Oncology Nursing Ceus

This course discusses the four Promoting Excellence demonstration projects that have translated theory into reality. Efforts go directly to the questions of whether and how palliative care services can be integrated upstream in the continuum ...

Ethical decision-making in healthcare occurs on a regular basis, often without so much as a passing thought. Healthcare professionals are held to high standards of moral character and an expectation to be patient advocates. This innate drive to do &ldq...

Virtually all healthcare professionals help patients who are experiencing pain; physicians, nurses, therapists, psychologists, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, radiologic technologists, and social workers each play a specific role in pain managemen...

Up to 14% of patients with metastases will develop a malignant wound. A malignant wound may result from a primary cutaneous malignancy or metastasis of existing cancer or be a malignant transformation of an existing wound. Malignant transformation of a...

Over the last several decades, advances in non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma management—including non–chemotherapy-based targeted therapies and new cytogenetic and molecular prognostic testing—have significantly improved patient survival. F...

You probably are aware that malnutrition can increase morbidity and mortality, but did you know that malnutrition can increase readmissions, medical costs, and even falls? Poor nutrition status is associated with increased length of hospital stay, elev...

Many patients with cancer experience pain at some point. Interprofessional collaboration by the healthcare team helps alleviate suffering by increasing knowledge about cancer pain and the application of effective pain management interventions. Multimod...

Pancreatic cancer remains the third leading cause of death in the U.S. It is on the rise to becoming the second leading cause by 2030. Pancreatic cancer remains difficult to diagnose and treat, because no clear early warning signs and symptoms exist. F...

As many as one in four people with cancer will experience depression during or after their treatment course. The effects of depression can impact the patient’s psychosocial well-being and disease outcomes. Depression is associated with poor treat...

Oncology emergencies are dangerous complications resulting from cancer. Conditions covered in this course include the more common emergencies, such as sepsis and tumor lysis syndrome, with mention of more rare conditions, such as superior vena cava syn...

Von Willebrand disease (vWD) is the most common inherited genetic bleeding disorder, yet it is not well known or understood among the public or healthcare providers. Von Willebrand factor (vWF) is a protein that is essential for platelet aggregation an...

Transfusions are a life-saving intervention, but transfusion errors, particularly errors involving ABO incompatibility, can be deadly. Three actions that have frequently been a contributing cause for ABO incompatibility errors are incorrect labeling of...

Animals have been used as a means of therapeutic intervention for years and the healthcare field is rich in anecdotal stories about the human-animal bond. This bond shows potential in improving psychological health and well-being, including quality of ...

Up to 25% of people with cancer experience clinical depression, which can affect their disease outcome, compliance with treatment, and quality of life. Despite this, depression is known to be underdiagnosed and undertreated in people with cancer. Sever...

What would you do if potentially half of your hospitalized clients, and 5% or more of your ambulatory clients, had a condition that was compromising their health, yet it was undiagnosed and untreated? An estimated 30% to 60% of those hospitalized have ...

An estimated 276,480 new cases of breast cancer in women will be diagnosed in the United States in 2020. For women who choose or need to have a mastectomy, oncologic breast reconstruction improves satisfaction and psychological outcomes (quality of lif...

About 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disorder. That’s a little more than 1 person out of 100 (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2016). Up to 60% of this population is unaware of their condition (Ame...

This course will help advanced practice nurses meet the new ANCC 25-contact hour pharmacology requirement for recertification beginning Jan. 1, 2014.

Written and rigorously peer reviewed by pharmacists and advanced practice nurses, this course fe...

The use of hospice and palliative care services continues to grow in the U.S. However, confusion about what the programs offer remains. This educational activity compares services and reimbursement for hospice and palliative care programs. Nurses shoul...

Testicular cancer strikes at a time when men are at the prime of their lives, between the ages of 20 and 34. It is during this time when many ignore preventive healthcare. Early diagnosis, treatment, education, and follow-up are very important for youn...

Latinos are the largest, most rapid-growing, and youngest minority group in the U.S. The rapid growth and diversity of this population relative to other minority groups are causes for examination of the impact of cancer on Latinos in the U.S. Cancer is...

This course presents an overview of basic concepts of cancer and the nursing care of adult patients receiving chemotherapy. Topics include theories of carcinogenesis, normal and cancer-cell biology, diagnosis and staging of cancer, treatment modalities...

Breast cancer is the most common cancer (excluding skin cancer) that women may face in their lifetime. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), about one in eight women (12.8%, or 127.5 per 100,000 women) will develop breast cancer at some poi...

Breast cancer is the most common cancer (excluding skin cancer) that many women may face in their lifetime. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 1 in 8 women will have a lifetime probability of developing breast cancer. This disease will t...

The refusal of blood is no longer solely a religious issue. For both religious and secular reasons, many people of all faiths and persuasions are looking for blood transfusion alternatives. Healthcare providers need to assess and treat patients holisti...

In the last two decades, there has been a rise in the development of oral chemotherapy drugs, and consequently, it is more common to find oral chemotherapy as the primary treatment for several forms of cancer. This evolution has reduced health care wor...

Pancreatic cancer remains difficult to diagnose and treat because no clear early warning signs and symptoms exist, and many symptoms reported are vague and can be attributed to other, benign causes. Pancreatic cancer remains the fourth leading cause of...

Nurses need to be aware of endometrial cancer’s risk factors, symptoms, and treatment options so they can educate women of all ages to be aware of early warning signs. Nurses in many specialties have the opportunity to raise awareness about lifes...

Multiple myeloma is a hematological cancer that involves a plasma cell, a type of white blood cell. Abnormal plasma cells, called myeloma cells, grow uncontrolled in a manner that produces bulky tumors in the body’s bone marrow. According to the ...

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men. An estimated 180,890 new cases of prostate cancer will occur in the U.S. in 2016, as well as 26,120 related deaths, making prostate cancer the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in men ...

For many postoperative patients, patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) is the primary source for managing pain. The basic design of PCA includes a computerized pump that can deliver several medications, such as morphine, hydromorphone or fentanyl, accordi...

Family history has long been an established risk factor for cancer. Family history influences cancer risk in many ways. Families share genes, but they also tend to share habits and environments that create disease clusters among relatives. A small subs...

In the U.S., more people are infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) than any other sexually transmitted infection. About 79 million Americans are infected, with 14 million new infections annually. Most sexually active people will become infected duri...

This continuing education module takes a public health approach across the continuum of pain care, which can be accomplished without worsening the opioid crisis. The strategy begins with preventing and effectively treating acute pain while avoiding unn...

Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States with an estimated 97,220 new cases of colon cancer and 43,030 cases of rectal cancer predicted to occur in 2018. Colorectal cancers develop in the colon or t...

Dying in America continues to be misrepresented and misunderstood. Most people say they would like to die at home, and hospice care can make that wish a reality. This course describes the history of hospice as a social construct in the world at large a...

Cancer is among the leading causes of death in the United States. Although much progress has been made, it remains a challenging disease to both treat and cure. The lifetime probability for an invasive cancer diagnosis is about 42% for men and 38% for ...

Ovarian cancer is the most deadly gynecological malignancy in the U.S.; it’s the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among women. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 14,070 women will die from ovarian cancer in 2018, and an estimated 22...

The course provides information about how to safely handle chemotherapeutic agents. It includes information about the hazards of chemotherapy exposure, the “Big Three” sources of exposure, along with how to avoid them. It also discusses how...

Patients can face a world of uncertainty when they have one of the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Many patients have never heard of MDS before their diagnosis; suddenly, they must cope with a disease that doesn’t follow a clear path. This modul...

This course has been approved for 2 hours by the Commission on Case Manager Certification for 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018.

Despite the efforts of healthcare providers, medical error rates in communities, hospitals, and homes rema...

In recent years, the authority to administer medications has expanded to several healthcare disciplines, such as emergency medical services and respiratory therapy. The responsibility of all healthcare professionals with such authority extends far beyo...

This course has been approved for 2 hours by the Commission on Case Manager Certification for 2017 and 2018.

Accreditation standards mandate the evaluation of patient understanding of teaching they receive during encounters with healthcare provid...

Most patients with cancer will experience pain during the course of their illness and into survivorship. Cancer pain may escalate as the disease progresses, so frequent adjustments in pain management strategies are often necessary to achieve optimal re...

Lung cancer kills more women than breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer combined, but is rarely perceived as a women’s health issue. While it would be simple to attribute the rising numbers to increases in smoking among younger women, increasing nu...

Monoclonal antibodies are the most widely used immunotherapeutic agents for cancer treatments. Many cancer treatment regimens are now constructed as a cocktail that includes a monoclonal antibody in addition to chemotherapy. Immunotherapy refers to a t...

Hysterectomy, which is removal of the uterus, is one of the most common surgical procedures performed in women. The incidence of inpatient hysterectomy procedures has steadily declined from a high of almost 700,000 in 2002 to around 430,000 in 2010 (Wr...

Because of the anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties of glucocorticoids, they are among the most widely prescribed classes of drugs in the world. This module discusses the use of glucocorticoids and three infectious diseases that may occur...

In 2018, an estimated 81,190 new cases of bladder cancer are expected to be diagnosed (62,380 in men and 18,810 in women). The predicted mortality for 2018 is 17,240 (12,520 for men and 4,720 for women). Most bladder cancers occur in people older than ...

While progress has been made in reducing the number of youth smokers, the rate of decline has slowed. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, every day about 3,200 youth under the age of 18 smoke a cigarette for the first time. A...

It is estimated that more than 228,150 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in 2019. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths, with more people expected to die from lung cancer in 2019 than from breast, prostate, and colon cancers c...

A patient-centered team approach can significantly improve the quality, accessibility, and affordability of care delivered to cancer patients. Patient navigation in cancer care is generally considered to be individualized assistance offered to patients...

The National Cancer Institute characterizes cancer as multiple diseases that involve a mutiny of cells and the abnormal cessation of natural cell death (called apoptosis). Some of the most common cancers include lung, prostate, breast, and colorectal. ...

For the past 30 years, the incidence of melanoma has increased steadily. In adults older than age 50, the death rate has remained stable from 2005 to 2014, but for younger people, there was a 2.6% decrease in the death rate. Early detection and new tre...

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) notes that nearly all patients experience some level of distress at diagnosis, throughout treatment, and beyond into survivorship. NCCN Guideline for Patients®: Distress Supportive Care Book Series d...

Our physical environment can be harmful, especially when people and communities are exposed to toxic substances, irritants, infectious agents, and physical hazards in homes, schools, and worksites. Determining a person’s risk and reducing exposur...

More than 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease, with about 12% of the country’s population developing a thyroid condition during their lifetimes. As many as 60% of people with thyroid disease are undiagnosed, which puts them at ...

Cervical cancer continues to affect thousands of women, but increases in routine screening for women ages 21 to 65 have resulted in a steady decrease in the number of diagnosed cases over the past decade. This course discusses the basics of etiology, r...

Background

Beyond the sweeping life impacts imposed by a cancer diagnosis, cancer has become an equally financially catastrophic sentence for many patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in three Americans...

At the end of this module, the learner will be able to:

Describe the pathophysiology of cancer and the basis for cancer diagnosis and staging.Describe the nurse’s role and scope of practice in the care of the cancer patient.Identify the nur...

At the end of this module, the learner will be able to:

Recognize the most common side effects of chemotherapy and biologic therapies and discuss the nursing implications of each.Identify the signs of chemotherapy hypersensitivity reaction and cy...