My Motivation To Join Oncology Nursing Society
Cancer. A worldwide disease that can affect any organ in the human body. It can divide uncontrollably, invading and spreading to surrounding tissues. Just behind heart disease, it is the second most common cause of death. According to the National Cancer Institute, in 2018, it is estimated that there will be a total of 1, 735, 350 newly diagnosed cases of cancer and 609, 640 people will die in U. S. alone. Being on the bone marrow transplant unit for leadership this semester, I felt choosing The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) for my professional nursing organization provide a great opportunity to learn about the organization and what it has to offer for the nursing community.
The Oncology Nursing Society is an organization whose mission is to “advance excellence in oncology nursing and quality cancer care”. With more than 39, 000 members, it has aimed to improve the quality of life for cancer patients and oncology nurses since 1975. The ONS seeks to lead the transformation of cancer care while living by their core values that include the importance of innovation, excellence and advocacy for the patients. By joining the organization, members are provided discounts to oncology certificates and many educational courses and literature including an advocacy magazine and news. They are many opportunities to network with members of the organization through programs, community outreach, and ONS events. Members also gain access to subscriptions of cancer nursing journals that can help keep members educated on the newest and most effective treatments.
The organization is governed by the President Laura Fennimore, DNP, RN, NEA-BC and the Board of Directors. There are six members who act as a Director-at-Large, one treasurer and one secretary. Together, they will serve three years and meet each month to discuss current issues and future endeavors. There are also seven positions on the Leadership Development Committee, a group developed to oversee and guide the ONS leadership development throughout the organization. Lastly, the Chief Executive Officer, Brenda Nevidjon, RN, MSN, FAAN, will manage the overall operations and recourses of the organization. The CEO will act at the source of communication between the board of directors and operations. Between the position holders, there is an abundant amount of experience and leadership within the oncology community.
The ONS is currently partnered with several organizations including the Alliance for Nursing Informatics, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, American Nurses Association, National Cancer Policy Forum and many more. They have also paired with similar organizations to form alliances and share resources such as The American college of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, Canadian Oncology Nursing Organization, the ANA Congress on Nursing Practice and Economics. The ONS presently has 7 companies on its corporate council: Eisai, Amgen, Genentech, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Tesaro, and Pfizer Oncology. Five of the companies are pharmaceutical companies, two are biopharmaceutical companies and one is a biotechnology corporation. Although I am unsure of the current conflict of interest these companies pose to the organization, I see benefit the companies would have to push the organization to promote their products.
The ONS is currently working on several topics regarding their advocacy and policy. They are currently seeking to improve cancer symptom management and palliative care by advocating for transformative research, promoting comprehensive treatment, assuring appropriate pain management, encouraging new drug treatments and much more. They are also seeking to strengthen the nursing workforce contributions to safeguard public health reaching out to congress to ensure safe staffing and a safe work environment, as well as establishing mechanisms to assist the reporting of adverse events related to cancer treatment and delivery. By focusing on these two topics, they hope the result with help reduce the amount of suffering cancer can often bring to patients. The ONS was established after several oncology nurses who attended the National Cancer Nursing Conference recognized the need for support from a national organization. Since then, the ONS has continued to grow to over 225 local chapters at the national level. They have also supported programs globally to help continue to increase their outreach. The ONS has been a valued resource for oncology nurses for the past 43 years and has proved to be a powerful influence.
The ONS has published guidelines for chemotherapy recommendations, journal publications, several books including a pocket guide for cancer symptom management, as well as continuing to educate other healthcare professionals on advanced oncology nursing information. Their reputation continues to be seen in a positive light with their funding supporting nursing research, scholarships, awards, and educational programs. Having distributed over $20 million dollars to research grants, research fellowships, career development and more, the organization continued to improve of the lives of patients and their health care professionals.
