An Expanded Nursing Symposium at Synergy 2015
The 5th year of the Synergy multidisciplinary approach to interventional oncology was another great success! The conference hosted wonderful nursing and medical experts that presented on topics pertinent to medical and nursing practice within interventional oncology (IO), a growing subspecialty within interventional radiology (IR) that continues to gain much attention in the medical and nursing communities.
This year, the Synergy planning committee was able to extend the nursing symposium to a full day with a broader list of topics. Highlights from the nursing symposium included topics relevant to everyday nursing care within the IR setting. Presentations consisted of relevant topics such as capnography monitoring of patients undergoing sedation as a safety initiative in the IR suites. Other topics focused on nursing implications for bone marrow transplant patients undergoing vascular access placements, how to manage sepsis, as well as what the radiology nurse needs to know about patients currently on oral chemotherapeutic agents and its effects on the patient. The overall agenda was comprehensive and informative. A great aspect of this year’s nursing symposium was the audience interactions with the speakers with questions, comments, and experiences. The day resulted in wonderful collegiality and newfound professional relationships.
An additional highlight at this year’s nursing symposium was inclusion of the Association for Radiologic & Imaging Nursing (ARIN) as part of the symposium. ARIN supported this progressive initiative by identifying speakers and helping to disseminate information among the radiology nursing community and fully supported this important initiative! ARIN’s presence during the symposium reinforced the meaning behind the visible and vital role of the nurse in the care and management of patients undergoing interventional oncology procedures. ARIN’s President, Mary Sousa, was in attendance throughout the conference representing radiology nurses everywhere. Presenters included Piera Robson and Karen Green who are current ARIN members either serving or having served on ARIN’s Board of Directors; Karen Marshall, one of the nurses presenting at this year’s nursing symposium is also an active ARIN member and was designated as ARIN’s 2015 Radiology Nurse of the Year. Members of ARIN were also in attendance throughout the conference learning about the latest treatments and therapies available to oncology patients.
The Synergy nursing symposium this year has been one of the conference’s best! So the question is: how can we top this year’s agenda next year? As 2016 approaches, the planning committee will begin the exciting task of formulating an agenda that will be comprehensive and educational to add knowledge and skill set to the radiology nurse working in the IO specialty. Areas of focus will include presentations on safety in the IO environment, leadership, and much more!
Editor's note: This blog is part of a partnership forged between Interventional Oncology 360 and the Association for Radiologic & Imaging Nursing, for which Evelyn Wempe, MBA, MSN, ACNP-BC, AOCNP, CRN serves as president-elect. IO360 is pleased to be growing this partnership and publishing content on nursing as it relates to interventional oncology.
