volume 60. issue 2
June 2017. 2nd Quarter Newsletter
A publication of the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society
It’s hard to believe we are entering the sixth month of the year already! As
you look back at 2017 so far, how do you feel about what you have
accomplished this year? It’s often said that happiness is a journey, not a
destination. The same can be said for success. It’s not the reward at the
end of a month or year or a career. We are all given opportunities to
succeed every day…just by making a difference. Make the most of every
day this month. Also, be sure to celebrate some of June’s unique and
wonderful holidays like….
-National Doughnut Day on Friday, June 2nd
-National Yo-Yo Day on Tuesday, June 6th
-Father’s Day, Sunday on June 18th
-Take Your Dog to Work Day on Friday, June 23rd (good luck with that
one)
8/22 @ 5:30 pm*
The Evolving Role of PARP inhibitors
Chrisann Winslow, RN, BSN, MSN, AOCN,
Washington University
Location: Menorah Medical Center
9/26 @ 5:30 pm*
Stay tuned for topic/speaker!
Location: Olathe Medical Center
11/4 @ time TBD
GKCCONS Vendor Fair
*Registration starts at 5:30 pm and the program will start
promptly at 6:00 pm.
Highlights from the Annual Banquet
The GKCCONS hosted the chapter banquet in April this year at Grand Street
Cafe. What fun! Much thanks to Michaela Logan and Diann Godbey (and the
board members) for your help and hard work putting this shindig together.
THUMBS-UP!
President-Elect, Brittany Waller with
fantastic guest speaker and FOX 4
anchor, John Holt.
A Big Thank-You!!
Sharon Lewis (Immediate PastPresident) and Melody Anderson (Past
President). Thanks ladies for your
service!!
THE HOUSE
WAS PACKED
with an
amazing
group of ONS
members!
Yvonne’s Adventure to Cuba!
The GKCCONS chapter donated $500 to help with my travel expenses to attend the ONS Cuba
delegation 2/20/17 - 2/24/17. ONS President, Susan Schneider, was our team leader. Some
highlights of our week included a visit to the Institute of Oncologia & Radiobiologica and a
presentation on nursing education and practice in Cuba. The Cuban ONS has 615 members
which is quite impressive. The Chief of the Department of Nursing explained that the nurses are
currently involved in 54 research projects, 4 of which are nursing.
We also visited a Cuban cultural center and learned about Cuban culture and traditions. We also
discussed the role of women in Cuban society and the structure of the Cuban government.
Next, we were welcomed at the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital in Havana, a 24-floor, 640-bed,
tertiary care hospital. We had hoped to see the stem cell transplant unit, however, we were such
a large group they did not want to risk bringing us all in and the chief of hematology was not
available! We did, however, meet with two chief medical oncologists and two chief nurses of the
institution. We were shown a short film that demonstrated their many services and modern
equipment. This hospital is the largest post-graduate teaching hospital in Cuba with 500 medical
residents from around the world. It is also the site for specialized nursing clinicals and research,
housing between 10 - 50 inpatient oncology patients at any given time.
We spent one morning at the University School of Nursing (Lidia Esther Doce Sanchez School of
Nursing) where technical nurses (3 years), BSN (5 years), and MSN nurses receive their
education. They have approximately 1000 students. We were able to visit a simulation lab and
one of the classrooms.
Last but not least, we visited a community nursing home and met with the medical director and
one of the nurses. There were 20 residents and 14 individuals who came for "day care" only.
Patients are referred by their local physician, placement is based on need and the wait list is less
than 2 months. Our last day in Cuba, we met with Dr. Pedro Camilo Rodriquez who is a Cuban
researcher. He gave a great lecture on their lung cancer vaccine (Cimavax). Intended for
patients with stage 3, NSCLC who relapse after chemo. 20 percent of patients receiving the
vaccine are still alive 5 years after initial diagnosis.
I feel like I could write a book and my brain was about to explode with all the knowledge and
sights that we encountered. It was all done through the use of an interpreter, Amircal Salermo.
More to come about the trip!
Yvonne C. Ward, RN, MSN, OCN, CBCN, ONN-CG Nurse Navigator
ONS 42nd Annual Congress, Denver, CO
Three chapter members were given grants from GKCCONS to help with the costs of attending
the 42nd Annual Congress in Denver, Colorado from March 4th – 7th this year. Next year, the
ONS Annual Congress will be held in Washington, D.C. on May 17th -20th. If you haven’t yet
attended Congress, you don’t know what you are missing! Katie, Sirena and Stephanie share
their thoughts about their ONS Congress experience below.
Katie Newell
This was my first time visiting Denver, and the first
ONS Congress I've attended. I really enjoyed
both! The opportunities at ONS Congress were
overwhelming - we could have attended sessions from
6am until 8pm nearly every day if we chose. We tried
to take advantage of all the opportunities we could,
while also pacing ourselves and allowing time to walk
through the vendor hall and also see some poster
presentations. Being surrounded by so many other
oncology nursing professionals was energizing, and
renewed my enthusiasm for our profession. I likely
would not have attended Congress without the
scholarship, but am strongly considering attending
future Congresses as the result of the experience I had
here. Thank you so much for giving me the
opportunity to attend!
Good things come in Threes
Sirena Shaneyfelt, left;
Katie Newell, center;
Jackie Ewigman, right)
Sirena Shaneyfelt, RN, MSN, OCN
From the opening ceremony with the speaker from Stand Up 2 Cancer delivering an inspiring
and emotional speech to the closing ceremony's message encouraging oncology nurses to
advocate for their patient's, themselves and their profession, it was a great experience attending
this year’s ONS Congress. The most popular topic discussed this year seemed to be
immunotherapy, with many great presentations on its potential, side effects and genetics
relating to immunotherapy. Because we were in Denver, medicinal cannabis was discussed. I
was impressed with the professional manner of the presentations and thought the speakers did
a great job of identifying hurdles that need to be overcome in order for patients to be able to
safely use the drug. I viewed many great poster presentations on several different topics
pertinent to providing oncology nursing care in a variety of different roles and settings. Thank
you so much for this great experience!
Stephanie Hammontree
Thank you for the opportunity to attend ONS congress in Denver this year. This was
the first time that I have been to a nursing focused conference and I enjoyed the
experience. As the Educator in the outpatient BMT clinic, it was helpful to gain new
tools and insight on how other institutions handle nursing specific
education/competencies and also patient education needs. I naturally found myself
attending the offerings that focused specifically on staff or patient education. I also
enjoyed the presentations that were offered by ONS. Some of the topics were on
extravasation management, ONS specific courses and chemo PPE/spill management. I
found them all to be extremely helpful. Most of them reinforced the current
standards that we already practice where I work, but it was nice to have that
confirmation. It also helped to get me thinking about areas we can improve. There
was a lot of information provided at congress so now I am in the process of reviewing
the presentations I attended so that I am able to share with others what I learned
from the experience. It was 3 days packed full of oncology information! This
experience definitely provided me with the opportunity to network with others and to
learn about what other institutions are doing in their practice as well. I definitely left
armed with valuable tools, which I feel will be very beneficial in the near future. I am
very appreciative of this opportunity!
.