Nursing Exemplars in Melanoma Patient Care: Meeting Support Resource

Want to be a leader in melanoma education? Click here to download a registration form for a 1.5 hour, case-based nursing CE program.

The oncology nurse plays a key role in the overall education and care of patients with melanoma. While the surgical oncologist or medical oncologist is guiding the overall course of therapy for the patient with diagnosed disease, the oncology nurse typically spends more time educating and caring for the patient. The nurse is often the sentry monitoring the patient’s overall health and response to therapy. Because melanoma therapy can be associated with challenging adverse events, the nurse has a special role in ensuring that patients stay on therapy. To do so, he or she must have a firm understanding of the science behind the therapies (in terms of markers of efficacy and mechanisms/timing of toxicity) and the tricks of the trade that make a difference in keeping patients on therapy. In addition, the advanced practice nurse may be in the position to prescribe therapy, monitor for drug interaction, and manage the adverse events in these patients.

You may wish to administer this case-based, discussion oriented, 1 1/2 hour CE program yourself, or you may choose to designate a member of your organization, department, or Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) chapter with particular skills and interest in melanoma. The main case will cover the management of depression, fatigue, and other adverse events in a patient receiving interferon for regional melanoma. In addition, you will discuss your choice of 2 of the following controversies:

1. Primary Melanoma: The anxiety associated with a melanoma diagnosis
2. Primary Melanoma: The anxiety associated with genetic testing for melanoma
3. Distant Melanoma: Evaluating the approach to stage IV melanoma
4. Distant Melanoma: Patient selection for immunotherapy in stage IV melanoma

If you’re interested, please click here to go to a registration form to begin the process. After you fax in the completed form, we’ll e-mail you an information packet that includes:

• A summary of the program
• PDF files of requested cases
• Possible dates for a phone call with Rosemary Giuliano, ARNP, MSN, our Program Chair

We’ll call you to schedule a phone call with Rosemary to talk you through the program.

Then, PharmAdura will send you all the material you will need for your meeting, including the cases you selected, discussion guides, materials to publicize your Exemplars meeting, and evaluation forms and CNE materials for you to send back so that the results of your discussion can help to guide our national curriculum. The program is sponsored by Postgraduate Institute for Medicine. Attendees at a CE event you host will receive 1.5 CEUs in nursing. If your chapter or organization is already accredited, you may choose instead to provide the CEU through your organization or ONS chapter.

This program is also designed to gather knowledge and suggestions regarding melanoma patient care from you and the nurses in your chapter or organization to share with the wider oncology nursing community. We will collect your input from the live meeting. Some of your ideas may be featured in the "Exemplar Pearls" section of the Web site.