Interventional Oncology Nursing
Interventional oncology (IO) nursing is relatively new to the nursing profession. Currently, within the radiology nursing community, there are more discussions taking place about the role of the nurse in IO and what preparation or education should be known when caring for these patients. My introduction to IO began 6 years ago when I joined the interventional radiology (IR) group at the University of Miami. I had gained experience within the IR specialty, but IO was a whole new concept for me. It did help having an understanding in oncology nursing, as my nursing career had its roots within the medical oncology specialty. This experience afforded me an additional advantage in caring for patients undergoing IO treatments. In planning for the continued growth of IO treatments and the evolving role of the nurse in this specialty, what are some helpful recommendations or suggestions to prepare nurses?
A first recommendation is for nurses entering the radiology and imaging specialty to become familiarized with the IR environment, because working in an area with imaging equipment is very different than the bedside. It is beneficial to learn how each imaging modality functions and its purpose in patient diagnosis and treatment. A second recommendation would be to take a course on radiology and imaging nursing to help understand the advantages of the different imaging modalities used to diagnose and treat patients, and what the responsibility of the nurse is in this environment. From personal experience having taken a radiology and imaging review course, a radiology nursing educational course can prepare nurses to safely monitor patients and provide clinical care to patients during image-guided procedures. A third recommendation would be to get a good foundation in oncology nursing that focuses on the biology of cancer, chemotherapy regimens, and symptoms/side effects that patients can experience. This affords the registered nurses in the IR setting an understanding of how cancer affects patients, the clinical side effects and symptoms patients can experience undergoing an IO treatment, and how nursing interventions help promote comfortable during patients’ experience in IR. A final recommendation would be to have an experienced IO nurse mentor new nurses that are newcomers into this specialty to help guide and answer questions as they learn more about the care and management of this patient population.
Knowledge and understanding of both oncology nursing and radiology nursing creates this new nursing specialty of interventional oncology nursing and provides the knowledge base for nurses in educating, caring for, and advocating for their patients undergoing an IO treatment.
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.
