Watching his wife courageously battle ovarian cancer, Fred Flynn witnessed the “invaluable work and compassionate care” of her oncology nurses. After she died, he created the Susan D. Flynn Oncology Nursing Fellowship, to not only recognize this exceptional care but also to inspire the best and the brightest to enter the field through real-life oncology experiences. Earlier this year, HUP celebrated the “graduation” of its fourth group of Flynn fellows: Addison Wallace and Emily Treveloni from the Villanova School of Nursing, and Paige Gugerty and Janice Hur from Penn’s School of Nursing, all now fourth-year students.
The eight-week fellowship allows the students to observe care on inpatient oncology units as well as in other areas, including infusion services, palliative care, radiation oncology, and the hematology/oncology/bone marrow transplant clinic. They also learn about ongoing cancer research at Penn and visit Penn Hospice Care at Penn Medicine Rittenhouse.
An important component of the Oncology Fellowship is the mentor assigned to each student. On HUP’s oncology units, “the fellows work 12-hour shifts with the mentor, who helps them navigate the new environment and provide support,” said Jordan Mellinger, BSN, nurse manager on Rhoads 7. The experience is similar to mentoring new-to-practice nurses. Mentors also play a role in the specialized observation experiences in the other oncology areas.
As part of the fellowship, each student is also required to complete and present an evidence-based-practice research project on some aspect of oncology nursing. Wallace discussed how an annual mindfulness-based stress reduction program for oncology nurses could help combat compassion fatigue, a “traumatizing emotional state” that can result from seeing – up close -- the emotional and physical suffering of patients.
Gugerty spoke about the use of integrative therapy (complementary and alternative medicine) to decrease side effects and distress in cancer patients compared to standard traditional medical therapy alone. She recommended that nurses receive formal CAM education, which would “make them more likely to offer it to patients and become CAM champions on the unit.”
Hur discussed the use of early palliative care interventions along with standard ongoing cancer care which can lead to an improvement in patients’ physical and emotional well-being and overall quality of life.
Many cancer patients have experienced – or just fear – the side effects of pain medications and as a result avoid taking them. This in turn leads to a decreased quality of life. Treveloni’s research review showed that the better educated nurses were on the medications they administered, the better the outcomes for patients.
According to Mellinger, evidence-based recommendations from past fellows have found their way into practice on HUP’s oncology units. For example, one fellow last year addressed sleep deprivation in oncology patients, resulting from frequent checking of vital signs. “We’ve done mini-pilots with the Penn Center for Health Care Innovation and have also created sleep packets, which include ear plugs, lavender aromatherapy, and eye masks to help patients sleep better.”
At the closing ceremony, Flynn thanked HUP’s oncology nurses for their efforts “year after year,” and called the fellowship’s mentors “the glue to the program and role models. Learning occurs by observation and communication.” His goal of encouraging nursing students to enter the field is hitting its target. Three of last year’s fellows now work on HUP’s oncology units.