Authors (including presenting author) :
Lee KC(1), Liu CW(1), Tsang WY(2)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Clinical Oncology (2)Department of Medicine & Geriatrics, United Christian Hospital
Introduction :
Cancer service was identified as one of the most important service development in KEC. In UCH, a new oncology nursing team was established in September 2020 and the first oncology inpatient ward in KEC was opened in March 2021. In order to promote excellence in oncology nursing and prepare for future development of new cancer services in UCH, a committed and competent nursing workforce is one of the key elements. To achieve this, a staff engagement and induction program was designed to all oncology nurses from June to December 2020.
Objectives :
1.To enhance specialty competency of oncology nurses and facilitate them to take up extended roles of oncology nursing in all settings.
2.To promote staff commitment and engagement to a new nursing team.
Methodology :
The induction program consisted of a 4-month clinical rotational training according to staff experiences and a 121.5-hour training program which covered 8 domains of clinical oncology nurse practice: Chemotherapy and hormonal therapy nursing, biotherapy nursing, nutritional support, cancer pain management, oncology emergencies and complications, palliative care, radiotherapy nursing and clinical management of major cancers. Electronic survey was used for program evaluation and data was analyzed using SPSS.
Result & Outcome :
Total 26 nurses joined the induction program and response rate of the survey was 96.1%. Overall mean score of the program was 8.04/10. 92.3% and 76.9% respondents agreed that they could achieve knowledge proficiency (mean score=4.24/5) and skill enhancement (mean score=3.8/5) after program commencement. ANOVA test revealed that the benefit was more significant for inexperienced and nurses who did not receive specialty training before (F=6.673, p=0.017). Moreover, most respondents agreed that the program could deepen their interest in oncology nursing (80%), increase their confidence in handling cancer patients (72%) and stronger sense of belonging (88%). More positive feedbacks were received on lectures conducted by oncologists, cytotoxic drug spillage workshop and visitation to other oncology centers. In order to meet with immense challenges at work, respondents expressed training needs on side-effect and symptom management related to systemic anticancer therapy and life and death education.
In conclusion, the induction program could not only enhance staff competency and foster staff engagement, it also provided a clear direction for future professional training and development.
