected and their renewal fee will be refunded this year, and waived for all future renewals! Renew by June 15 for a chance to win a lifetime of free renewals (and save $75 on the fee), or renew by September 15 to just save $75 on the fee. All renewals must be received by October 15 (with the full fee). Regardless of which date you renew by in 2008, your renewed certification will be valid through December 31, 2012.
2008 renewal candidates will be notified of the status of their application within 12 weeks of application receipt.
Regional Conferences
Fifth International Symposium on Ovarian Cancer and Gynecologic Malignancies.
March 28-29, 2008 New York, NY
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
/ Message from the President
It’s All About You!
This year, the NYC Chapter Board of Directors agreed to focus on the recruitment, recognition, and retention of our members. To acknowledge our commitment to the membership, we have identified this as our primary goal in our strategic plan for 2008. The membership committee, under the leadership of Geri Boyle, has already identified strategies for recruitmentwith future plans for implementing the Ambassador Program. We started a new tradition of recognition at our January meeting where we celebrated board members for their years of service. Our commitment to retention is clear as Kristin Cawley continues to lead the Programming Committee in offering high quality dinner programs that reflect the needs and preferences of the members.
This is the time of year when we are giving away money. Karen DeVries (Nominating Committee) has done an excellent job at getting the word out to members about the benefits available if you apply for one of the ONS Congress travel grants or scholarships. Applications are available for download on the chapter’s Virtual Community. Take a moment to nominate yourself or one of your colleagues!
Communication is key and we are working hard this year to enhance the methods we communicate with each other. The chapter newsletter, with Mary Schumann as Editor, has launched into a second consecutive year of publication providing a venue for reporting on ONS events at the local and national level. Additionally, we have made tremendous strides with the Virtual Community thanks to the dedication of Sarah Jones as the Virtual Community Administrator. We are using the site to electronically send chapter announcements and program invitations as well as posting photos and archiving historical chapter documents in the site’s virtual office. I invite you all to visit frequently as the site is regularly updated. Here is a “tip” (to ease access), save it as a “favorite” on your web browser:
With so much going on, I am confident that we are going to have another wonderful year. I encourage anyone that wants to get more involved in the chapter to contact me anytime at .
Elizabeth S. Rodriguez, MA, RN, OCN
Chapter President
Program Updates…
By Ann Culkin, RNJanuary 28, 2008 New York City Chapter member Cathy Handy, PhD, RN, AOCN® kicked off the first meeting of the chapter in 2008 with her presentation of “Big Payoff for a Small Wager: Nanotechnology in Cancer”. Cathy is a Clinical Nurse Specialist at St. Vincent’s CancerCenter and the presenter of the 2007 Bench to Bedside Lecture on ONS Congress held in Las Vegas, NV. 73 members attended the program held at Brasserie 8 ½ on West 57th Street sponsored by Abraxis Oncology. Cathy highlighted nanotechnology by definition and discussed the promise of this technology in cancer prevention, detection and treatment. She described the process as analogous to the climactic scene in Star Wars when Luke Skywalker and the rebel fighters flew small ships into tiny holes in the Death Star spaceship and blew it up from the inside out. The Death Star represents a cancer cell, and the small ships flown by Skywalker and friends are nano particles, armed with cancer treatments. Cathy noted that the very “small” advances could mean a big payoff for patients.
Chapter member, Paula Absolon won the evening’s 50/50 jackpot! Congratulations Paula!
February 13, 2008
Ruby Foo’s on Broadway provided the setting for the February 13th, 2008 chapter program entitled PEP Up Your Practice! presented by New York City Chapter President Elizabeth Rodriguez, MA RN OCN®. Liz is an ONS Outcomes Chapter Champion. This meeting was the brainstorm of Liz, as she was awarded a grant from ONS to present this program.
Liz defined PEP which is Putting Evidence into Practice and led an interactive program on how to improve patient outcomes through the use of the ONS PEP evidence-based resources. Discussion about nurse-sensitive patient outcomes, evidence-based nursing interventions, and ways to integrate these interventions into practice were reviewed. The highlight of the evening was chapter members participating in Pep-ardy! A game similar to the game show Jeopardy. Members attending were given their own PEP Quick Reference Cards and were competitive providing a lively exchange within the group.
This program was made possible through a grant from the Breast Cancer Fund of the National Philanthropic Trust to the Oncology Nursing Society. One Nursing Contact hour was provided for this program.
The next meeting will be April 14th at 6:30 pm at the Tribeca Grill. Susan Roethke, NPof Fox Chase Cancer Center will present “A Targeted Agent for Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Nurse's Perspective”.
What Inspired Me to Become an Oncology Nurse?
By Patricia Albanese-Loscalzo, RN, OCNMy introduction into the nursing world began when I was 18 years-old. I became a volunteer at a local hospital to see if nursing might be a career goal for me. The first day on the job I knew that I had found my profession. My first job after nursing school was at St. Michael’s MedicalCenter in Newark, NJ on a renal unit. Most of the patients were either chronically or terminally ill. There was one exception, the patient in room 302B. His name was Vinny, a 29 year-old who was admitted with a diagnosis of fever with unknown origin. After an extensive work-up, a diagnosis of bacterial endocarditis was confirmed. Five weeks of IV Vancomycin and lots of TLC from me placed him back to his usual state of health. Two years later we walked down the aisle and began to build a lifetime of dreams, and a family filled with happiness. Five years after we were married we were challenged with cancer. Vinny, at the age of 37, was diagnosed with squamous cell of the ethmoid sinus; a rare but deadly cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation became part of our daily lives for the next three years. In 1989, Vinny loss his fight with cancer. I was left alone, a young widow with two small children and had to figure out how to continue with life without my soul mate. I went back to work at St. Michael’s MedicalCenter and was asked to take a position in the outpatient hematology/oncology unit. How could a grieving single mother ever help these oncology patients with their own issues of mortality?
After working with these patients for about 6 months, I realized that God actually chose me to do this work by giving me the experience I lived through with my husband. I knew first hand what mucositis, diarrhea, vomiting and fatigue meant to a patient 5-7 days after chemotherapy. I knew the difficulty of scheduling child care arrangements for our frequent doctor appointments. I knew what it meant to fear not being able to provide financial stability for your family. I knew that the physical debilitation of his illness was not a passage in life at the age of 37. Vinny is and always will be my inspiration to care for others diagnosed with cancer.
After working in oncology for 18 years I know that I can make a difference to each and every patient. When I go home at night and rest my head on my pillow, I know that God has chosen this field for me. Vinny was taken away from me but I have been given a chance to provide comfort and care to oncology patients in need everyday. I love my job and I am grateful to have a profession that I can do such meaningful and rewarding work.
Patricia is a member of ONS national.
Across the Globe, Oncology Nurses Share Common Goals: Caring for Patients with Cancer
By Germán Rodriguez, RN, MSNWhen I accepted the invitation to lecture at the XVIII Argentinian Oncology Congress in November 2007, I never expected that I’d have one of the most heart felt experiences of my life. As the keynote speaker, I lectured to 182 oncology nurses on the “Past, Present and Future of Oncology Nursing”.
The discussion spanned from the days of Florence Nightingale all the way to a vision of the future. Within small groups we discussed the prominent issues that oncology nurses of Argentina face today including; the lack of protective gear for handling of chemotherapy agents, issues of professionalism and recognition, poor economic infrastructure, a lack of standardization of nursing oncology care, the nursing shortage, and a need for a professional nursing organization for guidance and educational direction. Interestingly, many of their hurdles proved not too dissimilar from those within our current American health care system. My lecture concluded with a talk on “Reducing the Environmental footprint of a Hospital”. I shared with them ways to become “green” via waste reduction and energy conservation tips.
Dr. Pepe Galleano, my ONS sponsor, wanted me “to motivate the nurses and to inspire them to think differently”. I asked myself, was my purpose achieved? Did my audience learn something new from me? Did I give them what they needed and hoped for? I went there with an expectation that I would serve as a resource, never expecting that I too would learn and be inspired. While the Argentinean public hospitals may not be as technologically advanced or have as many resources, the universal goal of a nurse to treat and heal human beings remains a constant. I have learned that technology, while medically advantageous, has the potential to remove us further from the patient, counteracting our primary nursing objective. These Argentinean nurses have such dedication and professionalism that they were able to transcend their obstacles while still treating patients with the utmost dignity and care. My last words are of gratitude to the nurses in Argentina for reminding me why I became a nurse, and why I am particularly proud to be an oncology nurse.
Germán is a member of ONS national and the New York City Chapter.