Advanced Practice: The Interventional Oncology Nurse Practitioner

Autor: Evelyn P. Wempe
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Radiology Nursing. 33:87
ISSN: 1546-0843
DOI: 10.1016/j.jradnu.2014.03.001
Popis: Interventional oncology (IO) is a growing specialty within the interventional radiology (IR) world, which over the course of the years has expanded to provide innovative treatment methods for patients with cancer through the use of minimally invasive technologies. Treatments range from computed tomographyeguided percutaneous ablations to transarterial therapies to percutaneous biliary interventions. The advance practice nurse plays an important role within IO to ensure safe quality care is being provided to patients undergoing locoregional therapies or palliative interventions. The nurse practitioner in this highly specialized field should be knowledgeable in the areas of radiology and oncology to manage and understand the effects of contrast use with this patient population and also understand the complexity of the oncology diagnosis, the clinical presentation, and the effects of chemotherapy on the body. This knowledge and understanding can help equip the nurse practitioner in IR to adequately coordinate the care of a patient for an IO procedure while minimizing the risks and potential for complications. It is important to understand that the oncology patient referred to IR routinely presents with a multitude of symptoms and side effects relating from surgery, systemic chemotherapy regimen, and/or radiation. The disease itself can also have physiological effects on the body, such as fatigue, anxiety, pain, and weight loss. Abnormal laboratory values from oncology-based treatments or the disease process itself can influence how and when the intended IO procedure can be performed. Additionally, common clinical issues, such has thrombocytopenia, anemia, liver dysfunction, or chemotherapy-induced nephropathy, can determine if a patient’s procedure can proceed or needs to be delayed because of the need of supportive therapy, such as blood products, intravenous hydration, or premedications. In understanding the oncology patient, the advance practice nurse working in an IR department within the cancer facility has the opportunity to establish a collegial relationship and collaborate with oncology nurse practitioners and other health care providers to develop a plan of care for the patient. This multidisciplinary approach helps with the coordination to ensure clinical optimization for the minimally invasive procedure and involves communication of pertinent laboratory findings, reviewing latest imaging studies and known comorbidities that may impact the plan of care. As the specialty of IO continues to grow through science and innovation, so does the opportunity for the role of the advance practice nurse working in the specialty. There is the opportunity to be part of multidisciplinary teams in caring for oncology patients undergoing IR procedures while providing quality nursing care in a continuum. This may be the inception of the “interventional oncology nurse practitioner” in the management of oncology patients undergoing interventional therapies.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: